PHOTOS – Check Out How The Proposed Sh37 Billion New UN Complex in Gigiri Blends Architecture with Nature
The United Nations office in Nairobi is set for a major upgrade.
Established in 1974, the Gigiri-based complex has been the home of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), and also the largest UN global headquarters, serving the UN and its agencies in Africa.
Some time back, the UN approved a Gigiri masterplan to address the deteriorating facilities, as well as expand and modernize conference facilities.
Resolution 78/253 was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 22, 2023, approving the nearly Sh37 billion budget for the project. The new facilities will accommodate 9,000 in-person participants with an estimated project area of 95,700 sqm
It’s worth noting that the project is specifically for the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), and not for UNEP, although the two share the 140-acre site.
It appears the final designs have been arrived at.
Chicago-based architectural design firm Krueck Sexton Partners were awarded the tender, and they’ve now released their renders.
As they put it, “The site of the project bridges between the metropolitan Nairobi area and the ancient Karura Forest. The modern perimeter of the forest is marked by forest edge effect (drier conditions, lighter colors, confluence of invasive species, bite-mark edge profiles) indicating the progressive deterioration of the forest boundaries caused by urbanization. The project aims to reverse this effect for the first time and let the forest advance forward, as its regrowth balances with the UNON campus as a symbiont on the site. This effort will enable suppression of invasive species, proliferation of native flora and fauna, natural waterways restoration, and native topsoil protection.”
This new assembly hall integrates itself seamlessly with nature, and will allow people to see Karura forest in harmony with the blended architecture.
It is a fitting take for the World’s Environmental headquarters.
Check out the artistic renders.
The post PHOTOS – Check Out How The Proposed Sh37 Billion New UN Complex in Gigiri Blends Architecture with Nature appeared first on Nairobi Wire.
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