PRACTICING ARCHITECTURE: FROM LONDON TO KENYA

Marco Carolei

MA Dip. Arch. (Oxford) AAK

When you are working in London between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 things are going well so you might think: this is it!

When you are working for a well known Architect on a major London project with a high profile client, things may look even better.

When the client prioritizes on environmental issues, there are even cherries on the cake.

Until, believe it or not, I decided to move to Africa to work for a local, Nairobi based, architectural practice. All of the sudden things look different, very different.
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The Unsustainable urban growth of Gaborone City, Botswana

Gaborone is a very young city, dating back as early as early as 1966 when it was first developed as a Capital city for the newly independent Botswana from the British Protectorate. Before this the administrative centre for the colony had been based from Mafikeng which is now part of South Africa.

The centre of the city was constructed in three years, including Assembly buildings, government offices, a power station, a hospital, schools, a radio station, a telephone exchange, police stations, a post office, and more than 1,000 houses. The basic infrastructure was in place for Independence Day on 30 September 1966.

The city is locked on all sides by different land usage (illustrated on the below zones) which renders it very difficult for further outward growth.
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Botswana and Southern Africa Architecture Blog (A short Introduction)

By Killion Mokwete

Date:  June 2009-06-15

I would like to welcome our readers to what will be a new dimension to Boidus blogs section focusing on topics and issues emanating from the built environment, Art and Design topics from Botswana and the surrounding regions.

The Three Kings who came to Britain

I have recently relocated from London back to my homeland, Botswana and therefore naturally a new extension to the Boidus Concept has emerged to give us a broader scope of focus at international level.
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