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Architects deconstruct State House revamp

Architects deconstruct State House revamp
A view of the new-look State House, Nairobi when President William Ruto hosted his Guinea Bissau counterpart Umaro Sissoco Embalo on January 25,2025. PHOTO/PCS

As the government continues to implement recently-announced austerity measures hoped to set the country on a trajectory towards economic transformation, questions continue to rise over needless spending especially in the face of crippling budgetary deficits.

The recent renovation of the State House, which is said to have cost billions, has been cited as not only a wastage of public funds but also a move that could compromise its historical and cultural significance.

Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) is the latest to join the furore. The professional body raised concerns over renovations of the House on the Hill saying that the extent of its modifications could interfere with its original neo-classical design envisioned by British Architect Sir Herbert Baker in 1907.

While acknowledging the need for renovations to maintain the building’s structural integrity, AAK cited the replacement of red roofing tiles, the addition of a deep roof parapet that alters the building’s character and the merging of two entrances into a large canopy.

This, they said, disrupts its symmetry.

“The design alteration diminishes the recognition of the State House as we know it. Similar mutation has been meted on the Uhuru Park pavilion, which was brought down without consideration of its significance in the heritage of our country’s history, denying future generations a way to connect with their past,” the statement by AAK read in sections.

Consult experts

The association at the same time took issue with the potential removal of key architectural features, such as chimneys warning that Kenya risks erasing its historical landmarks without due consideration.

Consequently, the association urged the government to stop further alterations, establish heritage conservation guidelines and consult experts and the public before making changes to national monuments.

“Public buildings and other strategic national installations requiring renovation should be listed by the National Museums of Kenya and subjected to public scrutiny before any work is undertaken….The AAK has a dedicated working group of experts ready to provide guidance on such matters,” further read the statement by Florence Nyole, the AAK President.

Images of the revamped State House surfaced after the President William Ruto hosted his Guinea-Bissau’s counterpart. In the pictures, the new design sees the previously prominent terracotta-tiled roof replaced, and experts have suggested the roof could have been enhanced to include a prominent parapet.

So far, the State House has seen a facelift costing Sh1.7 billion, with Sh775 million spent by September 2024, marking 44 per cent completion of the project that has been ongoing in the past two years.

Despite the austerity measures announced by the government including the dissolution of 47 state corporations, a 50 per cent reduction in the number of government advisers, the suspension of non-essential travel by public office bearers and the removal of budget lines for the president and deputy president’s spouses, Ruto has been on the receiving end for spearheading a spending spree.

In June last year, reports indicate that renovations for State Houses and State Lodges were allocated a whooping Sh1.5 billion for the current financial year, as part of a larger Sh11.5 billion budget set aside for their renovations.

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