By Morris Aron
Imagine a scenario where all residential estates in urban centres were eco-friendly with the ability to save rainwater for watering flower gardens and well-paved path walks? Or used solely solar energy for water heating and cooking?
Better still, a Uhuru Park with accentuated designed shelters, relaxing shades, greenery and water works that are relaxing to the eye?
Just what if?
This September, Urban Savannah Design Studio (USDS), architectural outfit based in Westlands, will offer a visual glimpse of Nairobi in this new light.
While the presentations will be in the form of designs and paintings, the ideas is to jog the minds of the public in general and policy makers in particular, hopefully, to spur a wave of activities that will result in actualisation of such a Nairobi.
While seated in traffic one day,Karuga Koinange, an architect-cumartist,thought of a way to contributeto making Nairobi better.
“I thought that we lose a lot of man hours in traffic. The problem is not actually the traffic, but how the city has been designed and planned,” said Koinange.
“The bad thing is that we are in that mess today. The good thing is that there is something we can do to change the situation. This is my contribution.”
Art of architecture
Using billboards and the art of architecture, the project will showcase possible solutions to congestion and other urban challenges in Nairobi.
The ‘WHAT IF’ project will showcase a number of architectural designs on billboards along major highways. The plan is to give motorists something to look at while stuck in traffic.
