African Design Magazine ADM #37 February 2018 | Page 31

SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL OF KERICHO - Kenya
The Sacred Heart Cathedral of Kericho, nestled in Kenya's Highlands, west of the Great Rift
Valley, accommodates up to 1,500 parishioners beneath its giant canopy. John McAslan +
Partners designed the cathedral with an inclined clay-tiled roof and a dramatically ascending
interior volume.
The design incorporates an artful fusion of African and ecclesiastical elements, with the
building's structure expressed using clear forms and a pale e of natural materials, the majority
of which were sourced locally.
Inside the church, arched concrete frames with timber-ribbed vaulting sit atop a stone plinth,
creating a dramatic volume that soars upwards. The ceiling is constructed from finger-jointed
cypress timber slats.
The sheer size of each structural frame
demanded a complex pouring system for the
concrete. Applied by hand, the building's
cladding material of washed terrazzo was an
ideal choice due to its self-cleaning attributes.
The Nairobi blue stone cladding of the podium
was hand-dressed and xed by local masons.
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