African Design Magazine Africa's Top 10 Projects of 2015 | Page 39

Nakuru Project, Kenya
The local area is widely populated with stone and concrete houses, many of which are
typically left incomplete as their owners struggle to fund the materials to complete
each phase. In response, the new home, known as the St Jerome’s Centre, is made
from earthbags, utilising the large quantities of soil generated from foundation,
sanitation and rainwater storage excavation. The local soil, which has around 20%
clay content, is packed into everyday grain bags and laid like oversized bricks to
create deep, durable walls which also effectively absorb heat from the sun, helping
regulate temperatures during the cooler nights.

Completed in just eight weeks and with added help from a small group of architecture
students representing schools across the UK, there were as many as seventy
people on site each day, including local women who worked alongside their male
counterparts for an equal wage, setting a rare precedent for employment in the
area. Many of the team, men and women, have since been approached for work in
direct connection with the project, including a couple of commissions to build more
earthbag homes and help pass on these skills to others.
St Jerome’s Centre also features a timber cladding made from pillar cores, a byproduct of veneer processing and a material which is often discarded as waste.
Additionally, a rainwater harvesting system and integrated community tap provide a
unique source of clean running water. AD

LOCATION: Nakuru, Kenya
CLIENT: The St Jerome’s Centre
ARCHITECTS: Orkidstudio
PROJECT DIRECTORS: James Mitchell, Tom Woodward,
Guylee Simmonds, Gaynor Duthie, Paul Duffy
SITE TEAM: Helen, Kuria, ON (Owen), Sam, Haron, Geoffrey,
Njoroge, Gerald, Njenga, Little John, Big John, Carl, Dennis,
Ignatius, Stephen, Kaima, Mus \