African project
Dalton House – Kenya
the top floor there are three small apartments with a little kitchen and bathroom in
each of them. The house is built from the cheapest local materials. Thus, the structure
–columns and slabs- are built in concrete, and the space in between the structure
is filled with small coral stones acquired in the nearest local quarry. The finishes of
floors, walls, stairs, shells, etc., are made in stucco, called Lamu finish by the native
people, a very clean, soft and resistant finish.
All carpentry, doors and windows are made of mahogany two inches thick. They
are carved following a geometric pattern of the mosaics from the Alhambra Palace
of Granada, Spain. This pattern has had an important influence in some Muslim
buildings of this Swahili area in Kenya.
The interior space is configured with screens or diaphragms to establish continuous
and compartmentalized spaces. This type of space is typical of the ancient Swahili
architecture used in the Kenyan coast, as well as in the Muslim architecture around
the world.
56 africandesignmagazine.com