African Design Magazine October 2016 | Page 56

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