Trans Nzoia County Executive Offices
Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the capital and largest town. Relevantly dubbed ‘Elgon House’, the Trans Nzoia County Executive Offices are contained in a public building designed to be an icon for the people of Trans Nzoia County in western Kenya and set a benchmark for similar projects across the 47 newly-constituted counties. It wound house the Governor and his executive among other functions of devolved government. It’s perfectly symmetrical in form and gradation of its building elements in relation to the human scale signify equality, transparency and the hierarchy of power.
The design of the project aims to achieve an important role as an icon which sets a new benchmark for other upcoming projects. Material language and utilization of scale was used to broadly speak of transparency and visibility in both physical and metaphorical terms as a response to the citizen’s hope for accessible county government officials. Large glass windows connect people to nature, encourage use of the plaza, while filling the halls with natural light.
Boasting a contemporary design that reflects what the community wants while aiming to uniquely serve the county’s ambitions, Elgon House stands as a civic gem that endeavours to address the following intrinsic and extrinsic aspects; Security - The design has considered security as an integral part of the building, with recommended modern state-of-the-art security system which allows free but secure circulation of the public within and around the building Privacy - There is a well-defined level of privacy. Hierarchy is key to create segregated yet harmonious circulation Exterior/ landscaping - A public plaza near the main entrance to the offices is well landscaped to include public seating and court. There is use of materials with low embodied energy on the hard landscape e.g porous pavers on driveways and at the public court Ventilation - High level louvered vents are used to supply natural ventilation to the basement level.
Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the capital and largest town. Relevantly dubbed ‘Elgon House’, the Trans Nzoia County Executive Offices are contained in a public building designed to be an icon for the people of Trans Nzoia County in western Kenya and set a benchmark for similar projects across the 47 newly-constituted counties. It wound house the Governor and his executive among other functions of devolved government. It’s perfectly symmetrical in form and gradation of its building elements in relation to the human scale signify equality, transparency and the hierarchy of power.
