Building boom
HURTLING UPWARDS INTO TOMORROW
Skyscrapers Ever since the late 1960s the city’s landscape has been changing dramatically, with an influx of skyscrapers taking Nairobi literally to new heights. The city’s original skyscraper is the 105 metre high Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), completed in 1974, which towered above the city on its own for many years before being dwarfed by newcomers such as the 163 metre Old Mutual Tower and – rising to an impressive 200 metres – the Britam Tower, finished last year. Work is now under way on what will be the tallest building not only in Nairobi but in the whole of Africa. The Pinnacle, when finished, will be 300 metres tall, with a whopping 70 floors, while its facilities will include a Hilton Hotel, a restaurant, offices, a mall, a viewing deck and a helipad. For the time being, Johannesburg is home to Africa’s tallest building, the 223 metre high Carlton Centre, which
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once contained the Carlton Hotel, a popular choice of the rich and famous when visiting the city. The Pinnacle will be almost three times the height of the KICC and over 100 metres taller than the Britam Tower.
Expansion Sitting alongside these skyscrapers are dozens of other new buildings and, although these can’t be seen from miles away, they signal that the city’s expansion is going outwards as well as upwards. In fact, pretty much every part of the city has seen some kind of development. For example, there are now some 50 malls in the city and its surrounding areas, from Ngong to Thika to Gigiri, including Kenya’s biggest mall, Two Rivers, which opened last year. With other malls under construction, far outnumbering any other East Africa capital, Nairobi is very much a continental hub for retail.
The city’s original skyscraper is the 105 metre high Kenyatta International Convention Centre CONSTRUCTION Taking Nairobi to new heights
Jordi C / Shutterstock.com
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hen was the last time you drove through Nairobi and didn’t see a billboard for an upcoming real estate project or construction sites already under way? It’s clear that the city has been going through a period of rapid expansion, both upwards and outwards, over the past few years, with new apartment blocks, office complexes, hotels and malls springing up on every corner.