Private House, Nairobi – Kenya
The Place – This is a small private house in Karen Nairobi. When we first visited the site the house had been misplaced by the architect and the front door opened onto a six metre high wall of soil. We had to design a series of terraces which pulled back the soil from the front door, retaining the huge level changes, but which allowed for a gentle walk down to the house.
The Brief – The client requested us to try and resolve the circulation issues as well as incorporate fruit orchards within the planting design.
The Design – The issues found onsite required a large amount of hardscape, this we kept within budget by using quarry waste from a local stone quarry. This was used for the paving and cladding and the stone terraces then interplanted with an orchard of cherry guavas with sweet wild strawberries and Erigeron karvinskianus as a ground cover which soften each of the paved terraces.