Architect reveals unusual design inspiration behind KICC

Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) design was inspired by a donkey’s penis, David Mutiso, one of the architects behind the iconic building has revealed.

In an interview with Citizen Tv, Mutiso who was among the first African Chief Architects, said that Jomo Kenyatta wanted a building that will house the headquarters of the Kenya African National Union(KANU).

According to Mutiso, the president required that the architects get instructions of the building directly from him.

“The president wanted something personal. So he required us to get instructions directly from him. We started sketching a simple four storey building, but overtime the president kept revising his vision of the eventual building and wanted something higher and higher,” he said.

The Alliance High school alumni said the idea was to make something that will look like a donkey’s penis.

“The tower was inspired by a donkey’s penis,” said Mr Mutiso. He worked closely with Norwegian architect Karl Henrik Nøstvik in the construction.

The construction that took place in the 1960s and involved three phases took six years to complete. The first phase was the podium, the main tower and finally the plenary, costing Sh80 million.

Jomo presided over the opening of the 45-year-old tower.

The tower is currently the home of important government offices including hosting the senate and is a renowned venue for conferences, meetings, exhibitions and special events. The building’s strategic location near high-end hotels makes it a darling for international visitors.

The 28-storey building was the tallest structure in Nairobi up until 2000 upon the construction of Times Tower building.

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