President William Ruto on Thursday October 13 issued an executive order that will see nominated Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi have his offices at Railways headquarters in Nairobi.
The building which is located off Haile Selassie Avenue, opposite the Kenya Railways Bus Station was constructed in 1924 during the colonial period.
The building was designed by British architect Sir Herbert Baker who is also credited to have designed the Government House, which is now known as the State House.
The architecture of Kenya Railways Headquarters is reminiscent of the neoclassical structures that dominated colonial architecture in Europe and parts of Africa.
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The administrators of the former Kenya-Uganda Railways Corporations required comfort and a favorable work environment, so the designers paid close attention to these details.
The structure consists of four blocks: A, B, C, and D, each with two stories, with the exception of D, which has four.
The courtyards that divide these four blocks are perfect for improving lighting throughout the structure. The courtyards are also surrounded by the design.
The architect oriented the building’s front face toward the east and its back towards the west to help block the afternoon sun.
The building also has thick walls that range in thickness from 300 to 600 mm, which guarantees cool temperatures inside the structure no matter the weather. Fountains and pools in the Kenya Railways headquarters courtyard serve as heat sinks, radiatively cooling the mass of the structure.
The building was damaged by the bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi in 1989, which destroyed one of its wings. However, the building has undergone a number of updates to meet the requirements for modern executive office attire.
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