Creating Kibera
The increased development of informal settlements will be the dominant form of urbanization in most developing countries. The following thesis intends to present and comparatively analyze Kibera (Nairobi, Kenya) - the largest slum in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It is estimated that over 30% of the city’s population resides in an area of only 1.5 square miles, making Kibera one of the most dense settlements in the world. The informality and rapid rate of population growth makes Kibera the perfect antagonist for static Architecture.
Isolated efforts have been made to provide the essential infrastructure, however most “upgrading schemes” ignore the basic reality that 'slum' communities are highly complex, and integral components of the slum urbanization process. Kibera necessitates a comprehensive design that not only enhances the existing urban fabric but in doing so integrates the global community into it. The development of informal public spaces accompanied by an organic infrastructural system into the slum-upgrading scheme can act as a catalyst for “dweller-initiated” housing and program improvements.
“Creating Kibera” is an informal structural system designed by the architect and completed by its occupants. The project considers self-building by the occupants to be a legitimate typology of architecture. Here, the architect no longer conceives an architectural object frozen in time. In return the process offers an open source building, a living organism, which grows, adapts and continuously mutates.
