Nairobi Central Station and Public Realm

In 2021, AtkinsRéalis successfully bid, through international competition, for the design of a new world class central station and public realm, the first step in delivering the vision and the functional heart of Nairobi Railway City, the urban regeneration and redevelopment of a ~170 hectare site into a new iconic city-centre mixed-use development, and exemplar of Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The project is of strategic importance to Kenya as a gateway to East Africa A SITE-SPECIFIC RESPONSE Leading the masterplan, architecture and costing through RIBA 2 and 3, AtkinsRéalis have focused on providing the Kenya Railways with designs which are aspirational, deliverable and in sufficient detail to guide construction firms bidding for the follow-on construction contract. FINDING FORM THROUGH CULTURE & COMMUNITY The station precinct is conceived as more than a transport hub, it is also envisaged as an amenity for the city which provides access to the railway, a new retail hub and destination, covered public space with access to local planting and biophilia - a meeting place for people to get together, socialise, share their experiences. A generous, democratic space at the heart of the city, the station precinct will provide a unique, open, welcoming place protected from but connected to the city beyond. The approach is inspired by the ‘Boma’- a community enclosure rooted in the heritage of Kenya and broader African culture. Because of its distinct fortified form, Bomas were commonplace in central Africa. LOOKING TO THE PAST FOR AN AMBITIOUS FUTURE Our approach looks to the past as influence for a new ambitious future. It respectfully adds to the existing historic station building, one of the first stone structures in the city with a significantly enlarged facility designed to accommodate up to 30,000 passengers per hour. The new additions respectfully integrate with the heritage buildings by referencing shape, rhythm, scale, and materiality. DESIGNED TO BE INTUITIVE AND LEGIBLE A concept of “big roof, small station” was developed in response to the expected passenger growth along with a plan layout which zones the main spaces in favour of open and public rather than ticketed and passenger. Key spaces actively blend inside and out to allow the public realm to act as an enlarged concourse during passenger peaks and growth over time. PROBLEM SOLVING VIA STATION DESIGN Throughout the station precinct AtkinsRéalis considered flexibility a key characteristic, large, connected spaces connect across the site, ensuring significant numbers of people can move safely to and from the station, interchange or cross the precinct. As behaviours, processes or expectations change, the station building is conceived to have the ability to adapt too, therefore an efficient, direct layout was our starting point for the operational planning. MAKING WAVES TO WATER CAPTURE The rippled Boma roof is designed to collect rainfall and direct the water, by way of feature landscape “slipper” collectors positioned around the perimeter of the building, to underground storage tanks. It is then used to irrigate the planting within the public realm.