(Nairobi, 22 September 2023). The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) has awarded a design services contract to Boogertman + Partners (PTY) Ltd of South Africa for the expansion of its conference facilities in Kenya. The multi-disciplinary architectural firm will lead a diverse and highly skilled international team including Herzog & de Meuron World Ltd. (Switzerland) as co-design consultants, Howard Humphreys East Africa Ltd. (Kenya) as building services, civil and structural engineers, and MACE YMR LLP. (Kenya) for project management and quantity surveying services, among others.
This project will modernize and expand the conference facility and transform the public-facing portion of the 56-hectare UNON Gigiri campus, the only United Nations headquarters in the Global South. It aims to accommodate the expanding needs of Member States and will reflect the values and programmatic objective of the UN Environment Programme, the UN Human Settlements Programme, and the 58 global, regional, and local UN entities working in, and from, Kenya.
The upgraded conference facilities will accommodate up to 9,000 in-person conference participants, comprising twenty-four conference and meeting rooms of various sizes, a new visitors centre and delegates registration building, a new media centre, dining and multi-purpose exhibition buildings, and the gut renovation of the existing 2,000 in-person capacity conference facility. The new facility will ensure the health and safety of delegates, staff and visitors, will serve as an exemplar of environmental sustainability building performance, including a target of net zero energy consumption, and will aim to afford universal accessibility for meeting participants and conference services staff.
The project design phase is scheduled to commence with immediate effect and, subject to further approval by the General Assembly, the construction of the new facility will occur over three phases beginning in 2025 and ending in 2029. Meetings and other activities will continue to be accommodated by UNON throughout the project implementation period.
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For more information please contact:
Newton Kanhema or Tirus Wainaina
Deputy Director Tel: +254-716-431765
United Nations Information Service Email: tirus.wainaina@un.org
+254-20-7621102/0709021102
Email: kanhema@un.org
