Today saw the official opening of a meeting hall, donated by Setra and Arvet. The hall is built of cross-laminated timber and is located at the UN settlement in Kalobeyei, Kenya. The project has been managed by Arvet, a company that promotes timber construction, and which in this case has been working alongside the organisation UN-Habitat.
In Africa, most buildings are constructed in concrete, so the roughly 50-sqm timber pavilion designed by Petra Gipp Studio will be somewhat of a departure.
The timber pavilion that is now in place in Kalobeyei in northern Kenya will be used as a meeting hall.
“We’re delighted to be officially opening the new meeting hall today. It will fulfil a huge need here by providing a safe space for local residents. With its contemporary and functional architecture, the pavilion has already become a local landmark owing to its height and design, and it will be a significant model for other future building projects. The entire construction features efficient design, with prefabricated CLT modules and an electricity system supplied via solar panels on the roof,” said Eric Muchunku from UN-Habitat.
Setra is one of Sweden’s largest wood industry companies.
