| dc.description.abstract | Form making is one of the most important activities that the architect is engaged in when creating
architecture. During the process of form making the architect expresses the individual perceptions of
reality in tangible form, which is the symbolic form of architecture. When one observes the majority of built
forms in the city of Nairobi they are more of an expression of Western culture than Kenyan culture. The
individual perceptions of reality of Kenyan culture and nature are not well symbolized in most of the built
forms. This has led to lack of a unifying architectonic style that defines and guides the Kenyan mordern
architecture. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish the extent to which the built forms in
Nairobi portray the Kenyan cultural and natural forms through symbolism in their form making. A sample
of 21 buildings constructed between 1960 and 2011 in the City of Nairobi were studied. Data was
collected using interviews and observation techniques. Qualitative methods were used to analyse the
data. Out of the 21 sampled buildings, only 40% seemed to be inspired by Kenyan culture and nature in
their built forms. The study recommends that the architects in Kenya create architectural forms that are
inspired by natural environment, traditions and cultural values of the local communities. It is only out of
this that the symbolic architectural forms in Kenya can be realised | en |
