James Njuguna Gitoho – Celebrating More than 30 Years in Architectural Practice

James Njuguna Gitoho, born in 1956, is the Principal Partner at Triad Architects. He is best known as the architect behind the imposing Barclays Plaza building along Loita Street, which the firm won through a design competition.

With ambitions of becoming a Mechanical Engineer from a tender age, James worked his way through school, first at Pumwani Primary School, then Nairobi Technical School for ‘O Levels’ and later Jamuhuri High School for ‘A Levels’. He qualified to join the Department of Architecture, University of Nairobi in 1976 to study Architecture.

Still with his ambitions of pursuing his long term Mechanical Engineering, James set out to change courses and join the Department of Engineering to pursue a degree course in Mechanical Engineering. However, patience was a virtue he wasn’t abundantly blessed with at the time and having waited on the queue all morning; he simply gave up and dropped his bid for Mechanical Engineering effectively setting out for a journey in the field of architecture.

That was such an unlikely beginning to an eventful career that saw him rise to become Director at Triad Architects and the man behind several dozen notable projects in Kenya and within the region in addition to being admitted as a fellow of the Architectural Association of Kenya, the highest rank for architects in Kenya. He has also served the profession, business community and society at large in various other capacities and he currently sits in the Board of Pan Africa Life Insurance Company, a position he has held since 2001. He has previously served the Board of Registration for Architects and Quantity Surveyors (1991 – 1992) and the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa as its Chairman between 1995 and 1998.

But all this did not come on a silver platter, as James explained to his staff members on 26^th October, 2011 during celebrations to mark thirty years of service to Triad Architects. He remembers his appointment letter signed by his then boss, Timothy Vaulkhard, who is now a fellow director. His first day in Triad, on Thursday, October 26^th 1981 will always be entrenched in his mind as it marked a great turn in his life.

There were other important dates in his life. On 6^th June 1986, he married his long time sweetheart, Valentine, in a colourful wedding with more than 1,200 guests present. Together, they have two children, Tshiko and David. Tshiko recently got married in a wedding that was held at the CCK headquarters which he also designed.

Other highlights in his life included his 1982 travel to England on a study tour. The trip through Rome was eventful as it coincided with an industrial strike by staff of Al Italia, the airline he used. The delayed airline transfer saw him stranded in an unfamiliar city all by himself. He traveled back to England in 1987 on a tour with his wife and he became Partner at Triad Architects on the following year.

In 1985, he joined Railways Club and remembers one of his referees who is a senior professional colleague, Kimani Mathu, who also paid his club entrance fees. In 1991, he was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship which included two weeks attachment at the Commonwealth headquarters culminating in a luncheon at Buckingham Palace with the queen. This was followed by a two week tour of Tongo, South Pacific and Western Samoa to promote Commonwealth fellowships.

In 1991, James chaired a committee that drafted building by laws that proposed universal access to buildings. This ensured that even the disadvantaged members of the society had easy access to all buildings. On the same year, he joined the committee of Karen Country Club and All Saints Cathedral.

Of the notable projects that James has worked on, one that he is very proud of is the Barclays Plaza Building along Loita Street which was completed in 1992. This commission, which was won through a design competition where all the ‘big boys’ including Symbion International, Planning Systems & Services and Mutiso Menezes International took part. This marked a great leap in his career as he was stamping his design authority in the city scape in a very big way.

Many other significant projects came later. These include the following:

• Mpata Club, a luxurious lodge in Masai Mara that was completed in 1993 in which he worked closely with a Japanese architect, Edward Suzuki
• Komarock Housing Estate completed in 1994
• The CFC Centre along Waiyaki Way that was completed in 1998
• Times Towers completed in 1997 in which he worked with his fellow partner, Daniel Mutiso
• Communications Commission of Kenya Headquarters along Waiyaki Way which was completed in 2004
• United Mall in Kisumu which was completed in 2005
• The Nairobi Hospital South Wing which was completed in 2007
• Delloite Place along Waiyaki Way completed in 2010.
• Housing estates for Kenya Ports Authority Pension Scheme in South C Nairobi which are still in progress