BIDII YETU!!

Hello helloooooo!!!!
I hope y'all are well. This post is one which has been very much requested by some of my readers who are curious about what goes on in Architecture studios. I'm not really sure how much is out there but today I have chosen to do my communication via a number of photos which I took today. (The 5th Annual Eastern Africa exhibition & workshop is going on this week in our studios)
'Bidii yetu' is a Swahili phrase meaning 'our hard work'. Given how much effort architecture students put into their work, I thought that this is a rather appropriate title.
Basically first year is where we get to explore art. We work with different shades of pencils, pastels, coloured pencils and water colours. Model making is also involved. As we progress,we then get into serious design of structures presenting different plans, elevations and sections on paper.
































The photos are quite many, I know. However this is just a sample. There is much more creativity where this came from.
I sure hope you now have at least a slight idea about what we do.
Enjoy your evening guys!

DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR!!

This post is long overdue! I have been thinking of writing about hairstyles as a form of art for months, however....mmmh well, aaah life!! Anyway,it's here now :-)

I got inspired to write this post one Saturday evening (correct me if I am wrong), when my father and I were watching Citizen TV's fashion reviews. You know, the one where Lillian Muli, Adelle and company imitate Joan Rivers' Fashion Police..Then my dad suddenly said, "Even this one with the funny hair is telling people how to dress?". Lol! I do find her hairstyle interesting, though I do not think I can pull that off. In case some of you are wondering what I am talking about, take a look at this photo.

I keep thinking she and a couple of ladies I have seen in Nairobi have drawn some inspiration from Turkana women.

Now, my intention is not to make fun of the style but rather to show that hairstyles do have an origin.

Different women and even men, from different cultures had various ways of expressing themselves through hairstyles unique to them.

DREADLOCKS

I'm absolutely crazy about guys with NEAT locs! I'm told it's weird but whatever. I even pray (on most days) that I get married to a handsome, smart man with breathtaking locs. I'm not sure my folks will ever warm up to the idea but...imma keep praying anyway hoping he will come around.

Dreadlocks work really well with afro hair due to its ability to really tangle and form knots. It is believed that dreadlocks originated form Africa and were introduced to foreign lands like Jamaica by African Slaves. Some say that locs were an expression of bondage and rejection. They were (I guess they still are) associated with Ras Tafari Haile Selassie who was, at some point, an Emperor of Ethiopia and Bob Marley as well.

They were also associated with drugs and filth but I guess that mentality is slowly fading away. Though change is not for everyone.

Nowadays so many men and women have adopted the style and I think it is rather cool!

BRAIDS


Braids or plaits can be achieved either using natural hair or hair extensions.

Braiding is an art that was popular in different cultures and it brought people together as it took quite some time to be completed and usually the help of another person was needed. Younger girls also learned from older women through observation. Some even went ahead to practice with grass. Braiding can be done in several different ways.

BRAID EXTENSIONS, WEAVES AND WIGS

It is believed that hair extensions originated from ancient Egypt! Quite frankly I would have guessed India or Brazil. O.o
Anyway, apparently Egyptians loved hair extensions, they had them in so many designs. They were not only an art but they also expressed someone's social and financial status. Wigs protected their shaven heads from the harsh sun. ( IKR, Who would have guessed?)

CAUTION:  You should really be careful when using hair extensions. Misusing them could cost you your hairline!

I could go on and on but this should do for now :)
Hope you have learned something new.

KINYONGA

Just today morning as I was going through my phone enjoying my one hour in bed after waking up, I came across this photo of a very beautiful lady with really really good hair!

Then I began thinking, "What if I relax my hair after it grows out?" and slowly I drifted off to my usual day dreaming of me having long hair. LOL. Sometimes I ask myself why I cut my hair in the first place. I could have just let it be, right? And eventually through some miracle I'll have hair that looks almost like that of the beautiful lady, yeah?

Not that I do not like my short hair but I guess it's because it's my ultimate dream to have really big long hair...or maybe the desire to want something I know I cannot immediately have. hm! However, I did cut my hair so that I can grow it healthy, natural, big and black! Just like this....

When it comes to my hair I guess I have never really settled. I cut it short sometime in high school, then I was a red head for a while after high school, after I decided I wanted locs but later changed my mind to going natural with the help of protective styles and soon after I began to relax my hair. Now it's short. Most times I have been influenced by what I see and not what I know will work for me. I guess I really loved to experiment with my hair. However, all that had to change hence my natural hair journey to a big 'fro. Just letting it grow the way I think is best for me.

Thinking about it now, this concept can sort of be applied to peoples personalities. Yesterday I was watching a series where the main character said "I KNOW EXACTLY WHO I AM!". So I began really thinking if it is actually possible to really know who you are. You know, fully figure yourself out.

I know for me there are so many times I have tried taking on different personalities. Either from a character in a movie I liked or just someone I came across (but this was rare). I thought I was just being weird ( I know there are times I can be really weird, like when I hold conversations with imaginary people in my room...*sigh*) but I guess it's a phase. I once heard someone say "In life, so many of us take on so many different personalities before settling into who we actually are."

In the same way I was a "kinyonga" (chameleon) about my hair, is the same way many people are "kinyonga" about their personalities! Usually chameleons camouflage themselves as a defense mechanism. So I guess for humans we camouflage our personalities maybe to just to fit in or to benefit from people. Either way I guess as you grow older you settle into who you really are. ( Though not all of us do :-/)

THE NEIGHBOURS

Shuu! I really cannot believe that it has been one whole month since I last wrote something. Gosh, indeed I have been very lazy! Shame on me. Anyway, I really hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday!!Yesterday night I went to eat out with the family.

Such a wonderful time we had.

Today has been such a slow day for me that I decided to look through my window hoping that I would see something interesting happening at the wall. The wall is part of a stone wall fence which is behind our house. Usually I find couples kissing there, men whispering sweet nothings to women (I really do not understand why) or some random person sleeping in a funny position.

The wall.

Unfortunately, there was nothing happening at the wall today so I decided to observe the neighbours in the field. The neighbours in the field are a group of Maasai who live in a big field behind our house. I like watching them because I find their way of living rather interesting. The way they live and the way we live, yet we are 'neighbours' is interesting. I guess the comparison is what fascinates me most.

The field behind our house.

Usually, the neighbours let their cattle graze in the field and when it rains and the field floods, that becomes their temporary source of water. They live in makeshift houses made of mud, old iron sheets and wood just right next to Wilson airport.

I hope y'all can see the houses. The resolution is not too good. I apologize for that. It is amazing how they have lived comfortably in these houses for two years (and counting).

The neighbours' children herding sheep and goats after school. All I ever did after school was run to the fridge then watch a little TV if not going outside to play.

One of the neighbours herding his animals near the wall. Look at how comfortable he is wearing 'akala' and his leso tied around his waist. I wonder if my father can just chill in the house with a leso tied around his waist. Lol!

The neighbours' cows running away from the rain.

Recently I saw a young girl doing her #2 in the field. Another day it was a young boy next to his mother who was busy gathering firewood. (Meaning no microwave or gas cooker)

I began to wonder where the rest of them 'answered their calls of nature',how often they take showers and where. I'm yet to find out these things.

Anyway, every time I observe the neighbours I wonder how it would be like to live like them. It's like that fence behind our house not only separates us and the neighbours physically but it does so in every other way.

Window thoughts and observations I wanted to just share.

WE CAN STILL ROCK IT

Hey people :-)
I know it has been a little while but I'm having some laptop problems which hopefully shall be fixed very soon.
Anyway, I'm really excited today because I planted a flower bush a few hours ago for the first time. I feel like a farm girl now (I'm honestly not sure what plant it is) . lol

There are two more to plant but I just felt that one was an accomplishment enough. In case you are wondering about the panga, well, we do not have a jembe. lol
I nailed it, didn't I? I think I did.

So last week there was an article in the Nation Newspapers concerning architecture. The main message was how architects drew inspiration from the West and Europe instead of here in Africa. Of course not all of them but a good number do. I'm not really sure what the real reason is ( I mean I have only completed my first year of Architecture so I've had ZERO experience in this field ) but maybe copying what has already been done is much easier and probably clients fancy buildings with some western influenced designs. Again, I'm not sure.

Anyway, while reading the article I remembered that during my first semester, we did a research on a number of ancient structures both in Africa and outside Africa then made presentations (each student had an individual project). I also remembered a documentary I watched a few weeks ago, called 'Lost Kingdoms of Africa' by Gus Casely-Hayford. At first I thought that this documentary was boring but it got quite deep and interesting. In his documentary a couple of ancient buildings built by Africans are featured.

Images of a rock hewn church in Lalibela, Ethiopia.

It was built under the order of King Lalibela, who planned to transform the city of Lalibela into a New Jerusalem.
The church was constructed around the 12th and 13th century and is said to be curved out of rock.

Great Mosque Djene, Mali.

The walls of the Great Mosque are made of sun-baked earth bricks, sand and earth based mortar. They are coated with mud plaster which gives the building its smooth, sculpted look. The walls of the building are decorated with bundles of rodier palm sticks called toron. Apparently, it is the largest mud brick building in the world! But of course the mosque is repaired annually by the community around and everyone plays an active role in this.

The pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

I never thought that there was so much scientific knowledge applied in the construction of the pyramids, until the day a presentation was made in class. The construction theory applied in the construction of the pyramids is so detailed. I shall not get into details right now but you can always find out more from Google. :)

The great Zimbabwe (Obviously in Zimbabwe).

It is said that the great Zimbabwe was constructed by the ancestors of the Shona people in the 14th century and could house up to 18000 people. The walls were over five metres high and were constructed without mortar. Just rock upon rock and yet its ruins are evident till today, which goes to show how strong and steady the Great Zimbabwe was, right?

I mean at a time when there was no technology and today even with our technology some buildings collapse months after construction, those guys deserve credit!

In the documentary, Gus mentioned how surprised the white people were (when Africa was being discovered and we were perceived as primitive) when they saw some of these structures. Some believed aliens landed in Africa, built these structures and then disappeared. (I know, talk of crazy. Those good aliens should then come and build our railway and even provide those laptops so as to avoid delays due to tender issues and all. *smh). They were shocked by the attention to detail which was revealed by these structures.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that if people in the earlier centuries could build such magnificent structures which were also a representation of their culture, then we should be way ahead right now, right? Don't you think?
Architecture is definitely not the easiest of things but a challenge within a challenge won't kill.
If our ancestors could rock it, I think we still can. (notice the use of the word 'rock'...hehe)