Women bring an aspect of femininity to the built environment. Architect Florence Nyole who sits at the helm of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) says, “Women have some softness and bring some aspect of humane design in this difficult concrete world. However, out of the more than 2,000 registered architects, women constitute a mere 15 percent.”
She adds that because of male domination, it takes long for female architects to have their orders followed up. Most female architects partner with their male colleagues to overcome this hurdle.
“The fact that my partner at the firm is a man helps to reinforce my authority,” Florence, a partner at Ecospace Architects points out.
While she is grateful that she had both men and women who stood with her when she started her architectural journey she says, “My only experience with discrimination was when a male colleague called me Bwana Architect.”
But Ms Nyole is hopeful.
Unfriendly environment
“Universities have played a major role in welcoming more women into the profession. While in school, we’d have very few women in the classes. But today, we have like 50 percent or 60 percent of the students being women. And they are performing really well,” she says.
According to Ms Nyole, the challenge is that when women graduate from the university, they come to an unfriendly architectural environment, forcing many of them to shift to other fields.
This is a challenge that she is also trying to tackle as a woman in architecture. “It is important for practising architects to help them transition into the field,” she says, adding, “It is all about making intentional efforts. Affirmative action is entrenched in law, but we cannot sit and wait. We must push for our agendas.”
One of the small ways Ms Nyole has been pushing greater representation is by opening internship opportunities to as many women as possible.
In most industries, the gender pay gap is a big challenge, but Ms Nyole says that this tragedy has not yet hit the field as “Architecture is about output and design, so you are paid according to your output.”
When Florence Nyole was growing up, she fell in love with handiwork.
“I watched my mother fix a lot of things around the house. I’d see her fixing the chicken coup and the broken lamp, and I, too, started working with my hands. In high school, I took woodwork classes, which allowed me to work with my hands,” she says.
After missing a slot to pursue Computer Science, she studied Architecture at the university.
“I graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Nairobi, and I’m currently pursuing a Master’s in Architecture,” she says.
Florence Nyole pictured during an interview on August 9, 2023, in Milimani, Nairobi. PHOTO | BILLY OGADA | NMG
She laughs when BD Life asks her if she sees in herself a bit of Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi-British architect, artist, and designer recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries.
“No! Zaha was radical. Zaha practised complex things,” she says, adding, “But you do not have to be a Zaha only in design. You can also be a Zaha in leadership. For me, the Zaha Hadid in Kenya would be Emma Miloyo, the first female president of the AAK. We only stand on the shoulders of the people ahead of us, and Emma showed that a woman can lead the AAK,” says the 37-year-old architect and partner at Ecospace Architects.
Advocacy work
Her work at AAK mainly entails advocacy.
“Right now, I am largely engaged in the affordable housing programme. I want to see architects given a voice in the discussion. We argue that the government should not engage in the affordable housing programme without professionals; engineers, architects, and quantity surveyors. The government has promised to create jobs under the affordable housing programme, and I aim to see that we (professionals) also get something at the end of the day,” she says.
What’s her leadership style?
“Advocacy is a Catch-22. We can go to the streets and shout, but is that the right way? Our voice should not just criticise but also advise,” Ms Nyole adds.
Her architectural signature look is “either sharp roof or flat roof,” and she says the bottom line for her is the functionality of the space.
“I like very compact places where you don’t have very long corridors. Everything should revolve around the staircase to make the building compact,” she says of her style.
Her most memorable design is a resort she helped design.
“The site is very sloppy. I enjoyed the challenge, and we were able to deliver for the client. We are looking to have it operational by the end of the year,” she says.
She advocates for green architecture and would like to travel to Italy, Brazil, Egypt, and Israel to see and experience their unique architectural designs.
Architectural Association of Kenya President, Florence Nyole. FILE PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG
“I am an environmental designer by choice and practice. We need an architecture that functions in simple ways; proper lighting, good ventilation, renewable energy use such as solar, wind. I would like to push for sustainable and alternative building materials such as timber,” she says.
Restoring architecture
As the new AAK boss, she hopes to restore architecture to its proper place.
“People have taken our roles as architects. I want architects to take back their place as professionals in the space. I want people to see the value of architects because we have been told that we are very expensive. However, this is not true because we save you a lot of costs and disasters in the future,” she says.
Being a CEO is mentally and physically challenging. So how does she juggle?
“I carve out time. During the busy season, I can look at my phone up to 10 pm and pick it up at 7 am unless there is an emergency. I also have my hour of prayer at 5:30 am, where I read the Bible, reflect on my time with God and meditate. I slow down a lot during the weekend. I have a close-knit family, so I spend so much time with my siblings. When I am free, I play basketball with my nephew Jayden on Sundays, and I get to teach him a few tricks,” says Ms Nyole.
