How architect breathes life into outdoor spaces

Marion Mukolwe graduated in June 2012 and the following year, she quit her job to set up her own landscape architecture firm. The holder of a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree says she always wanted to set up her own company and only got into employment to gain work experience, insights, make contacts and raise capital.

Ms Mukolwe set up ecological+visual landscapes (evsl) in August 2013 using her savings of Sh500,000 and has already bagged a number of landscaping projects. Evsl designs, implements and carries out site maintenance landscape projects with a focus on gated communities, resorts and hotels, private residences and office parks.

“I really wanted to set up my firm after gaining experience and insights. My dream got too loud in my head,” said Ms Mukolwe, an alumnus of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). “I raised the finances from my savings and I had also taken some landscaping jobs as a freelancer. I took a big risk.”

The 27-year-old entrepreneur now employs four people at her firm; including three landscape architects and a site foreman. Evsl’s portfolio currently has a total of 13 on-going landscaping projects spread across Kenya and one in Tanzania. The firm stands to rake in millions in professional fees.

Ms Mukolwe said developing a landscape design for small residential projects sitting on one to two acres costs an average of Sh200,000. Designs involving large-scale commercial projects cost at least thrice, given they are more sophisticated and require thorough research and planning.

“The cost of implementing the design depends on the site and materials needed.” She said if implementation is carried out by a third party, evsl carries out periodic site visits to review progress based on approved drawings.

The American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) describes the trade as planning and designing the use, allocation and arrangement of land and water resources through the creative application of biological, physical, mathematical and social processes. “Landscape architects are in essence ‘architects of the land’,” says ASLA.

Some of the objects used by landscape architects to bring life to spaces include stone, wood, glass, steel, plants, fire, soil and water. “A water fall symbolises bursts of life or may be calming in other situations. It may also be employed for visual impact,” said Ms Mukolwe.

Ms Mukolwe completed her coursework in December 2011 and began working even before she was conferred with her undergraduate degree. “One of my lecturers saw my final year thesis and asked for my portfolio which consisted of my project works. That is how I got my first job.”

She joined Lexicon+Ion in February 2012, a full-service architecture, interior design, landscape and urban design firm.

Construction

It was here that she acquired hands-on experience in the landscaping cycle, which involves site analysis, designs, implementation and construction and site maintenance. While at Lexicon+Ion, Ms Mukolwe was part of the team that designed the Toyota Kenya Academy currently under construction and is located at Bellevue, off Mombasa Road in Nairobi.

The building is designed based on the specific programme configuration using the “Toyota Way” that includes a Kazien Dojo – a brainstorming room that is a must for all Toyota facilities around the world.

Ms Mukolwe also helped prepare proposals for architectural and landscaping works for Strathmore University’s new block to house additional classrooms, lecture theatres and offices. In May, she requested her employer to put her on part-time basis so she could take another job at Urban Green Landscapes.

When her request was declined, she left the firm. “I was at Urban Green Landscapes for half the week and did my own freelance projects in the remaining days,” said Ms Mukolwe.

At Urban Green, she got more exposure and worked on multiple landscape design projects, including a convent in Angola and a residence of 12 houses in Runda estate. Armed with the experience and savings, the budding landscape designer set up evsl and rented an office at Wanandege Flats along Kirichwa Road in Nairobi’s upmarket Kilimani area.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it,” said Ms Mukolwe who describes herself as an archipreneur, a mix of architecture and entrepreneur.

Always a go-getter, Ms Mukolwe attended Alliance Girls High School and scored a straight A. At JKUAT, she received the VC’s Award three years in a row for being top of her class in the Department of Landscape Architecture.

She said one of the challenges faced by landscape architects is lack of adequate compensation since most people do not understand the profession, confusing it with gardening.

“Most people don’t understand what we do. Even architects at times sideline us in projects. It is a new profession in Kenya but Persians started landscaping centuries back. It is associated with planting flowers and trees. It is confused with gardening,” said Ms Mukolwe who gave examples of municipal and city authorities who plant grass and trees along streets and roundabouts in the name of “landscaping”.

It is estimated that there are less than 300 professional landscape architects in Kenya, given that JKUAT is the only university that offers the course.

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