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Greenwood Murdock posted an update 2 years, 7 months ago
A portmanteau of both the English house and hotel, the officetel is a fairly recent development in Kenya. With extensive land pressure from adjacent rural places, its initial housing part was reinforced at the cost of heavy commercialization. The resultant mixed housing element has resulted in mixed architecture and competing views on what the place ought to be called. Sometimes, contradictory expectations about the future of this site have contributed to the confusion regarding the identity and location of the new building that sits vacant (though this confusion is less pronounced than in other nations ). The resulting confusion has resulted in a string of mixed outcome for the site – a planned hotel and a few luxury lodges around the one hand and a collection of mixed retail stores on the other.
Like nearly all of its contemporaries in East Africa, the officetel has attempted to deal with the mixed messages by resorting to various language forms and even resorting to a western financial loan words. Some buildings have opted for a contemporary and easy appearance, but some have opted to get an Old World colonial design. While the latter may seem contradictory to the principles promoted by the institution, the former is an expression of the ongoing commitment of the government to uphold the cultural heritage of indigenous Maasai communities. Regardless of the pressures exerted by elevated levels of growth, some have been able to maintain their own cultural identity despite the challenges posed by competing growth pressures.
One of those mixed realities confronting the site is the existence of a seemingly little-known part, the Korean Resort and Residential Building (KHR). Just over the past decade, the Korean Hotel and Residential Building had gained increasing prominence within an African icon. With its bold modern design and advanced construction techniques, it’s rapidly become a favorite among both locals and foreigners. It stands in contrast to the more traditional approach adopted by most major resorts in East Africa, which will be mostly predicated on cookie-cutter cladding. Regardless of the influx of western and native styles, it is the KHR that offers a refreshing alternative to this cookie-cutter image of lots of its competitors.
The origins of this Officetel could be tracked back to 2 events. The first is that the institution in famine-ridden Dikandi in Zambia in 1986 as it started offering its solutions in English. Though not formally recorded as an official language of Zambia at that time, it became the only language of town. The next event is that the institution of its kirana agency in Swaziland at 1992.
These days, the officetel has its official address in Nairobi and also offers a service in English in Mombasa, Kenya. Though it does cater to the needs of expatriates as well, its primary target market stays local Maasai women and men. The title of the institution was actually motivated by a legendary reference made to the sacred tree in mythology. According to this legend, the origination of this KHR originated from the”one who’s complete in shape” spoken from the Great Old Ones. Therefore, to embody the concept of being one with one’s environment, the title of the officetel is based on the exact same.
One of the most intriguing legacies of the Officetel is its use from the successful launch of its own English language providers in Swaziland. It is reported that the former dignitary and leader of Mombasa, Kughtarelli were so impressed by the officetel that he personally commissioned it to be built in his honor. Although there are no documented reports of such an occurrence, the use of the KHR inside this regard is well attested to by sources such as the publication ofneckle (Ngongi) that connects the narrative of a trip by Kughtarelli to the Western Cape at October 2021. From the book, Kughtarelli asked that his title be painted onto the tree; and also that the officetel be known as Kughtarelli himself.
The term KHR can also be used in the context of a British version of this Kolkata legation, in which the name can be used for the head office of the Southern Company, previously known as the Kimberly Company, and the portmanteau Kolkata. Though the officetel is commonly utilised in the English language, it isn’t unknown in Swahili and other African languages also, and in fact has even made direct looks in the Nigerian federal language. The Swahili word”Oguluhundi” is the source of the modern name, which is very near”ointel” from English. It should be noted that although the officetel in most of Africa is known as a krathwara (decorative fort) or”marina”, it’s still widely used at Lagos and other areas outside of Nigeria as a private yacht management firm.
With regards to its architectural appearance, it’s most likely unknown to most people in North America, Europe or even Asia. It’s small-scaled in comparison to most ports around the planet and so very concealable. Most of its construction contains a single building with at least two modules having one roof and also the other one pillar-style roof. Its main function is most likely its role as an individual house using a little-known function of being a private residential module inside the island , with the only other buildings on the island being residential buildings around the mainland of Kudani.