Above: entry plaza

Work is already underway on the pavilion that forms part of the first phase of SHoP Architects' masterplan for Konza Techno City, a business and technology hub that's been dubbed Kenya's "silicon savannah", as we reported last week.

Above: university campus

The $14.5 billion project will transform an area of grassland into a city of 250,000 residents. The city is expected to generate up to 200,000 jobs by the time its final phase is completed in 2030.

Above: business district

The first phase, to be built over five years, will house 30,000 residents and be shaped like a row of "stitches" in the overall masterplan, the architects told Dezeen.

Above: technology and life sciences district

The east-west axis of the first phase includes a boulevard of green spaces with bridges over the wide motorway leading to Nairobi.

Above: Konza Techno City pavilion

The four initial north-south axes will comprise, from west to east, a university, a residential area, a technology and life sciences district and a business district.

Above: Konza Techno City pavilion entrance

The stitch pattern is designed as a framework for the later growth of the city, which will be made up of criss-crossing horizontal and vertical bands.

Above: Konza Techno City pavilion entrance

The areas between bands are less specifically planned and are designed to allow for market-driven growth.

Above: masterplan structure

SHoP Architects took over the masterplan after the Kenyan government rejected an earlier proposal by UK-based firm Pell Frischmann, some images from which we included in the launch of Konza Techno City last week.

Above: phase one

SHoP Architects is the firm behind the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, New York, which includes a 32-storey residential tower set to be the world's tallest modular building and the Barclays Center, a 19,000-seat indoor sports arena that opened last year.

Above: green spaces in phase one – click above for larger image

Other masterplans we've reported on recently include the redevelopment of Darling Harbour in Sydney by architecture firms OMA, Hassell and Populous and a plan to redesign Futian District in Shenzhen, China, as a "garden city".

Above: phase one programme – click above for larger image

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Above: Konza Techno City pavilion model

The post Konza Techno City masterplan
by SHoP Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

News: the Kenyan government has commenced work on Konza Technology City, a £9.1 billion IT and business hub dubbed "Africa's Silicon Savannah".

Above and top: Konza Techno City Exhibition Platform by SHoP Architects

Located almost 40 miles south-east of the capital Nairobi, Konza Technology City is expected to create more than 20,000 IT jobs by 2015, and around 200,000 jobs by the time it's completed in 2030.

The 2011-hectare site will have a residential area comprising around 37,000 homes to accommodate 185,000 people.

Above: Konza Techno City Exhibition Platform by SHoP Architects

Over 600 hectares of Konza will be marked off as green corridors, and Kenya Wildlife Conservancy has pledged to safeguard the ecology of the surrounding savannah.

"It is expected to spur massive trade and investment as well as create thousands of employment opportunities for young Kenyans," said Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Above: earlier visual concept for Konza by Pell Frischmann

The project, which is part of the government's Vision 2030 initiative to improve the Kenya's infrastructure, is also set to include a university campus, hotels, schools, hospitals and research facilities.

See more images and find out more about the masterplan by Manhattan-based firm SHoP Architects in our updated story on Konza Techno City.

Above: earlier plan for Konza Technology City by Pell Frischmann

We recently reported on a high-density, car-free city for 80,000 people being built from scratch in rural China, while a South Korean firm has developed a system of concrete modules for building the country's answer to California's Silicon Valley.

Above: the site for Konza

Other major masterplans around the world we've featured include a new district to double the size of Moscow and the redesign of the huge Futian District of Shenzhen, China.

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under construction appeared first on Dezeen.