Kenya building museum to commemorate Olympic heroes
The museum will be complemented by a rooftop garden with a viewing deck where visitors can relax and enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the city as the uppermost floor rotates.
The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) is building a rotating museum and a Hall of Fame here to commemorate the achievements of its Olympic heroes.
The museum will be complemented by a rooftop garden with a viewing deck, where visitors can relax and enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the city as the uppermost floor rotates.(Image for representational purpose.)
"The rotating portion of the floor is on a turntable system supported by stainless steel structures embedded in strong concrete while the rotation mechanism is to be synchronised by a motor powered system," the project architect Vincent Ochieng told Xinhua on Wednesday.
The proposed 16-storey Olympic Plaza, with a build-up time of 24 months and scheduled to be completed in 2014 is located in the plush suburb of the Upper Hill area of Nairobi. Excavation work commenced April 2012.
The $120 million Olympic Plaza is aimed at helping NOC-K sustain its operations and to carry out its mission of sponsoring more Kenyan athletes to take part in future competitions.
"We have to sustain ourselves so we can support more of our sports personalities so we decided to build something of high standards to give us a regular income," NOC-K President Kipchoge Keino said.
The association will retain three floors of the office suites whereas the rest will be offered for sale to attain financial self-sufficiency.
The Olympic Plaza will be the second building in Nairobi to have a rotating floor after the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) whose 28th floor hosts the pop rotating hotel.
According to Keino, NOC-K does not intend to pursue further investments in property in future "as its core business is preparing and sending teams to the Olympics, Commonwealth and the All Africa Games. NOC-K' s focus has not shifted to real estate and investment."
Olympic Plaza will house 80 office suites of varying sizes, restaurant, a gym, basement and above-ground parking, a viewing deck and terrace as well as a roof garden. The museum will also feature a hall-of-fame for Olympic heroes.