White mashrabiya-style screens cover these apartments in Mombasa, Kenya, which Nairobi-based Urko Sanchez Architects designed to provide residents with privacy but also views out to sea.

Tudor Apartments is located on a site overlooking the coast and flanked by a housing development on one side and a private residence on the other that may later be turned into another apartment block.

Nairobi-based Urko Sanchez Architects wanted to ensure that the 11 residences inside would have plenty of privacy, while also receiving natural light and ventilation in the tropical climate.

To achieve this, the architects designed screens referencing traditional latticed wood screens known as mashrabiyas. Mimicking this, the screen surrounding the block's walls are punctured with decorative geometric openings.
Covered in white plaster, the shell forms the main structure of the housing block, supporting the walls set behind, which are plastered and covered with a coral stone using a local technique. These walls block some of the openings, while others are filled by windows.
"The skin was rendered entirely structural thanks to the engineering team," said Urko Sanchez Architects. "A novelty to Kenya, such structural skin was possible thanks to local and international engineers working hand by hand, and to the steel workers on-site who managed, by dedication and care, flawless bar bending work without access to any technology."

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