After a number of years as a farmer in Tanzania, Ernst May returned to his former career as an architect in Nairobi, Kenya. One of his first construction projects was designing a home for himself and his family. For this May bought a hillside plot at the edge of the forest near to Nairobi. His wife proudly reported to her parents: "This time it's not a farmhouse, but the calling card of an architect - and it will look the part!" (Herrel, Ernst May. Architect and city planner in Africa 1934 to 1953, 2001, ed. trans.)

The construction was completed in 1946 with the addition of a studio wing. This extension can be seen at the far right of the floor plan. Pictograms help to identify the use of the other rooms. The dining and living rooms were behind a common veranda. The kitchen adjoined the garage. Separated from the main house was a quarter-circle building with rooms and workrooms.

The compass needle on the plan shows that May built the veranda to face west. This was relatively uncommon in East Africa because of the hot afternoon sun. However, this direction provided the Mays with an impressive view. To the west was the mountain range of the Ngong Hills. This had already fascinated the previous owner of the land, the Dane Karen Blixen.

May's design attracted international attention. In July 1939 the London "Architects' Journal" presented Mays house as a model of its kind in an illustrated report. At the time, however, it was not revealed that the house was the home of the architect.