Briton shot 
dead along with his pregnant girlfriend

Ross Langdon and his partner Elif Yavuz, who are believed to have been expecting their first baby in a couple of weeks, were among those killed when Islamist terrorists stormed a shopping centre in Nairobi.

Architect Mr Langdon, who had dual nationality with Australia, was described by the company he founded as “inspirational” and “profoundly talented and full of life”.

Mr Langdon, who studied architecture at the University of Tasmania then the University of Sydney, worked for several companies before founding his own firm, Regional Associates Ltd, in May 2008.

Born and brought up in south-eastern Tasmania, his work included projects in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

A statement on Regional Associates’ website paid tribute to Mr Langdon and Ms Yavuz.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague Ross Langdon and his partner Elif Yavuz,” it said.

“Profoundly talented and full of life, Ross enriched the lives of all those around him. Ross’s leadership on projects throughout east Africa was inspirational, and he will be will be very, very sorely missed by us all.

“Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with Ross and Elif’s families at this very difficult time.”

Mr Langdon last year gave a talk at TEDxKrakow in Poland. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”.

On a blog for TEDxKrakow, which calls itself an independently organised TED event, tributes were paid to the architect.

The site said: “It was with great sadness that we learnt of the tragic murder of Ross Langdon and his wife Elif Yavuz in the terrorist attacks in Nairobi on Saturday. They were expecting their first baby in a couple of weeks.

“Ross spoke at TEDxKrakow in 2012 about his work as an architect in Africa.

“He devoted his life to creating sustainable architecture that is integrated into communities, and he left us with hope for humanity. It’s impossible to make sense of this senseless and shocking loss of life. We send our condolences to both their families.”

Tributes have poured in via social networking site Twitter for Mr Langdon and his partner, who is reported to have worked in Kenya for the Gates Foundation.

Tasmanian sculptor Peter Adams was among those to pay tribute to Mr Langdon, describing his death as a “major global loss”.

Writing on his blog, Mr Adams described the architect as a “much loved local lad”, saying: “He was a colleague and friend who went out into the world as 
an architect doing wondrous things.”

He described how Mr Langdon designed an Aids hospital in Kenya “pro bono” and was about to start on a £22m museum centred around the earliest fossil record of humanoids walking – two adults and one child.

“Ironic, because equally tragic is that his partner Elif Yavuz and their unborn child (due in two weeks) were also killed in the massacre,” Mr Adams wrote.

“When they visited me at Windgrove a year and a half ago, Elif had just completed a PhD at Harvard; last month she was personally visited by Bill Clinton in her role with the (Bill) Gates Foundation in Kenya.”

Describing the couple as “agents of change in the best sense”, Mr Adams said both dedicated their lives to working for a peaceful world.

“Besides a personal loss for myself, this is a major global loss,” he added.

“This cannot be underestimated or glossed over by the political pundits who will label Ross and Elif and their unborn child as unfortunate casualties in the war on terror.”