Czech Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Project idea

The underlying idea of the project was to create a fluid volume that should facilitate the efficient communication between the different areas / sections of the embassy, both outside and inside the building complex: this is why we chose a circular shape.
In our view, the Embassy is a live organism; organisms best function when all the components function at their maximum capacity and are efficiently interconnected.

Project description

Making the choice for the circular shape created the possibility to obtain an inner courtyard of considerable size that may be used to host a large variety of events. The couryard, being protected by the building itself, allows the opening of the interior spaces towards it, allowing an efficient natural ventilation of the buildings that form the main Embassy edifice. The entire ensemble is composed of semi-circular or circular buildings having their imaginary centre in the centre of the „tucul” placed in the inner courtyard. It was our express intention to transform the center of the Embassy into a symbol of the friendship between the two countries by placing in the same place the Czech star (visible on the horizontal plane of the courtyard) and the Ethiopian „tucul” illustrating this way that the very reason of existence of an Embassy is to connect countries.
The Ambassador’s residence has a distinctive element, generated by the organic form and its fluidity is given by the green roof – a shape suggesting the landforms specific to the seismic zone of Ethiopia.
With respect to the apartment building for the Embassy staff – it is neighbored by a swimming pool at the ground level while the first level of the same building is connected to the roof of the representative area, having the destination of playground for children. At the same level, the building offers also a multifunctional space for the children’s extracurricular activities, with the main destination of reading area.
The residence building of the local workforce is the only one that does not follow a circular shape, as it is placed outside the Embassy’s perimeter; this building also offer the joy of a relaxation area, a sports playground and another area designed to be a garden for plant cultivation.

Technical information

With respect to the materials used we made the main choice for concrete thermo insulated with mineral wool. The exterior finish is plaster, having as distinctive elements the metalic blades used next to the windows and associated to the high sunlight areas and having the purpose to avoid the overheating of those spaces.
The representative building’s roof has been partially covered by grass, having also a thermo insulating role and reducing the areas that could radiate back the accumulated heat from the sun. This space covered by grass has also the function of playground for children, being at the same time a protected and safe space.
The eastern part of the roof of the main building is V-shaped, which answers the need of collecting the rain water during the rainy season, with the purpose of reusing it for the courtyard’s irrigation and other purposes. The V shape together with the 2 staircases helps in efficiently evacuating the exhausted air, maintaining at the same an indoor friendly climate without a significant consumption of the air conditioning system.
The east-wing roof, together with the apartment building roof and the roof of the local workforce building host an area of approximately 320 sqm of solar panels that may produce up to 40900 kw/h per year, energy to be used internally by the compound.

An important element in the main Embassy building’s ventilation is the inner courtyard, as it is an internal, protected space where gliding windows may be used in order to open the embassy space toward the courtyard, creating a continuous cooled area.

The Ambassador’s residence presents a green roof that covers the entire building with the functional role of thermo insulating against excessive heat but also with the aesthetic role of creating a distinctive, highlighting design compared to the other compound buildings.

Co-authors

Main authors: Sergiu Andrei Brisculescu, Alasali Ezzeddin

The project was checked by Professor Ana Maria Hariton, Ph.D.