New Design in old Structure - AAU 6 killo Genete Leul Palace

Hope Enterprise University college

Project idea

Genete leul is a place where it was once a palace residence that emperor Haileselasie used it as a sit for his authority as he is the ruler of Ethiopia at that time. and a root for the starting of modern education for the whole Ethiopia. it also was a place where different political issues, and phases and transitions take place during his ruling when Italy invaded Ethiopia for 5 years. so we wanted to enhance and glory this values and reuse adapt the building for its effective functionality. Creating fancy and palace essential restaurants to attract and hold the emotion of eating in the palace is one approach to preserve the place. Building research center for the documentation that is known for Ethiopian history and artifacts. This is to keep the educational value and renovation process that reused and alive the space. in this process we can gain to restore its historical value which was a palace, as a palace its attracting and central focus of other buildings.
Color choice
We chose the colors yellow, white, and green because they were considered royal colors during the reign of king hilesilassie.
Facade design
We chose bamboo for the facade in front because it makes the new element more grounded and easy on the eye. Also, bamboo is movable, and it won't interrupt the view from the inside to the outside garden. in the back of the building, we used solar panels for the facade to make the building self-sustainable.

Project description

We tried to think how this palace feeling restaurant is gained through our design. This process was interesting that came up to deferent kind of approach. the best way we decided was making the room high ceiling with dinning as historic palace table and wall hangs to be educational and short narrative hangs that glory the space. Using Qr scan technologies any visitor could have the emotion of palace and contrary learn the history of the place. Important part of this design process is the research center that will be extension from the existing building. it is located above the building that has both the essence that modern education it the remaining from history of the place and education is acquired not only from direct learning, we made it learning writing history, asking and discussing spaces that artifacts and all Ethiopian historical documentation copies are placed. This process solves the problem that this place is the center for Ethiopian history and documentation of its valuable artifacts. Architecturally aspect we respected the site surrounding with is rich in green vegetation. so exposing the occupants to it created a very accruing space to be in. greenery created inside the building helps to bring the outdoor to indoor without moving out from the building. The old palace is a three-story building, and we added two additional floors for our new structure. The functions of the building are as follows: the entrance on the ground level leads directly to the basement floor. We designed it this way because we want visitors to learn about the palace's past and the history of the country before entering. Therefore, we made the basement into a digital story telling museum. The ground level used to be the royal dining area, lobby, and office. we turned these spaces into the main restaurant for the museum and research center, as well as a lobby and gift shop. on the first floor, there used to be a royal bedroom, cinema, and library. we kept the bedroom as it was because of its beautiful decor and architectural elements. The cinema room is now a virtual reality space, and we turned the library into an augmented reality museum. The third floor used to be a prayer room, but were purposed it. Half of it is now an archive preservation and restoration room for old artifacts, books, and paintings, while the other half is an outdoor terrace. The two new extended floors have their own cafe, computer labs, offices, documentation rooms, lobby, study areas, library, and restrooms

Technical information

Starting from the structural system, we use two types of structural system which are truss structure and coating of column for additional lateral supports. Truss structure gives a freedom of open spaces and we create a space with a open and column free flexible spaces. The other is coating of columns are additional support from the existing building to the new extension. Placement of the new building. We placed the new building on top to represent the palace's contribution to modern education in Ethiopia. it was the starting place for modern education in Ethiopia, and we extended the space to create a research center. The old building will serve as a museum of ancient Ethiopian history until the reign of king Hilesilassie. Circulation from the old to the new building. in the east wing of the old building, there is a parking lot, and we want our visitors to access the building with ease. we plan to open an entrance in that area, which was already a terrace, so we refurbished that space. Now, the two elements are connected seamlessly with this one structure. Interaction between the old and new building. the interaction between the two elements is such that the new element almost looks like it has grown out of the old building. we took the main form of the old building and reshaped it according to the site and functional factors. the space between the two elements is an outdoor space where we planted some trees, making it look like the new building has grown out of the old one. Overall, these design choices helped to ensure that the new building blended well with the old one and created a harmonious architectural composition