CZECH EMBASSY

Project idea

The objective of this project is to propose a design of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This project is guided by 2 main forces: Ethiopia’s climate and its local building material.

Project description

Rain and flooding are elements that affect architecture in Ethiopia, in this site specifically, the flooding happens at the bottom right corner yearly. Using the sloping of the site (2m difference), creating topography that is stepped and sloped and integrated with small “dams”, as well as water streams and lakes to help guide the water flow and prevent flooding. All while not trying to hide the fact that this was a problem that needed solving. Not hiding the fact that rainfall impacts the area but instead using that to create a statement and a design feature.

Architecture in Ethiopia is largely built using the excavated earth of buildings. Ethiopian stonemasons happend to be extremely skilled in stonework. So, depending on the site’s earth’s nature: stone hard or softer soil, the appropriate building technique would be applied. Stone bricks or rammed earth, respectively.
The element that is going to embody that identity in the more formal buildings in the site (main embassy building, residence, consular/visa) would be columns. As we go futher west into the plot, where the less formal buildings would be, (employees residence and local workforce residence) the presence of this material increases, taking on more space and more elements, from columns to surfaces to entire walls till it covers almost all the building envelope (in the local workforce buildings). Making a statement that this identity is theirs, it comes from them, and they are sharing it in a subtle was in the form of surfaces and columns.

The Czech identity will be represented in the 3 major entrance halls: the embassy building entrance hall, the consular/visa and the residence representative ares. They will be stonework/mosaic/artwork reflecting the czech identity with things like their army symbol/famous skylines/important creations. etc.

Technical information

The material used to represent ethiopian culture would be rammed earth. Information and diagrams about how its constructed as well as its properties are in the panels.

The 2 ponds present in the site are for the purpose of having a natural purifying water system. The filtration (using specific plant species) pond would be the main one, in front of the embassy entrance, the second pond would have the filtered water and its situated in the central space between the buildings.