The Czech Republic Embassy in Addis Ababa

Project idea

The design of the embassy of the Czech republic in Addis Ababa.
The main objective is create an embassy that shows the strength and the history of the Czech republic and how it has grown through out the history. The embassy represents the strength and the ups and downs the country has been through, starting from being one of the most powerful cities in Europe to getting behind, and rising up again.


The embassy complex concept is how the buildings will compliment the site boarders and how flexible they can be to adapt to its surrounding yet show a strong entity inside.

Project description

The buildings are all designed to fit the angles in the site. They take the language of the angles and translated it through the building exterior and interior wise. They all share the same parallel main line from the site longest side.

The main embassy building is divided into two building to separate the representative(one floor) from the main office building (3 floors) , they each have a different entrance, yet they over look and share the same outdoor space where events and gatherings could be held. The enterance of the main office building is marked with an extruded wall to welcome and direct the people inside
The visa and consular department is situated inside the main office building but it has a different defined entrance that does not interfere with the main building. The entrance to the visa is a pedestrian entrance to increase the security measures on site.

The residential building is situated west. It consists of two floors.
The ground floor has 2 apartments of 75m2, one studio, and a 55m2 apartment, It also has a back yard with a tennis court, and a shaded space that residents could gather under and enjoy the outdoor space during rainy days.
The upper floor has the two 95m2 apartments, a 75 m2 apartment, two 55m2 apartments, a studio and the storage areas, as well as an indoor gathering space and an outdoor gathering space. The indoor gathering space has portion walls from the stairs landing to give more privacy for the residents to move around their homes.

The ambassador villa is two floors. The lower ground has the representative space that overlooks the representative space of the main embassy building so they share the same garden for common events, and a private space for the ambassador and his family. The ground floor contains the open kitchen that overlooks the dining space, a living space and a reception that overlooks the private garden of the ambassador and the swimming pool. The enterance of the villa is divide two sections, the door and a small space that acts as a separator from the reception and the living for more privacy.
The upper floor has the three bedrooms as well as the master bedroom that overlooks the garden directly , and a living space for the family to gather with a terrace where they can enjoy their backyard and a privacy from all the site as well.

The site has two main enterance, one on the east for the representative and the ambassador , with a parking and a drop off for the representative building and a direct pathway for the ambassador villa and shaded garage.
The other enterance is west for the residents and the important guests of the embassy that require they enter the site with theirs cars and a small parking lot is offered inside. The main parking lot for the embassy is outside with a pedestrian gate to control the security measure.
The visa enterance is a pedestrian only gate for security measures and their parking lots is outside the embassy complex walls.

Technical information

The materials used are mainly concrete for exterior walls, glass for the windows, and curtain wall using metal mullions.
Concrete is the most commonly used material in Ethiopia. The usage of wood is at a minimum rate since Ethiopia is trying to regain its forests back since the use of timber destroys a lot of trees, so it is only used slightly in the main embassy building as a separator between public and the people who use the representative area and the office employees.

The elevations are mainly made of glass slits that differ in their width, where as the slits that are 50 cm width are for the bedrooms and the private spaces, mostly used in the residential building and the ambassador villa. The 1 meter width slit is used in the office and the gathering space that is more inviting.
The 1.5 meters or more is used for the public gathering spots and the main lounges and the assembly room so they can interact with the surrounding.

The slits all have an extruded metal frame that shield the glass from the rain sliding down.

The elevation of the main embassy from the street view has a tilted angle to give an impression of the language used inside the site, since this elevation is all linear and othro. so the windows are a welcoming feature to the site and the building language.