Politecnica, one of the largest Italian integrated design companies - architecture, engineering and city planning, signs the new international project for the construction of the headquarters of the Ethio European business school and the Business innovation centre in Addis Abeba, Etiopia.
The project is part of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) for the investment and economic development, planned by the Ethiopian Government and the European Union.
With a total area of 15,000 sq.m, for a total estimated investment of the Addis Ababa University of about 15 million euros, the project - which falls into an area within the university located in the northeast of Addis Ababa - includes the construction of a single large building for educational activities, conference and meeting rooms, a large learning center, common spaces for the activities of the two faculties and departmental offices.
Named “the place for ideas”, the project has been developed by researching in the compositional geometry the maximum integration with the morphological and natural context of the site, in full respect of the existing vegetation. The large terraces and the green roofs create a dialogue and provide continuity between the interior spaces of the building and the surrounding nature. The ledges and the orientation ensure to use optimally the sunlight in order to minimize the need for air conditioning. The whole structure, in fact, does not need conditioning and the arrangement of the interiors favors the highest efficiency and the natural circulation of air.
The complex, recognizable landmark and symbol of the development of the territory, was conceived as a single volume articulated on three and five levels, connected to each other through a triple central volume.
Internally, the building is characterized by a large central open space on three levels, which acts as a vertical link by means of the staircase and the system of landings that crosses the different floors. The great volume is a dynamic area and represents the ideal setting for innovative learning activities, becoming a starting point for the universities of the future.
The large space dedicated to the hubs, distributed continuously along the landings, are the perfect places to increase learning and share knowledge, useful for the development of the relationships between university students and the companies involved in the programs.
The task, a real challenge also in terms of timing, is all-embracing: it starts from the simple conception of the architecture to the multidisciplinary executive project, including the drafting of the procurement documents and the assistance in the public works contracts phases, during just 7 months, and the supervisioning of the work in the next 24 ones. Just to achieve such ambitious goals, Politecnica has exclusively engaged an international multidisciplinary team of specialists who design the building entirely in BIM (Building Information Modeling).
