• • 18 April 2015
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  •  Edwin Seda
• Offices , Selected Works , Contemporary , Modernism ,

How should a building on African soil look like? What is its character? Is it the bold and brazen materiality on its facades, a certain feel of blatant unpretentiousness, or is it the ability of the building to command respect through contemporary wishes of modernity? The Aveni RE Building manages to be both, a statement of clear forms in a country fast embracing contemporary art and bold materials that are as natural as the ground it stands on.

The architects Koffi and Diabate have endured to maintain their signature minimalist style through the construction project of a two-story office building in Abidjan, with an underground parking space, meeting rooms, a boardroom, a 16-seat building hallway and a 28-seat dining hall.

From the Architects:
With regards to the design approach for this project, the architects looked closely at the following aspects, all reflective of their “less is more” motto: simplicity, modernity & functionality, their goal being to engage in solid forms and voids that the architects state to be reasonable in cost and measure.

As always, special attention was given to the physical and social environment of the building’s future site. With regards to innovations, one of the main elements here is the creation of double skin on the most visible façade of the building, for a sun-shading effect and towards passive cooling.

The building is comprehended as a four level building with one level below ground, for parking and two levels above ground containing the office spaces and subsidiary outdoor English court that engage the user in the outdoor experience within office spaces.

The overall concept of the building is to provide innovation both in the structure of spaces as in the treatment the façades in stark concrete. This provides the argument for the entire design process in that it is the stark materiality in horizontal tamed by the vertical elements, voids and expansive glass that perhaps gives the project its foothold. The interior are envisioned to be clean and subtle which will punctuate the transition form out, in.

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-KKoffi & Diabaté Architectes

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-Koffi & Diabaté Architectes

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-Underground-Koffi & Diabaté A...

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-Ground-Floor-Koffi & Diabaté ...

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-1st-Floor-Koffi & Diabaté Arc...

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-2nd-Floor-Koffi & Diabaté Arc...

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-East-Facade-Koffi & Diabaté A...

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    © AVENI-RE-Building-West-Facade-Koffi & Diabaté A...