CBE Selects Design for Headquarters


http://addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20505%20Images/images/cbe_new_hq_design_01.jpghttp://addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20505%20Images/images/cbe_new_hq_design_02.jpghttp://addisfortune.com/Vol%2010%20No%20505%20Images/images/cbe_new_hq_design_03.jpg
The winning design CBE's future headquarters

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) selected the architectural design for its future headquarters, last Tuesday, December 29, 2009, at an award ceremony held at the Sheraton Addis Hotel.
The bank invited tenders from interested architectural firms in May 2009 and a jury of five Ethiopian architects, one Hungarian architect and one German architect evaluated 21 entries to select a design for the 42-storey building as a plan for its future headquarters. The jury was assisted by three deputy jurors, a technical committee of five and a technical advisor. Members of the Association of Ethiopian Architects were in the technical committee.
The selected design, which was awarded 200,000 Br, was developed by Henn Architekten, a German firm, assisted by Universal Consultants, a local firm. Second and third prizes of 150,000 Br and 100,000 Br were given to Geluk Treurniet Architekten of the Netherlands and Geretta Consult, a local firm. The collaborating firms were SB Consult, a local firm, and Al Ajmi Engineering Consultants of the United Arab Emirates, respectively.
Henn's design was chosen because of better functionalities such as ventilation, day lighting and vegetation, the jury said during the award ceremony. Other criteria included security, access to people with physical disabilities and information technology installations.
CBE expects to give service to 2,000 people daily.
"The new building will not only bring all its organs under one roof, but will also reduce communication expenses," said Bekalu Zeleke, president of CBE, in a statement he gave to the gathering of architects.
CBE has secured a 10,528sqm plot in the Kirkos District, along Ras Desta Damtew Street next to the Ethiopian Hotel from the Addis Abeba City Administration. The plot on which Brook Clinic rests has also been given to CBE following its request for extra land.
One of the firms that had participated in the design competition told Fortune that the bank will spend about one billion Birr for the construction, although bank officials say that the construction and consultant costs are to be determined by negotiation. Construction is not expected to begin before the end of 2011.
CBE plans to build an additional 17 buildings in Addis Abeba to move its branches from rented facilities to owned ones. The sites CBE targeted are Ayer Tena, St. Joseph Church, Amist Kilo, Lafto, Gotera, Megenagna, Tewodros Square, Africa Avenue (Bole Road), Kirkos, Wello-Sefer, Mexico Square and Lideta. Construction work started for the Megenagna building last Thursday, December 31, 2009.
CBE was first headquartered at the building next to the Ethiopian Television and Radio Agency Head Office on Churchill Avenue, which it shared with the National Bank of Ethiopia. It then moved to the white round building next to the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation La Gare Branch on Gambia Street. The 65-year-old bank has 205 branches across the country, with 46 in Addis Abeba.

More renders:

http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/cbe3.jpg

http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/cbe_2.jpg

http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/cbe2.jpg

http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/cbe4.jpg

Very nice!

Even more:

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/387/cycle/03.jpg?1258567953

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/389/cycle/elevation.jpg?1258568058

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/390/cycle/02.jpg?1258568098

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/393/cycle/04.jpg?1258568288

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/394/cycle/05.jpg?1258568367

That's what hell of a building. really nice.

And some floor plans and the like. Small, sadly.

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/388/cycle/building_pronounciation.jpg?1258567994

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/391/cycle/floorplan_level_00.jpg?1258568154

http://studio-b.org/system/attachments/392/cycle/floorplan_tower.jpg?1258568195

I like the design.^^

I think the design is a little uninspired (too boxy), but still looks pretty good.

Hopefully it helps make taller towers possible in the future. :)

Fantastic project, I love it :cheers:

Do keep us updated on how the construction goes.

THAT is an awesome design, Gratz to Addis Ababa it will add a nice touch to the city.

I think the design is a little uninspired (too boxy), but still looks pretty good.

Hopefully it helps make taller towers possible in the future. :)

I actually like the fact it's boxy. I know it sounds weird lol.
The area where it's getting built is where the main CBD, the financial center will be centered according to the city's master plan. I think a few boxy buildings would work well in that area, considering that currently, it's banks and insurance companies that are moving in.

There were actually better designs on the contest. And they couldn't win because of many reasons. There was one around 35 floor which combined the now HO, the NBE together with the Circular Addis Ababa branch. For me that one was better with history in it. And there was also others with Ethiopian touch. Next time I'll put pictures when I learn how to add here.

I prefer boxes over more unconventional shapes, they're always easier to build a taller building next to. Could you imagine going and building a taller building next to the Burj Khalifa? It would look odd.

^^ hmm, I don't think two buildings of such magnitude would stand side by side for a while, irregardless of how they looked together.

Dubai, might do it, maybe Qatar might, who knows, but I don't think maybe for another 10 years, will it be considered.

hmmm that is going to the next level. The Idea of a true futuristic skyline.

Even tho it's a boxy design, I kinda like it. I love the fact that they choose the see-through glass. Most new constructions in addis are built with reflecting glass, which imo looks cheap.

Even tho it's a boxy design, I kinda like it. I love the fact that they choose the see-through glass. Most new constructions in addis are built with reflecting glass, which imo looks cheap.

So that's it... something about the glass in Addis has always bothered me, that's it1 :lol:

Good tower. :)
I saw this project in Best Projects 2010 Contest http://www.constructionfamily.com/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=3&image_id=122

Anyone knows if the construction has started yet?

very nice boxy design...I like it

Anyone knows if the construction has started yet?

It won't start until late next year.

LOCAL, GERMAN FIRMS DISPUTE DELAYS CBE HQ PROJECT

A dispute between Universal Consult, a local consultancy firm, and HENN Architecten, a German company, which won the bid for designing the headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) as partners, has led the project to lag one year behind schedule, bank president Bekalu Zeleke told The Reporter.

After winning the contract by beating some 20 contenders, the two parties found themselves sinking into an unending row over benefit-sharing from the project before launching it in the first place.

“It had been a challenging task to mediate between the two parties as the dispute involved benefit-sharing from the project,” Bekalu said. “However, we were finally able to bring the two parties to come to terms.”

After delaying the project for over one year, the partners last month resumed undertaking the designing project involving producing detailed design and bill of quantities as well as finally producing bid document and invite a prospective contractors to participate in the bid to build what will become the tallest structure in Addis.

Touted as an iconic tower, the headquarters project is in limbo. After one year, the bank announced the winner of the design of the project.

Of some 21 designs presented by consortia of local and foreign architects, the bank in late last December selected the work of Universal Consult and HENN Architecten, which contested in the bid as partners representing Universal Consult.

The bank and the winning company were expected to sign the deal that required the latter to produce a detailed design of the project and later consult the construction work after the announcement was made, had it not been for the dispute emanating between the two companies.

This made the two parties fail to sign the pertinent contractual agreement even several months after the date of the announcement of the winning company which, in effect, has failed to clinch the award contract, the Reporter learnt.


Continued here: http://www.ethiopianreporter.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1809:local-german-firms-dispute-delays-cbe-hq-project&catid=98:news&Itemid=511

Lazy journalism. They've obviously just copied and pasted a previous article with just a couple of new paragraphs.

Anyway, construction on track to start sometime in 2011.

Update:

CBE Abandons Previous HQ Design, Retenders for New :ohno:

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has put out an international design-build tender for its headquarters, signalling it has abandoned the previous design selected through a joint local-international competition.

Universal Consultants, a local firm in partnership with Henn Architekten, a Germen firm, was announced as the winner of the competition in December 2009, taking the 200,000 Br prize money. SB Consult, a local firm and Geluk Treurniet Architekten of Netherlands came in second and Geretta Consult, a local firm in partnership with Al Ajmi Engineering Consultants of the United Arab Emirates third. They were paid 150,000 Br and 100,000 Br respectively in prize money.

Although negotiations have been going on with the first-place winner to prepare the working design of the 42-storey building, both parties couldn’t come to an agreement, according to sources who are close to the negotiations. The payment amount for the design and the contract agreement between the local firm and the international firm was a major bone of contention, according to the sources.

Officials in charge of the project said that they did not know anything about the new tender, while Beaklu Zelleke, president of the bank, was not available for comment.

However, before issuing the design-build tender, the bank had also been negotiating with the second-place winner going as far as an electrical, sanitary and IT infrastructure design, according to the source.

While the first tender, last December, only called for an architectural design, the new one calls for one company to do the design and the construction as well. The new tender also calls for a 52-storey building, 10 more than the previous winning design, making it the tallest-standing building in Addis Abeba to date.

The headquarters is to be built on a 10,528sqm plot in the Kirkos District, along Ras Desta Damtew Street, in what is known as the Commercial Business District.

Universal Consultants, which had also won the design competition for the headquarters of the Bank of Abyssinia (BoA), had been told informally that the bank was not going to use their design, according to the source. Universal had won 120,000 Br in prize money for its design of the 29-storey headquarters of BoA.

Universal Consultants has declined to comment on the issue.

“We are working on procedural matters with CBE and it is too early to comment,” Destalem Haileselassie, manager of Universal, told Fortune.

The first competition for the design of the headquarters was one that is considered by many in the industry as a step towards professional standards for competitions. It was the first competition endorsed by the Association of Ethiopian Architects (AEA), which advised on the preparation of the terms of reference (ToR) for the competition. It also recommended a list of names for jury members for the bank to evaluate, and had one of its members on the jury.

Many competitions since then have followed the same procedure including Ethiopian Airlines, BoA, Nib Bank and Zemen Banks for the design competition of their headquarters.

The executive board that were in charge of the association were replaced after they finished their term three weeks ago. However, Daniom Redda, who was the chair of the competition and exhibition committee of the association then, says it is also too early to comment.

“Since the bank has not issued a statement why they had issued a new international tender, it is hard to comment,” he told Fortune. “However, the final guiding document for both sides is the ToR, which was drawn to protect the interest of both the client and the architect.”http://addisfortune.com/CBE%20Abandons%20Previous%20HQ%20Design%20Retenders%20for%20New.htm

Abesha,

Ayzosh,...cause the new building will be even bigger (52 stories) than the previouse design. Bigger is better right?

I really liked the design, this is dissapointing.

I'm worried that they will settle for less, just to get the construction starting as soon as possible due to existing delays.

Yoniii,

The delay is indeed a disapointment. However, we are getting a 52 story building with the new proposal instead of a 42 story with the previouse proposal.

I hope Henn can persuade CBE to use a revised design.

Another 'could have been' design for CBE

http://www.psp-architekten.de/typo3temp/pics/c0cfecb983.jpg
http://www.psp-architekten.de/typo3temp/pics/9fdbde115c.jpg
http://www.psp-architekten.de/typo3temp/pics/e6b3ac2d3f.jpg
http://www.psp-architekten.de/typo3temp/pics/d4e482febb.jpg

http://www.psp-architekten.de/184.html?&L=1

Never seen that before.

It greatly reminds me of the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt.

A shorter, stubbier version, that is.

http://www.abt.eu/sitemanager/images/act1_198.jpg

Another proposal, this time by ABT Architects

http://www.abt.eu/en/news.asp?cid=1&nid=198

^^ I prefer this over the boxy shape...Let's see how it goes...

I think I do, too.

this was also a proposed design

http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/ridhika09/hen01.jpg
http://www.o-drie.eu/upload/images/bureau/nieuwsarchief/ethiopie.jpg

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/8728/oiii-architects-commercial-bank-of-ethiopia-proposal.html

Salini Aims to Make CBE HQ its First Building in Ethiopia

Salini Construction Spa, an Italian based Co, which has been involved in dam projects for over half a decade, is looking to get into its first building construction after showing interest in the headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

It had responded to a call for interest of the design - build project, a turnkey endeavour, for the construction of a 52-storey building, the tallest in the country, along with close to 20 international bidders.

The state-owned bank had initially awarded the design competition of the headquarters to Universal Consultants, a local firm in partnership with Henn Architekten, a German firm, in December 2009, which took 200,000 Br in prize money. However, disagreement between the local and the international firms as well as with CBE over pay and working modalities resulted in an impasse over its 10,528sqm plot of land in the Kirkos District, along Ras Desta Damtew Street, in what is known as the Commercial Business District, remaining barren and fenced off.



Although the biggest bank in the country, the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has been headquartered in an old 11-storey building, seen in the foreground, while Awash International Bank (AIB), a relatively younger bank has a modern 17-storey building seen in the background. But this is to change soon as CBE prepares to build a 52-storey building, the biggest in the country.

Failing to get a working design out of this, the CBE issued two separate invitations – one for the design-build and another for consultancy services which will be responsible for design modification and supervision – close to three months ago.

A total of 12 local and international companies as well as a local - international joint venture (JV) have expressed interest in the consultancy work. The project office of the Bank then selected five companies and held a pre-bidding meeting with them on Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

Three of the companies selected are in a JV - MH Engineering, Geretta Consult, both local, and Al Ajimi of United Arab Emirates; Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd of India with Arup of South Africa; and A1 Consulting Group of the US with Perkins, Heery, Kothri of India and Beza Consult locally. Two of them, Arab Consulting Engineers Ltd of Egypt and Klings Cons. Of Germany came alone.

In the two-hour meeting, which started at 10:00am at the project site office located next to the construction site, the selected bidders held discussions about the bidding and its amendments. These companies have to submit their bid offers by December 15, 2011.

CBE has been positioning itself to reach to new heights. In the last fiscal year, the Bank performed well in major performance indicators, earning 4.1 billion Br in profits before tax. Its deposit mobilisation reached 86.5 billion Br. It seems that the management of the Bank is set on changing the image of the largest banking institution in the country by increasing their reach and planning to collect 127.4 billion Br in total deposits this year.

Perhaps indicative of that mindset is the annual road race, the Great Ethiopian Run, scheduled to be held today, November 26, 2011, which it sponsored. It is the same change of attitude that the management of the bank wants to see in the design of the building. An iconic building was criteria put in the first design competition.

The bank also changed the height of the building, initially set at 42-storeys, to the current 52, for which building height regulations did not allow based on the proportion of street width and plot area, after long negotiations with the Addis Abeba City Administration.

http://addisfortune.com/Salini%20Aims%20to%20Make%20CBE%20HQ%20its%20First%20Building%20in%20Ethiopia.htm

We'll see what happens, I wonder what will happen design-wise.

Seriously? they're just going to hand the contract to a company with no experience in the construction of buildings? Unless they're gonna design and build it to look like a dam these guys are completely under qualified. this project isn't an experiment.

Seriously? they're just going to hand the contract to a company with no experience in the construction of buildings? Unless they're gonna design and build it to look like a dam these guys are completely under qualified. this project isn't an experiment.
My thought as well, but the article only states Salinis interest.

http://www.abt.eu/sitemanager/images/act1_198.jpg

Another proposal, this time by ABT Architects

http://www.abt.eu/en/news.asp?cid=1&nid=198

Wow Wow Wow :nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts: looks very nice and elegant but i hop it doesn't became like chun hui hotel tower :ohno::ohno:

Seriously? they're just going to hand the contract to a company with no experience in the construction of buildings? Unless they're gonna design and build it to look like a dam these guys are completely under qualified. this project isn't an experiment.

Salini has had experience building buildings, just not in Ethiopia. Check their website.

this was also a proposed design

http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/ridhika09/hen01.jpg
http://www.o-drie.eu/upload/images/bureau/nieuwsarchief/ethiopie.jpg

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/8728/oiii-architects-commercial-bank-of-ethiopia-proposal.html

I love this! I wish it was the plan they went with!

this was also a proposed design

http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/ridhika09/hen01.jpg
http://www.o-drie.eu/upload/images/bureau/nieuwsarchief/ethiopie.jpg

http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/8728/oiii-architects-commercial-bank-of-ethiopia-proposal.html

ugly...

It looks like something from the Flintstones. It's slightly better at night, but I don't like it either..

Kata-2,
Yoniii,

On second thought, I think ya'll win!

It looks like something from the Flintstones. It's slightly better at night, but I don't like it either..

Haha...so true, tasteless piece of work from Fred Flintstone.

Haha...so true, tasteless piece of work from Fred Flintstone.

tasteless indeed. if they choose this design, in 4-5 years it will be crowned as the ugliest building in the city, similar to the one I saw in minneapolis.

well it looks like i'm the odd man out. i think that that design is way better than the one they did pick.

is known throughout the city planning idea and the vision of European buildings. design required at least in the initial idea must be left to the Ethiopian architects who will later be joined by foreign designers and editors work.
This is my idea

http://s3.amazonaws.com/europaconcorsi/project_images/2091775/4_full.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/europaconcorsi/project_images/2091758/3_full.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/europaconcorsi/project_images/2091545/2_full.jpg

http://europaconcorsi.com/images/spaceball.gif?1327594314

All nice but what happening with this and chun hui hotel tower they were approved long time ago

^^ this is the latest thing Ive heard about this project b.g.:

Interesting article here also.


New building height regulation for Addis

The Addis Ababa City Administration announced that a new building height regulation will be implemented in the near future. Administration as well as Urban Information and Plan Institute officials said Thursday that the regulation made in 1994 E.C. had limited the height of new buildings to 20 floors.

The new regulation, revised by the Addis Ababa University, permits the construction of up to 55 floors and above as per the design of the building. For instance, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has been permitted to build a 52-storey building for its head office, they said. The regulation in particular takes into consideration infrastructural development, environmental impact, historical sites and security affairs, among others, they added.

The officials said the new regulation encourages investors to engage in development activities and speed up the development of the city. Addis is among the 12 cities registering rapid growth in the world, they said, adding the new regulation takes into account socio-economic as well as infrastructure aspects, among others.

source: Govt. Press Agency

[QUOTE=Skyliner123;88150509]http://s3.amazonaws.com/europaconcorsi/project_images/2091775/4_full.jpg


SkyLiner,,,, is this design approved or its just one of the designs they are looking at? They are just taking far too long to decide which one they want,,, personally I like this one its simple to look at. I think it will fit in nicely in Churchill Rd.

F Kebede,

That is a good question. I would have to assume that this is just another failed bid since the bank is now seeking to build a 52 story building. I completely agree that they are taking to darn long!

:applause:

These are all rejected proposals. It would be great if we could all have them built. Wouldn't it be lovely if we got a supertall?

6.4 billion birr(369 million US Dollar) offered to build CBE headquarter.



Saturday, 03 March 2012 00:00 By HAYAL ALEMAYEHU

International contractors’ offers to build the headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) have turned out to be the largest ever in the real estate industry when the financial proposals of the companies opened last Saturday. Of the five runners-up vying with each other to clinch the rare lucrative building project, two were automatically dismissed as they score below 70 percent in their respective proposals, according to sources close to the projects.

Of the left three companies, China Jiangizu International offered the largest sum of over 6.4 billion to build what the bankers coined as iconic tower that will symbolize and serve as East Africa’s banking giant headquarters. China Jiangizu International was followed by a peer company, China State Construction, which made the second biggest offer of over 4.5 billion birr. Of the three runner-ups, the lower offer of over three billion birr was made by the unprecedented Dubai-based construction company, Associated Construction and Investment (ASCON), where expectations were rife “it will be a Chinese company again” to make the lowest offer for the rather grand building project in the country.

The other two disqualified contenders were Shakoji Palonji Middle East, an Indian company and Arab Contractors, an Egyptian firm for which the Development Bank of Egypt office in Ethiopia was lobbying with the concerned government bodies to let the company grip the grand project.

While the “design and build” bidders financial proposal had finally come to light after a “rigorous” evaluation of the technical proposals of the respective companies, there is little known about the “contract administration and supervision” bidders who were supposed to have been selected long ago and participated in evaluation of the “design and build” bidders, according to sources.

CBE has initially awarded the design work for the headquarters project to Universal Consultant, a local consultancy firm and HENN Architecten, a German company. However, an unprecedented dispute between the two has led the project to lag one year behind schedule, CBE’s president Bekalu Zeleke had told The Reporter earlier. After winning the contract by beating some 20 contenders, the two parties found themselves sinking into an unending row over benefit-sharing from the project before launching it in the first place.“It had been a challenging task to mediate between the two parties as the dispute involved benefit-sharing from the project,” Bekalu said then. “However, we were finally able to bring the two parties to come to terms.”

Yet, when the financial proposals of the bidders opened last Saturday, it was not attended by the would-be supervisors of the project, according to sources close to the project.

The bidders were required to include in their proposal conceptual design the building comprising of a model, and schematic designs; general experience, demonstrating a minimum of eight years of experience in the business; peak annual turnover of design and construction works for the last five years; particular design and construction experience of the firm; financial capability; experience in at least one design-build project where the minimum required annual volume of design and construction works for the successful bidder in any of the last five years shall be USD 100 Million for foreign contractors and USD 40 million for local firms, among others.

While the original designers of the building came up with a 50-plus storey building measuring some 200 meters high, the height of latest design, whose image has yet to be drafted, is limited to a maximum of 185.50 meters (46-storey, excluding the extra height of machine rooms for elevators, antenna height and the like) in accordance with the regulation of the Addis Ababa City Administration.

The winner of the lucrative project is expected to be disclosed in a month’s time, if all goes according to plan.

Originally expected to cost from one to two billion birr, the headquarters project consists of accommodation for all functions of the future head office, staff amenities and commercial centre, rental offices and parking space. The new facility will be built on a 10,528 sq.m. plot of land located adjacent to Ethiopia Hotel.

The design is expected to represent CBE’s status as a world-class bank in a manner that will portray strength and claim an imposing presence in the skyline of the central business district, according to the design program of the project.

In business for close to seven decades and currently operating over 500 braches nationwide, CBE has during the first six months of the current fiscal year seen its profit soaring to an all time high of 3.7 billion birr.








http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/News/64-bln-birr-offered-to-build-cbe-hq.html

Finally a positive news can't wait for this to gdt built

I thought it was supposed to be taller, not shorter! This is a disgrace. And I hope it goes to the Dubai firm. I'm sick of the Chinese getting every contract. If that happens they'll strongarm CBE into getting a Chinese contractor, workers, etc. I doubt the Dubai firm would do that. On preconceptions alone, I'd be willing to put money on ASCON's design being the best- and it's the cheapest.

Yet again, CSC has done some major projects and a significant presence in the US.

EDIT: Looking at ASCON's website, their work looks quite good.

hmm, so its to be 46 stories now? I hope that is a mistake, I wish it stayed at the 52 or even 50.

although they do mention an antenna.

looks like the thread title may need a change yet again.

Don't think so, boss. They specifically have a height limit, which they plan to hit. So we now have a height. I'm concerned for the Chuan Hui thought- it's 264m!

Why is there a height limit in Addis?

No idea. Terrible idea.

Height limit?..I don't think we have the luxury for that. However, I do believe that I read somewhere on a previous Reporter article about building heights having to correlate to the width of the adjacent roads. For example, the city's masterplan stipulates that the tallest buildings be built on the widest roads of the inner-city (e'g' Churchil, Bole, Mexico Adebabay, etc...). The future CBE HQ unfortunately is not on a major road juncture hence the building height is negatively affected by the city's masterplan.

So what ia the approved design ?

Beza, Ultimate Consulting Firms Vie to Supervise CBE’s HQs Construction


The ultra modern edifice that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) would like to see serving as its headquarters will be located on Ras Desta Damtew Street.

Two domestic consulting firms, both in partnerships with foreign associates, are locked in a fierce competition to bag a lucrative contract in the project of constructing the tallest building the city will have soon.

The local consulting firm, Beza Consultants & Engineering Plc, in partnership with the American A1, has offered two weeks ago a little over nine million dollars to provide services of design review and contract administration to the headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

The state owned commercial bank wants to see its headquarters erected on Ras Desta Damtew Street, adjacent to Gandhi Memorial Hospital, on a 10,528sqm plot located in Kirkos District.

The oldest bank in the nation, CBE has as its headquarters a modest structure on Winston Churchill Road, built during the military era in the late-1980s. With a surge in branch network (over 500) and massive modernization scheme, CBE’s management wants to build ultra modern edifice that matches its name and clout in the market, and perhaps serve as a landmark in the capital in the same way Petronas’ twin towers do to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia’s capital, according to an architect familiar with the project.

CBE is in the process of selecting an international construction firm to take a “design and build” turn-key contract to erect the 46-storey edifice in an area that is to become a “commercial business district” of the capital.

Five companies, including the Chinese China Jiangizu International and China State Construction, both of which have offered over 4.5 billion Br, are bidding to bag what is perhaps the largest commercial real estate building in the country.

Two weeks ago, CBE officials opened bid offers from six consulting firms, where five were deemed qualified to make their technical propositions. Nonetheless, only four responded, although two (Alajim of United Arab Emirates, in association with Gereta and MH Engineering, and Kalngs of Germany in association with OPT Consulting Architects) were disqualified right away.

The joint offer made by Beza Engineering Plc and A1 Consulting Group, Inc., an American company established in 1971 in Maryland, is now head to head with the partnership of Ultimate Plan Plc and Arab Consulting Engineers (ACE), an Egyptian firm established in 1950 in Cairo.

Beza Engineering was established in July 2003, at a registered capital of a little over one million Birr contributed by four members of the family of Geday G. Egziabher, managing director and major shareholder of the company.

Ultimate Plan, whose collaboration with ACE offered close to five million dollars to provide its services projected to take four years, was established in 1996, with a registered capital of 200,000 Br, although it has been recapitalized to six million Birr, contributed by Begziabher Alebel, major shareholder, and his wife.

Officials from the CBE were not available to comment on the progress of the bid, and when the announcement of the bidder to be made.

http://www.addisfortune.com/Beza,%20Ultimate%20Consulting%20Firms%20Vie%20to%20Supervise%20CBE%E2%80%99s%20HQs%20Construction.htm

None of these firms seem to have produced any particularly attractive designs. It appears we are in for garbage, as usual. All these great designs, of course, will go to waste- yet another Ghion. Talk about architectural dysgenia.

Dubai firm likely to clinch CBE’s lucrative HQ project


Associated Construction & Investments Company (ASCON), a Dubai-based construction firm that came up with the lowest offer to design and build the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia’s (CBE) headquarters building, is most likely to clinch the most lucrative contract in the real estate industry here so far, sources close to the project told The Reporter. When the financial proposals of the companies opened three weeks ago, ASCON became the least bidder of the five runner-ups, with two of them automatically dismissed as they scored below 70 percent in their respective technical proposals.

Of the three companies left, China Jiangizu International offered the largest sum of over 6.4 billion to build what is expected to be iconic tower that will symbolize and serve as East Africa’s banking giant headquarters. China Jiangizu International was followed by a peer company, China State Construction, which made the second biggest offer of over 4.5 billion birr.

Of the three runner-ups, the lower offer of over three billion birr was made by the Dubai-based construction company whereas expectations were rife “it will be a Chinese company again” to make the lowest offer for the rather grand building project in the country.

The other two disqualified contenders were Shakoji Palonji Middle East, an Indian company and Arab Contractors, an Egyptian firm for which the Development Bank of Egypt office in Ethiopia was lobbying with the concerned government bodies to let the company grip the grand project.
While the “design and build” contenders financial proposal finally came to light after a “rigorous” evaluation of the technical proposals of the respective companies, the Contract Administration and Supervision bid was unusually disclosed later when the would-be winner was supposed to oversee the evaluation of the Design and Build bidders’ proposals, according to sources close to the project.

[...]

After winning the contract by beating some 20 contenders, the two parties [HENN & Universal] found themselves sinking into an unending row over benefit-sharing from the project before launching it in the first place. “However, we were finally able to bring the two parties to come to terms.” Yet, The Reporter learned that Universal Consult and CBE failed to agree on the payment amount to be paid for the partners where the former requesting to be paid 10 percent of the building project while CBE agreed to pay a lower sum of money.

According to sources close to the project, CBE may revisit Universal and its German partner if it fails to agree with Ultimate and its partners or if the need to do so arises. While the original designers of the building came up with a 50-plus storey building measuring some 200 meters high, the height of latest design, whose image has yet to be drafted, is limited to a maximum of 185.50 meters (46-storey, excluding the extra height of machine rooms for elevators, antenna height and the like) in accordance with the regulation of the Addis Ababa City Administration. The new facility will be built on a 10,528 sq.m. plot of land located adjacent to Ethiopia Hotel.


read the rest@Reporter (http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/News/dubai-firm-likely-to-clinch-cbes-lucrative-hq-project.html)

ASCON's website: http://www.asconuae.com/Home.aspx

Oh yay! I've been rooting for them. I'd still like them to go back to a design from the competition, though. I really liked this one:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/europaconcorsi/project_images/2091775/4_full.jpg

^^

I don't know how you like that design.

It takes the typical box and extrudes it into a unique form that is even somewhat reminiscent of local architecture. I find it attractive, it strikes the balance between boring and too far, boxy and too sinuous.

Impressive the building!!!

Nice design, but i only count about 30 floors..

It takes the typical box and extrudes it into a unique form that is even somewhat reminiscent of local architecture. I find it attractive, it strikes the balance between boring and too far, boxy and too sinuous.
I agree, although I would probably make the design a little bit more boring. (This is a bank we're talking about, black shoes, black suit, white shirt.)

Nice design, but i only count about 30 floors..

Maybe they're adding the two towers together. :lol:

what's new about this buildings

what stile not start?

what's new about this buildings

well,....

Here we go again. The latest design which I hope will be implemented for once!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PD1MZ3wPjP8/T0iHG-Qtc-I/AAAAAAAAIHQ/jIxd05uHn8w/s1600/120224_BDN_CBE.jpg

Great looking tower, i hope it get build ! Count 47 floors :cheers:

That last one from Nadel Studio is gorgeous.

can some one tell me stile is not start right?

http://addismebratu.com
http://addismebratu.com/Addis%20Design_files/bank-of-ethiopia-01.jpg

we need to know when start construction or just dream

we need to know when start construction or just dream

According to a recent article they are preparing to launch the construction.

http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%20impressie2.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%204.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%205.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%202.jpg

For Christ's sake can't they just finalise a design and get started?

For Christ's sake can't they just finalise a design and get started?

I have seen so many different project and building for ECB..

so which one will be the project ?

when do they gonna start ?

too many proposals...any ideas ??:nuts:

Build them all!

Addis Ababa Shopping Mall
I found this on youtube. Enjoy!

zli9rzKiC0g

Nice! So the CBE HQ will include a mall? I like that!

http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%20impressie2.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%204.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%205.jpg
http://www.treurniet-architectuur.nl/portals/0/Projects/CBE%202.jpg


Like it :)

Addis Ababa Shopping Mall
I found this on youtube. Enjoy!

zli9rzKiC0g

If this is what we're actually getting I'll dance. This is actually the best design I've seen. And it was uploaded recently!

wow nice design i like it. It is better than the previous one

very beautiful renders

very beautiful renders

Yeah, I know right. The problem is, based on their track records, the final finished building will look nothing like its original render. I don't even know how that is possible considering you rarely see that anywhere in the construction world. Every time I get excited about a project only to end up in disappointment. Lets hope this isn't one of them.

Yeah, I know right. The problem is, based on their track records, the final finished building will look nothing like its original render. I don't even know how that is possible considering you rarely see that anywhere in the construction world. Every time I get excited about a project only to end up in disappointment. Lets hope this isn't one of them.

There is no local company capable of executing this kind of project so this time we might see quality construction. Most probably this will be handed to a Chinese construction company.

There is no local company capable of executing this kind of project so this time we might see quality construction. Most probably this will be handed to a Chinese construction company.

I am afraid not I heard the italian jaint construction company salini were interested at the beginning never heard of anything about the progress here is for more info link URL. http://www.2merkato.com/20111129618/salini-expresses-interest-in-constructing-hq-for-ethiopian-bank

I am afraid not I heard the italian jaint construction company salini were interested at the beginning never heard of anything about the progress here is for more info link URL. http://www.2merkato.com/20111129618/salini-expresses-interest-in-constructing-hq-for-ethiopian-bank

There is no competition in this country, isn't there? :ohno:

There is no competition in this country, isn't there? :ohno:

The answer isn't simple as yes or no, it's beyond that. the degree of corruption might be different, depend on the size, political power so on and so forth. but i assure you corruption is everywhere!! If you get a chance please google and read about Halliburton a big American company.

Another twist to the story of CBE HQ project:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E-GPXdLoaAQ/UYqnQMkfQGI/AAAAAAAABXk/nu5EYAV7Nf0/s512/ethiopiamixeduse15.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nF72xc2hp_Q/UYqnOJ-ykxI/AAAAAAAABXA/oud8XrbenW0/s512/ethiopiamixeduse09.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RsFke12W9Ao/UYqnMBAdjLI/AAAAAAAABWk/Rworn-Rm-uc/s512/ethiopiamixeduse05.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oX4U1Os4rd0/UYqnLGu-n5I/AAAAAAAABWs/BzigyXNplRc/s512/ethiopiamixeduse04.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4LNTMGuXr4g/UYqnJbDSPbI/AAAAAAAABV8/z4d5T_NrLtU/s640/ethiopiamixeduse03.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-anfdOHEb7ro/UYqnITeTukI/AAAAAAAABV0/0BlSgjdDFbQ/s512/ethiopiamixeduse01.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Cx588EgSXZc/UYqnOmgkuVI/AAAAAAAABXE/HWluIl79N18/s512/ethiopiamixeduse11.jpg

O.
M.
G.

This is what we have been talking about. Ethiopian Architecture adapted to the modern age. The windows. The door. The pilasters. In an elegant form. I am actually tearing up right now. :applause:

http://d1ezg6ep0f8pmf.cloudfront.net/images/slides/a6/20226-axum-stelae-field-apex-stele-king-ezana.jpg

wow this is it!!!

O.
M.
G.

This is what we have been talking about. Ethiopian Architecture adapted to the modern age. The windows. The door. The pilasters. In an elegant form. I am actually tearing up right now. :applause:

http://d1ezg6ep0f8pmf.cloudfront.net/images/slides/a6/20226-axum-stelae-field-apex-stele-king-ezana.jpg

This is what I've been saying before y'all wanted to transport Oslo to Addis.

:lol:

It is great to see that they incorporated Ethiopian Architecture but I am not that impressed by the overall design. Maybe I need to see more.

wow. i am speechless really. Is this the final design? when do they start the construction? This kind of design is what we have been lacking for a long time and what we really need to have developed further now. Knowing that there are actually builders who can come up with such a design in Ethiopia is by itself a great improvement to the country in general.

more

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-chzbWxH5xpA/UYqnK0EVMdI/AAAAAAAABWQ/esYr5Kof6xA/s512/ethiopiamixeduse06.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EmdE7mK39fQ/UYqnJ_CI8DI/AAAAAAAABWE/udOS8b4m5UQ/s640/ethiopiamixeduse02.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ahQOqC7_hRU/UYqnNPO0pPI/AAAAAAAABWg/BGwX0DgGQ3s/s512/ethiopiamixeduse08.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LGmDdkWzsy8/UYqnPG_2C-I/AAAAAAAABXU/MLfyI3bzt7o/s512/ethiopiamixeduse12.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-qIOM2CnMSc8/UYqnPDtWT1I/AAAAAAAABXQ/ou-zkzjZrrI/s512/ethiopiamixeduse13.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3HLSzB1yWT4/UYqnPgjT3VI/AAAAAAAABXg/WN2Mc8zyaz8/s640/ethiopiamixeduse14.jpg

Now that's what I'm talking about. We need to see more of this and less of the art experiments.

Call me cynical but I bet the architect that designed this is a foreigner.

Now that's what I'm talking about. We need to see more of this and less of the art experiments.

Call me cynical but I bet the architect that designed this is a foreigner.

Hersh,,, I wouldn't call you cynical , in fact you are right , if it was an Ethiopian designer we would have got some kind of shiny glass and aluminium Christmas tree, with lots of bling bling, instead of this.

Where'd you find it?

Hersh,,, I wouldn't call you cynical , in fact you are right , if it was an Ethiopian designer we would have got some kind of shiny glass and aluminium Christmas tree, with lots of bling bling, instead of this.

It hat truth in it. They erect in front of the building an ugly statue may be.