Addis Ababa Exhibition Center ~ Proposed ~ Mixed Use ~ 35 Fl. x 1, 12 Fl. x 1

http://www.fxfowle.com/images/projects/1243890600.jpg

Project Name: Addis Ababa Exhibition Center
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Projected year of completion: 2011
Area: 750,000 sf

Description:

The design for the Addis Ababa Exhibition Centre Site creates a fully integrated and pedestrian centered mixed-use development of over 70,000 square meters built on nearly 4.5 acres in north east Africa. Providing dynamic retail, food and beverage amenities, office space, cultural and entertainment facilities, and a business hotel, the design of this development incorporates the existing adjacent Addis Ababa Museum, providing an iconic destination retail, entertainment and cultural environment. Serving both local inhabitants and visitors alike, the design solution seeks to create a lively and informal ground level experience tied to the natural landscape coupled with a more formal and structured experience that rises from the lower level as a series of well sculpted towers.

More pictures:

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7558/1243890508.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/1243890508.jpg/)

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/2337/1243890540.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/1243890540.jpg/)

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3299/1243890560.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/1243890560.jpg/)

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7025/1243890574.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/i/1243890574.jpg/)

Official Website: http://www.fxfowle.com/projects/retail/addis-ababa-exhibition-center.php

*Information courtesy of Addiscity & japopian*

Hello gorgeous!Any chance of scoring construction pics?

Nice...very nice.:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Wow, extremely nice! Who's developing the project?
I like!

damn nigeria...
i hope u guys achieve ur 2020 goal :)

damn nigeria...
i hope u guys achieve ur 2020 goal :)

nigeria?? this is ethiopia

Wow! I really hope that they are serious about this cause am tired of projects that never get built.

^ indeed. I'll believe it when I see it. any updates on the construction so far?

if it does get built it would change the city's skyline dramatically. it's also nice to see a building with the highest quality material, unlike most buildings that are now being built.

addis and angola are having some strong economic boom. addis is the capital of the AU. 35 floors is real high

So nice and so coloured, I like it so much :)

From the render it looks like this is just south of Meskel Sqaure and west of Bole rd., in between Bole and Debre Zeyit.

Wow! I really hope that they are serious about this cause am tired of projects that never get built.??

Most of the projects that have been posted here for Ethiopia have been promptly completed.

Beautiful.

wonderful piece of architecture! I love it!

Very nice!

wonderful piece of architecture! I love it!

+1 :cheers:

Now this is art. This is a wow. I think this is one of the most wonderful building proposed in Sub Africa and I want to see it being build

innovative architecture for Ethiopia, although I did not like much, but I'll wait to see how it goes

Any news on this?

and I thought this project was from nigeria...awsome :applause: make it happen

yeah, whats going on?

Good question. My guess is that the project will be delayed because of some issues concerning land disputes.

Woah. I just took another look at this and realized that this was designed by FXFowle. FXFowle is a MAJOR firm, behind the Conde Nast Building in New York and that arch bridge in Dubai. The chances of this going through have gone up exponentially for me- if they're going to hire a prominent international firm to design this for them, the backers must have some serious money and a plan.

Old news article I found regarding this project. Also check out the first comment on the website, I have to say the guy raises some valid points, if you can read through the bad english. Love his expression "Dubai leftover architecture" ... lol

"Designs for new mixed-use development in Ethiopia's capital
The Addis Ababa Exhibition Center creates a fully integrated and pedestrian-centered mixed-use development on nearly 4.5-acres in northeast Africa. Designed by FXFOWLE Architects, the development incorporates the existing, adjacent Addis Ababa Museum and establishes an iconic retail, entertainment and cultural destination. The 70,000m sq. complex includes retail, food and beverage amenities, office space, cultural and entertainment facilities, and a business hotel.

Serving both local inhabitants and visitors alike, the design solution seeks to create a lively and informal ground-level experience tied to the natural landscape, coupled with a more formal and structured experience that rises from the lower level in a series of sculpted towers.

The form and composition of the office, hotel and cultural towers are inspired by the significance of the name 'Addis Ababa', which translates to 'new flower'. The rounded facades of the towers parallel the organic and emergent qualities of a new flower orienting itself to the sun. Nevertheless, while the towers look outward, they remain grounded and connected to the foundation and base of the site. Individual pieces of colored glass that adhere to the curtain wall system compliment the materials used in the various buildings that surround the site, and give each building a shimmering and reflective effect."
http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=12576

Nice...very nice.... A beautiful design^^

Old news article I found regarding this project. Also check out the first comment on the website, I have to say the guy raises some valid points, if you can read through

It's rambling, incoherent, pointless, and wrong. Sadly it appears that Ethiopia has NIMBYs. Anyways, the leftovers are usually tastier. :lol:

Notice the mixed-up background in http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/12576_1_1-FXFOWLE%20ADDIS%20ABABA.jpg one.

^^ This building is cool and all, but it looks like any building that gets built in any capital in the world. The main question here is does Ethiopia need to have plans in place to encourage designs that are more 'Ethiopian' in form and material, or do we just jump in the 'Dubai' bandwagon? I'm talking especially about government funded, highly visible projects like this Exhibition Center.

^^ This building is cool and all, but it looks like any building that gets built in any capital in the world. The main question here is does Ethiopia need to have plans in place to encourage designs that are more 'Ethiopian' in form and material, or do we just jump in the 'Dubai' bandwagon? I'm talking especially about government funded, highly visible projects like this Exhibition Center.

I don't understand how this is jumping into the 'Dubai' bandwagon.

I don't understand how this is jumping into the 'Dubai' bandwagon.
Having western architects design your buildings and cities without having a deep enough understanding of the culture and local dynamics

Having western architects design your buildings and cities without having a deep enough understanding of the culture and local dynamics

You don't need to know local dynamics to design a tower.

I don't mind western designers at all. Local ones are designing a whole bunch of crap, so they're clearly not yet capable of world class architecture.

I don't mind western designers at all. Local ones are designing a whole bunch of crap, so they're clearly not yet capable of world class architecture.

Precisely. We shouldn't burden foreign professionals with "local contextualism" or the likes if our own architects are incapable of producing decent designs- although looking at them, they seem to be improving.

Anyways, try doing Axumite architecture with glass. :lol:

I would actually love local contextualization, but it's nowhere near happening right now. Local architects seem to be having some type of identity crisis; the designs are just schizophrenic.

From today's The Reporter (Sunday, 12 December 2010)
የሕንፃዎችን ከፍታ ደንብ የሚያሻሽል ጥናት ይፋ ሆነ
የአዲስ አበባ ከተማን የሕንፃዎች ከፍታ ደንብ ለማሻሻል የተጠናው ጥናት ይፋ መሆኑን አዲስ ልሳን ዘግቧል፡፡ የኢትዮጵያ አርክቴክቸር፣ ሕንፃ ግንባታና ከተማ ልማት ኢንስቲትዩት ከአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ማዘጋጃ ቤት ጋር በገባው ውል መሠረት የአዲስ አበባ ከተማን የሕንፃዎች ከፍታ ለማሻሻል የተለያዩ ተግባራትን ሲያከናውን መቆየቱ ተገልጿል፡፡ ጥናቱ ይፋ በሆነበት ወቅት እንደተለገጸው፣ በከተማዋ የሚገነቡ ሕንፃዎች የአገሪቱን ገፅታ የሚያስተዋውቁና የከተማዋን መሬትና መሠረተ ልማት በሚገባ መጠቀም ይገባል፡፡ ከዚህ በተጨማሪ ሕንፃዎቹ ከተማዋን የሚያሳድጉ፣ የከተማዋን ባህልና ታሪክ ጠብቀው የሚያቆዩ፣ እንዲሁም ለሥራም ሆነ ለኑሮ የሚመቹ መሆን እንደሚኖርባቸው ተገልጿል፡፡

Ahh! Land disputes always pop up when such projects are just about to begin. Great design...this is what the developer prefered. The architects design according to what the owner likes.

You don't need to know local dynamics to design a tower.
What? Of course you do. I'm not against foreign architects working in Ethiopia, far from it. I'm just saying that if they are to design buildings in Ethiopia, they should do some more research into the country and people. Take the Addis Hilton for example. You walk into it, and you know it's an Ethiopian building. From the cave like entrance, to the motifs all over the building, to the swimming pool, you just know the architect has done a lot of research on Ethiopia. I find it a little weird when the theme of your design is a flower, because the city you're designing it in is called "New Flower". Very superficial. The chinese are kind of struggling with this problem as well, see below ...

Much of China's New Skyline Designed by Foreign Architects
By Keith B. Richburg
SHANGHAI - Drawn by a building boom unmatched in the world in recent decades, U.S. and European architects are flocking to China, turning Chinese leaders' bold visions into concrete and steel realities and giving Chinese cityscapes a distinctly foreign signature.

At a time when many Western economies are stagnant and many construction projects have been delayed or scaled back for lack of financing, China is on a major push to urbanize - building new office towers, apartment blocks, exhibition halls, stadiums, high-speed train stations and nearly 100 new airports. The boom is offering U.S. and European architects new opportunities and an economic lifeline, as much of their industry is struggling.

Many of modern China's iconic structures, including the New Poly Plaza and the World Trade Center in Beijing and the Shanghai World Financial Center, have been designed by U.S. and European architects.

Many more projects are in the works - in some cases, the equivalent of entire cities, such as the sprawling industrial park being built in Shanghai's Pudong area. Every major city, it seems, is building or expanding a new central business district or financial center - often the size of the downtown of a midsize American city.

Foreign architects have been working in China since the late 1990s. But the real construction boom began in 2001, just as work slowed in the United States. China's government estimates that 300 million people - about the population of the United States - will move into urban areas in the next 15 years.

"Train stations, airports - they really need everything," said Martin Hagel, senior architect with the German firm GMP, based in Shanghai. "It's a place where architects want to be." He added, "The scale of things is unbelievable - building a new city is something you don't get to do often."

And, while many U.S. developers have been wary of skyscrapers since the Sept. 11 attacks, China is a place where American architects say they can build big and tall.

Paul Katz of the New York firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, or KPF, said, "When people in the U.S. were not building tall buildings, we were here building tall buildings." Standing on the firm's Shanghai office balcony, with sweeping views of the city, Katz said, "There's hardly a building you see today that stood 15 years ago."

China is also a place where foreign architects say they can be their most creative.

In China, "people have no preconceived notion of what building development should be," said Silas Chiow, China director for the U.S. firm Skidmore Owings Merrill, or SOM. "That gives young architects an opportunity to try new ideas."

SOM designed Shanghai's Jin Mao tower, one of the most visible buildings on the Pudong skyline, with its traditional Chinese style, as well as Beijing's New Poly Plaza, with the world's largest cable-net-supported glass wall, and Tower III of the World Trade Center in Beijing. SOM also designed the futuristic car-shaped Pearl River Tower, with wind turbines and solar panels.

SOM has 32 employees in China and is working on 50 projects in the country, with a dozen due to be completed in the next two or three years. "China is almost like an experimental laboratory for different architects," Chiow said.

That has drawn some criticism. A few high-profile Chinese architects and critics say some foreign designers are ignoring Chinese culture and traditions and turning China into a showcase of weirdly shaped structures better left on the drafting table.

"They're using China as their new weapons testing zone," said Peng Peigen, a well-known architect and professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "These kind of stupid things they build could never be built in their own countries, in this life, the last life or the next life."

Peng praised "95 percent" of the many foreign architects in China. But he said the other 5 percent are ignoring the basic design rule that "form follows function." He criticized the Swiss-designed "Bird's Nest" stadium, used for the 2008 Olympics, as an "atrocious design" with a top-heavy roof, and called the French-designed National Grand Theater, known as "The Egg," a dysfunctional and "almost dangerous" eyesore.

Many of the largest, most visible projects designed by foreign architects are government-funded, and Peng and others said Chinese officials - and some private developers - often prefer to see an international name on a structure that they hope will become a landmark.

China has its own architects, but, as Peng noted, the communists who came to power in 1949 did not respect architecture as a profession. Since then, it has been officially recognized only since the 1980s, leaving too few experienced local architects.

James Shen, a 33-year-old architect from Orange County, Calif., came to China with recommendations from his Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, a renowned Chinese architect who had previously led the architecture department at Peking University. In China, Shen said he discovered that "a lot of Chinese clients want foreign architects because they think they'll do better-quality stuff."

Shen, who specializes in product design, also said some foreign architects are designing buildings that Chinese simply find odd or aesthetically inaccessible. "When they're finished, people don't always have a relationship with them," said Shen. He started his own company, People's Architecture Office, because "we wanted to approach design in a way people can relate to it," he said.

U.S. and European architects say it is an unparalleled chance to show off their expertise, experiment with cutting-edge designs, use new energy-efficient "green" technologies, and, for young architects, an opportunity to gain experience on a massive scale.

Chiow graduated with an architecture degree from Washington University in 1985 and relocated to Shanghai in 2004 for SOM. While there is no official count on the number of foreign firms working in China, Chiow said, "All the major American practices are here."

"I'm just fascinated by the urbanization happening in China - and the speed of it," said Chiow, 51. "What China has been able to build in the last 15 years took the U.S. over a hundred years."

For Chiow, who is Chinese American, working in China has an added attraction. "I'm learning about my heritage every day," he said.

Another lure for U.S. architects is the chance to see a project designed, built and in regular use in as little as a few years. In the United States, by contrast, with various bureaucratic hassles, projects can typically take more than a decade to come to fruition, and often much longer.

The speed of development brings its own challenges, several architects said. Among them, the foreign architects' desire to build environmentally sustainable buildings and cities often run smack into the local imperative to build it quickly - and often build it cheaply.

For example, an American architect said that in the United States, buildings are typically designed to last 75 to 100 years, with many of the best-known and best-loved buildings, such as New York's Empire State Building, gracefully entering late middle age. But in China, he said, the private developers often want "a building to last 30 years" maximum. "Their idea of a building is like a commodity. It's disposable."

http://enr.construction.com/yb/enr/article.aspx?story_id=153440661

^^ most striking part of the article:

..."China is almost like an experimental laboratory for different architects," Chiow said.

That has drawn some criticism. A few high-profile Chinese architects and critics say some foreign designers are ignoring Chinese culture and traditions and turning China into a showcase of weirdly shaped structures better left on the drafting table.

"They're using China as their new weapons testing zone," said Peng Peigen, a well-known architect and professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "These kind of stupid things they build could never be built in their own countries, in this life, the last life or the next life."...

^^ most striking part of the article:

..."China is almost like an experimental laboratory for different architects," Chiow said.

That has drawn some criticism. A few high-profile Chinese architects and critics say some foreign designers are ignoring Chinese culture and traditions and turning China into a showcase of weirdly shaped structures better left on the drafting table.

"They're using China as their new weapons testing zone," said Peng Peigen, a well-known architect and professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "These kind of stupid things they build could never be built in their own countries, in this life, the last life or the next life."...

Problem is, Chinese arguments are competent and can generate nice designs... look at the AU. Ethiopian architects are useless. Last thing we need are NIMBYs complaining buildings aren't Ethiopian enough. Ethio architects are imporving, but Addis should not be the testing ground, like your article said, for learning Ethiopian architects.

Don't like it, design your own building. (Which I do)

This Building is simply Eye-Candy... If only Asmara turned out like Addis then the Urban parts of East Africa would simply be much more beautifuler than they are.

This Building is simply Eye-Candy... If only Asmara turned out like Addis then the Urban parts of East Africa would simply be much more beautifuler than they are.

Asmara is a neat, lowrise city, it needs a special high-rise district like La Defense or Canary Wharf, skyscrapers would ruin it.

I very much agree with your statement, present day Asmara could be Italiano District and a new District could include the skyscrapers. If only though right. Getting rid of the airport would be one of the first things i would do if i was in charge lol...

I very much agree with your statement, present day Asmara could be Italiano District and a new District could include the skyscrapers. If only though right. Getting rid of the airport would be one of the first things i would do if i was in charge lol...

Well first you guys need to stop being the North Korea of Africa... :lol: somewhere west of the Orrota area could work.

You seem to be the first sane Eritrean ever on these forums.

Well first you guys need to stop being the North Korea of Africa... :lol: somewhere west of the Orrota area could work.

You seem to be the first sane Eritrean ever on these forums.

Well "you guys" doesnt really apply to me since i cant really worry and most of our parents are afraid to speak up. and if we do speak up with have 'Liars' that will go and tattle tell on you like its elementary school and bye bye to your chances of going back home to see your family or anything. I would love to make a difference but you need everyones full cooperations and thers always bound for someone to go against you weither its for money or other reasons its just impossible cause we are stubborn people. if we had a choice we would do anything to change it but its a pretty bad crisis in my opinion and idk if i should take that as a compliment hahaha....

FA BILIOUS INDEED!!!!!!!!

Well "you guys" doesnt really apply to me since i cant really worry and most of our parents are afraid to speak up. and if we do speak up with have 'Liars' that will go and tattle tell on you like its elementary school and bye bye to your chances of going back home to see your family or anything. I would love to make a difference but you need everyones full cooperations and thers always bound for someone to go against you weither its for money or other reasons its just impossible cause we are stubborn people. if we had a choice we would do anything to change it but its a pretty bad crisis in my opinion and idk if i should take that as a compliment hahaha....

Well, it's a compliment, but also a reflection on the kind of Eritreans we've had before...

Ohhh i see. yea Ive been reading some of their "comments" all i can say is they need help. i hope some more 'sane' eritreans discover this forum though.

Well "you guys" doesnt really apply to me since i cant really worry and most of our parents are afraid to speak up. and if we do speak up with have 'Liars' that will go and tattle tell on you like its elementary school and bye bye to your chances of going back home to see your family or anything. I would love to make a difference but you need everyones full cooperations and thers always bound for someone to go against you weither its for money or other reasons its just impossible cause we are stubborn people. if we had a choice we would do anything to change it but its a pretty bad crisis in my opinion and idk if i should take that as a compliment hahaha....

^^ How do we know that you are really an Eritrean?

BTW: How come EriFly is always after/or before Simfan? - he looks like Simfan's shadow (there is only a 27sec posting time difference between you two guys. Have you noticed that? 09:09 PM vs 09:36 PM)......cough, cough, cough....

^^ How do we know that you are really an Eritrean?

BTW: How come EriFly is always after/or before Simfan? - he looks like Simfan's shadow (there is only a 27sec posting time difference between you two guys. Have you noticed that? 09:09 PM vs 09:36 PM)......cough, cough, cough....

You mean 27 min?
I don't think he is that desperate to do that.

Uhm bro are you serious? Im not a low life that tries to act like someone im not, i barely even know who Simfan is. and yea thats 27 minutes... And how do i know your really an Ethiopian? and yea i dont think Simfan is that desperate... let alone anyone on these forums.

^^ How do we know that you are really an Eritrean?

BTW: How come EriFly is always after/or before Simfan? - he looks like Simfan's shadow (there is only a 27sec posting time difference between you two guys. Have you noticed that? 09:09 PM vs 09:36 PM)......cough, cough, cough....

27 seconds? It was 27 minutes. I don't have a life, which is why I'm so quick to respond... No need to scare our newest member away, Ahadu.:lol:

^^ How do we know that you are really an Eritrean?

BTW: How come EriFly is always after/or before Simfan? - he looks like Simfan's shadow (there is only a 27sec posting time difference between you two guys. Have you noticed that? 09:09 PM vs 09:36 PM)......cough, cough, cough....


I agree with you here. Erifly is either Simfan, Yoniii or Abesha or one of the other 18 Ethiopians on here. He's clearly not Eritrean.

Good catch Ahadu, first time we see eye-to-eye on a subject.

I agree with you here. Erifly is either Simfan, Yoniii or Abesha or one of the other 18 Ethiopians on here. He's clearly not Eritrean.

Good catch Ahadu, first time we see eye-to-eye on a subject.

Ata humum.
What makes me clearly not an Ertrawi? The way i see and believe in things?
Ab Hawi kay ti atu.

I agree with you here. Erifly is either Simfan, Yoniii or Abesha or one of the other 18 Ethiopians on here. He's clearly not Eritrean.

Good catch Ahadu, first time we see eye-to-eye on a subject.

Confrontational an Eritrean does not make.

BELISSIMO'

Some new plans have appeared on Flickr, this gives me hope for this project's completion.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6640593331_ba06bbec62_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6640593197_3af394e40f_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6640593069_87fdd176fe_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6640592957_9a0a87bff2_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6640592839_0dc2af12f8_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6640592761_46ee8d2697_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6640592635_5f1877be46_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6640592479_336a52002b_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/6640592331_1818494a34_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6640592177_0ef7af6e41_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6640592037_a117c7bf1b_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6640591931_67cfd89278_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6640591805_228f6b7643_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6640591669_3336b74c24_b.jpg

wow, they even have the site mapped out and it looks like there is some activity. Thats a rarity in Ethio projects. great find Simfan.

Thats a great location btw. right across from Nani building and next to the Accor hotels. Gives us a little density around Mesqel Sq.

is it rly under construction

very nice

Shouldn't this thread be under constraction ?
:dunno::

What's up with this building? Has the construction started yet?

updates??

Any news on the project?

Any news on the project?

I was there three months ago, and I didn't not see any activities.