CBE headquarters in ethopia by henn architects

german firm henn architekten has won the competition to design the new headquarters
of the commercial bank of ethiopia in addis ababa, ethiopia. the proposal was designed
by henn architektens design & research studio in berlin, hennstudiob.

the building will be the tallest building ever in ethiopia, consisting of 42 storeys.
the tower is accompanied by a conference centre and a shopping mall , where they are
clustered around a sunken landscaped plaza. the classical high-rise plinth dissolves into
individual volumes to merge the scale of the surrounding district.

depending on the viewing angle and the inclination of the façade- surfaces the appearance
of the building dynamically changes from open (frontal view on façade) to close
(angled view on facade).




the entrance


aerial view


lobby area


view from inside


the facade cut at an angle


the area divided separated into commercial tower, a conference center and shopping mall




project info:
location: addis ababa, ethiopia
client: commercial bank of ethiopia
program: offices, conference center, commercial center

net area: 50.000  sqm
competition 2009: 1st prize

design: henn architekten, munich, germany
local partner: universal consultants, addis ababa, ethiopia
building services: transsolar energietechnik, stuttgart, germany
structural engineering: happold ingenieurbüro, berlin, germany
facade design: priedemann fassadenberatung, berlin, germany