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The first wooden tower in Africa
HKA | Hermann Kamte & Associates unveils their proposal for a wooden residential tower in downtown of Lagos; the most populated city in Africa with more than 16 million inhabitants. The design of the skyscraper of more than forty thousand square meters was directed by the Architect by Hermann Kamte, CEO and founder of HKA | Hermann Kamte & Associates. The architect expresses that this architectural concept of wooden tower aims to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the city of Lagos.
The tower is a residential unit that develops around cultural and urban themes. The project located in Ikoyi, a luxury residential area, is built on top of an existing structure. The challenge was « How the roof of today can be the plot of tomorrow? How to build a new city above the existing one? What is plan B for the future? “. The project focused on the reinvention of a new urban fabric with the hypothesis of a solution and sustainable construction with wood. In addition, the city has forest resources that can produce timber.
The existing « Abebe Court” is a complex of four structures. It consists of 4 bedrooms and 3 apartments spread over 4 floors. There are amenities: swimming pools, gym, tennis courts, children’s playground, parking lots, water treatment and sewage treatment and electricity generators.
The tower is organized in three blocks above an existing structure. Each block consists of six current floors. The envelope of each block corresponds to a particular Yoruba tribal symbol. The blocks are connected to each other by gathering space and sports or recreational activities for residents. From the bottom to the top, there are housing units with 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms.
The height of the tower allows to benefit from natural elements such as ventilation and lighting. The floors are surrounded by greenery and terraces. The building envelope is as sunscreen, beyond its cultural significance.
The greenery in the space creates beauty, sensitivity, naturalness, aesthetics and comfort for the residents. With its microclimate effect, it is a giant lung in the urban space which helps to reduce the surrounding pollution. The terraces allow you to enjoy the sky and the city, the beautiful landscape. The roof is a landscaped and living space; it has a restaurant and a garden.
In this project, the approach of the architect team was made in the consideration of; cultural parameters, the predominant and historic human group of the city of Lagos: Architecture and Yoruba Culture.
Awards & Rewards
-Shortlisted: WA Awards-26th Cycle-Ongoing
-1st Prize Awards: WAFX Prize-Cultural Identity
-Winner: American Architecture Prize 2017-Green Architecture
– Finalist: World Architecture Festival 2017 (Future Project- Residential)- Ongoing
-1st Prize Awards: Rethinking The Future Awards 2017 (Residential-Concept)
-Bronze A’ Design Award Winner for Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category in 2017
Data Sheet
Official name: Lagos’s Wooden Tower
Location: Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria
Gross floor area (GFA): 40,176 m²;
Gross volume (GV): 135,108 m³;
Site area: 13,000 m²;
Footprint area: 1134 m²
Building height: 87 m
Photo credits: HKA | Hermann Kamte & Associates
Source : V2com
