IMMEUBLE EQUINOXE | Renovation of an office building in Abidjan

The project consists in renovating an office building in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The 920 m2 building is located in Cocody-Danga, a charming and longstanding residential neighborhood of Abidjan. From the schematic design to the search for tenants, my colleague Antoine Prokos and I were in charge of all the different phases of the project. Left in desolate condition, the building had not been renovated since its construction in the 70’s. The main goal of this enterprise was to give a new life to the edifice with a limited shoestring budget. The project can be summarized in two key operations: demolishing as many walls as possible in order to open the floor plan and ornamenting the façade to give it some character. We enclosed the balconies of the West façade in order to increase the surface area. In terms of construction, we tried to work with local materials as much as possible and used thin strips wooden floors that are normally exported to Italy. The Immeuble Equinoxe is the first building that takes advantage of this locally produced material. Going through all the phases of the project was an enriching experience which taught us the complexity of the language established between the contractor and the architect, especially in the Ivory Coast where the construction administration phase requires a rigorous supervision. 

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

March 2013 - July 2014

Client: Star Immobilier

In Collaboration with Antoine Prokos (JA-AP Architectes)