International Conference Center
in Ouagadougou by CAAU



Lille office [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (CAAU) have designed a conference centre for Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Called International Conference Center in Ouagadougou, the centre
will have a capacity of 3,000 seats and be surrounded by a park for use
by residents and visitors.

The projects comprises three main buildings that will house the
conference centre itself, a banquet hall and a VIP building, plus a
fourth structure that will contain administrative offices.

The dish-like forms of the buildings were inspired by the local
calabash plant, traditionally dried and used for offering water to
guests.

These forms will be surrounded by a pond, which together with double
walls and the domed roofs will encourage cooling airflow through the
structures.

Construction is scheduled for 2012.

Here’s some more information from the architects:
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COLDEFY & ASSOCIES ARCHITECTES URBANISTES, WINNERS OF THE
INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTS’ COMPETITION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
CENTRE IN OUAGADOUGOU
Coldefy & Associés have recently been announced the winners,
out of 18 participants, of the competition for the design and
construction of the International Conference Centre (CIGC) in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Launched by the Burkina Faso Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,
the contracting authority, the future Conference Centre, complemented
by an immense urban park, will be located in the OUAGA 2000 district,
at a popular strategic crossroads. The CIGC covers approximately 10
hectares of the 213 hectare site intended to house the entire project,
delimited towards the North, South and East by the OUAGA 2000
development and towards the West by the main road leading to LEO and
the border with Ghana.

This prestigious central location overlooks the urban park, the
entrance to which will be differentiated depending on the status of
visitors. The programme established by the contracting authority
reflects the ambitious goals and extremely high standards that lie at
its foundation. The future Centre, offering a capacity of 3,000 seats
and a surface area of 17,800 m2, aims to provide a high-level
international forum for government leaders and their foreign partners
as well as a relaxation area within the urban park for both the town
residents and visitors.

Another of the programme’s requirements was to ensure that the
architectural project reflected the contracting authority’s goals in
terms of architectural innovation, aesthetic appeal and harmony with
the landscape. Lastly, adherence to the target cost was a
non-negotiable aspect of the programme.

The symbolism
When studying the interactions between the architecture and the
environment, Coldefy & Associés chose to explore the emotions
likely to be expressed in such an international setting and to mirror
these emotions in the architecture. Based on the relationship between a
building’s scale and spatial qualities as an essential concept, they
addressed the themes of bringing people together and serenity as the
key behind harmonious relationships and constructive human dialogue.
Natural elements, our relationship with time and traditional values are
reassuring factors that mankind relates to when endeavouring to resolve
existential or political quarrels. These factors are at the source of a
universal quest in which architecture can be the driving force.
Two major symbolic themes, water and the vernacular reference,
inspired the architectural design of the conference centre, uniting,
harmonising and putting the various practical buildings in resonance
with each other to create one logical unit.

Calabash
Calabash is an herbaceous plant, cultivated for its fruit, or more
commonly used in dry form for making various objects. The calabash is
used for serving welcome water called zoom koom as well as for serving
water to the ancestors.
Water
Interpreted as a calm and transparent mirror, water inspires
reflection and, as a symbol of responsibility and self contemplation,
it accentuates the sacred nature of the architectural space.

The architectural project
The site plan
The complex consists of three main buildings: the conference room
and its related functions, the building housing the banquet room and
the “VIP Block” building. A fourth “satellite” building groups together
the administrative offices for the entire complex.

The building volume
Inspired by the calabash, the pure volumes, incorporating gentle
curves and circular elements, are characteristic of the conference
centre’s architecture. Water, a spiritual and timeless aspect, unites
the buildings, blending them together in a harmonious whole. The
fluidity created by the curved surfaces is emphasized in the pathways
that seem never-ending. The building volume is constructed from
prefabricated architectural concrete, which has been perforated or
imprinted over the inside walls in the form of multiple circles,
inspired by the traditional calabash plant, that have a decorative
function and a practical one, acting as a sun-filter on the second
wall. The open space created between the two cavities of each building
allows air to circulate naturally in order to keep the internal
temperature of the centre cool.

The immense conference room is shielded by a large textile-membrane
dome, creating a temperature buffer for the internal space and an
aesthetically pleasing canopy on the external promenade, a prestigious
walkway intended to lead heads of state and government officials to the
complex. The juxtaposition of the convex shape with the concave
elements express the centre’s quest for balance, which is at the same
time open yet sheltered, eye-catching yet discreet, exposed yet
intimate.

The various natural features – the pond, the double-walled spaces,
and the domed over-roofing element – generate a constant supply of cool
air around the conference centre thereby reducing the consumption of
air conditioning.

CAAU Architects, winners of the international competition in July 2009
Project: International Conference Centre (CIGC)
Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Project manager: COLDEFY & ASSOCIES ARCHITECTES URBANISTES
Project team members: Thomas Coldefy, Bertrand Coldefy, Isabel Van
Haute, Laurence Ployaert, Emmanuelle Maudens, Rodolphe Mazairat
JVC Architecture, associate architect
AIC, associate architect, local correspondent
Atelier LD, Landscape architect
Surface area: 17,780 m2
Provisional budget: 11 149 269 500 FCFA
Provisional schedule: Delivery 2012

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Posted by Rose Etherington
link:Dezeen