CASTEL GROUP HEADQUARTERS

The design for the Castel Headquarter in Addis Ababa faces a double challenge: on one hand the need to represent the French beer company, one of the largest in the country, on the other the aim to become a landmark capable of inspiring effective relationships towards a rapidly evolving city.

The eight-story building has a significant south front overlooking a high-density road and an elevated railway station. It has a mixed destination: largely dedicated to offices and services it also includes a gym on the sixth level and a bistro on the seventh, fulfilling the client’s desire to take care of the community relational aspects. The last two floors accommodate various apartments of different cuts.

The plan of the building shows a longitudinal misalignment imposed by the morphology of the lot that turns into a characterizing element of the project. Hence, the building separates into two wings (East and West), connected by a central core which houses the foyer, the meeting rooms and the main vertical connections.

The dark-grey porcelain stoneware ventilated façade is punctuated with large windows, that are harmonically arranged within a geometric pattern. The result is a vibrant surface, thanks to the window’s golden frames and custom perforated aluminium sheets. At each end of the building, two translucent glass-block walls lead to the rough concrete heads, which house the residential staircases. On the upper floors, the facade opens up into posts and beams, allowing a stunning view from the apartment’s terraces.

The Castel Group headquarters is a striking building, complex and vibrant, that contributes to enhancing the collective identity within a strongly interlaced landscape.