dgj174 Swiss Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya , 2011

Fotograf: dgj

Fotograf: dgj

Fotograf: dgj

Fotograf: dgj

Fotograf: dgj

 

The chancellery describes a spiral, which accommodates the slight slope of the building site, and surrounds a central courtyard as an outdoor room. The courtyard opens to the west to the entrance area to the east toward the garden, creating differentiated zones of privacy and security.

In order to maintain the high quality of the exterior, the building is oriented south, thus leaving the northern garden with two large trees untouched.

The gently sloping ramp along the courtyard works as an access balcony to all areas of the building. The entrance area directly separates the access for employees, the public sector, and visitors for the visa and consulate offices. For all user groups, separate entrances and security gates are available.

The rising arrangement of rooms divides the building into areas that are at a level, and are accessed via a common approach zone (mini lobby). Within this zone, light partitions constitute individual offices, which can be converted without great constructive effort.

The orientation of the building and the construction of the outer shell have been optimized in a way to minimize the effort of conditioning the space (heating or cooling). Thus the cost of technology and energy consumption is negligible.

The sun goes round in a very steep angle from east to west. Thus the structure has been formulated as an elongated spiral in east-west direction. The east and west façades have been reduced in surface, and constructed with a small opening portion in the east. The exterior façade has been profiled so deep-set windows get shaded by the overlying parts. The arcade around the courtyard with a shaded roof is also equipped with transparent photovoltaics. The building is designed as a slim one-sided access wing which promotes cross ventilation via the exterior façade and the courtyard.

The energy concept of the building works in island operation without an external power supply throughout the whole year. Therefore, the low-pitched roof has been activated with photovoltaic modules.

project period Aug 15 2011 - Okt 01 2011
useEmbassy
floor area 1,900 m²
building volume 5,700 m³
commissioner Swiss Confederation, Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics
commissionCompetition
project team: Anne Bauer, Simon Gallner
project status: Competition Entry