CONTEMPORIST

CONTEMPORIST

AON Office by SPASM Design Architects

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 02:41 AM PDT

SPASM Design Architects designed the AON Insurance office building in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

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Description from the architects:

Architecture in the tropics is about negotiating the elements. Roofs play a vital role in the defence against these elements.

Built to house a premier insurance company, the project needed to express the contemporary organization with the promise of solid commitment of purpose. Our attempt was to make a strong connection with its green surroundings and to create a humane working environment for a cross cultural staff structure.

The evolution of the design started with three giant concrete cabinets holding archival storage systems and services, sitting on the green and forming the principle enclosure.

A blade; thin canopy, it is a contemporary interpretation of the local Makuti (thatch) roof bandas on local homes, which over-sails unequally over the glazing, responding to solar incidence. It protects the entire perimeter single glazing, allowing it to receive glare-free sunlight and also reducing energy costs. The canopy levitates and reflects light onto the surrounding landscape like a beacon.

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Visit the SPASM Design Architects website – here.

Photography by Muzu Suleimanji & Sanjeev Panjabi

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