Overview
Designed as the new corporate headquarters for Ecobank in Conakry, Guinea, this project represents a bold departure from the traditional, monolithic office tower. The architecture translates the bank's "Pan-African" leadership and forward-thinking vision into a dynamic, physical landmark. Named the "Shift," the project redefines the corporate workspace by prioritizing climatic responsiveness, employee well-being, and a powerful urban presence.
Client:
Ecobank
Year:
2023
Category:
Office
Location:
Conakry, Guinea Conakry
Status:
Concept
The defining architectural gesture of the headquarters is the strategic stacking and lateral displacement of its volumetric blocks. Rather than a singular, static extrusion, the building’s mass is divided into three primary corporate tiers that hover above a transparent base. By rigorously offsetting these levels along the horizontal axis, the design achieves a striking, kinetic silhouette.
This shifting geometry is highly functional: the deep overhangs act as massive passive solar shields, protecting the glazed facades below from the harsh sun. Simultaneously, the exposed roofs of the shifted blocks create expansive, landscaped terraces, offering employees elevated green spaces and panoramic views of the city.
The building’s stepped volumetry is directly informed by a rigorous solar analysis. The primary facades are protected by dense vertical louvers to mitigate low-angle glare on the East and West. At the summit, the massing steps back, and the critical rooftop technical infrastructure (highlighted) is strategically shielded to minimize exposure to intense, direct vertical radiation, ensuring overall thermal efficiency
Social Greenery: Tiered planted terraces provide outdoor meeting spaces, integrating nature into the workspace. Digital Identity: A luminous screen "crowns" the building to display information while concealing technical equipment (HVAC) behind it. Regulatory Compliance: The building height is capped at 28 meters to stay below "IGH" (high-rise) limits, simplifying fire safety and construction regulations.
Rather than simply stacking the required floor areas, we actively manipulated the building’s massing to serve the climate and the user. By grouping floors into distinct volumes and horizontally 'shifting' them, we transformed a static pyramid into a kinetic structure. These strategic offsets naturally create self-shading overhangs to protect against the sun, open up usable outdoor green spaces, and forge a bold architectural identity.
EXTERIOR IMAGES
TEAM
Partners
Mirco Monti, Omar Diouf
Project Team
Mirco Monti, Omar Diouf
