tulip hotel

This project is located very close to Accra airport near one of the city’s main structural roadways leading downtown, and in an area that is rapidly developing. Although this is coastal city the presence of the sea is not perceptible and one can even observe a total divorce from the beachside zone. The areas around the airport to the north, on the contrary, have greatly increased in value.

Accra’s structure can clearly be included in the type of cities with eminently Anglo-Saxon characteristics. These are defined by great avenues which lead into secondary roads, the whole forming the visible fabric of the city. It sprawls over a vast area, and there is no major concentration of buildings forming streets and squares as is usually found in other cities with different characteristics. In this implicit structure, very large buildings stand out; they are elements of reference in the context of the city and of major importance in its hierarchization and the image of the whole.

The project described here fits into the type of building mentioned above, both by its size and by the architectural image or expression of the construction foreseen, both affirmative and differentiating, creating an element of an exceptional nature that can easily be perceived by the users of the building itself and of the city in general, who will in the last resort assess its image. The building is a residential hotel which will complement the structure of the Golden Tulip Hotel located on the adjacent plot of land, although its entrance is located on Liberation Road.

The plot of land destined for this construction is a long one, its front measuring approximately 32 meters and stretching back 95 meters. It will occupy the entire piece of land, with basement for parking and technical areas. Construction above ground will begin with five floors, on top of which will be an outdoor swimming pool. The other 12 floors will be set back from the street front forming a small tower building. The first two floors will house the reception, bar, restaurant and seating areas, as well as working areas such as kitchens and others.

The smaller apartments, with 1 or 2 bedrooms, will be located on the next three floors, whilst level 4 will house a leisure area with an outdoor terrace, bar and swimming pool. The larger apartments, with 3 or 4 bedrooms, will be located on the remaining floors. All the apartments have balconies, their design being one of the building’s key characteristics, constituting a skin that is tailored to create the openings.

The aim of the apparently random design of the façades is to propose a game of discovery of its organizational rules but also and above all to camouflage its large scale, making it as indeterminate as possible. We wanted the building to be perceived and identified from the main roads around it, even though its main entrance is located on a secondary road.

We have attempted in this project to make its functional and spatial organization extremely clear, so that the building’s fundamental and structuring elements are easily understood, and it offers a pleasant experience.

As a matter of principle and for reasons of constructive and economic rationality we also proposed a building that responds effectively and efficiently to energy and environmental issues. To conclude, we foresee the creation of a contemporary structure, where the attention paid to the form, image and comfortable use of the building go hand in hand with the high standards of the technical requirements in a well-thought out project, but also rational use of resources during construction and optimization of consumptions during the building’s lifetime.