Gross floor area: 8.500 sqm
The client SNIM an iron ore mining company plans to build its new headquarter at Cansado, near Nouhadhibou. The location with the desert in the west and the ocean in the east creates a surreal but extreme beautiful natural setting for the new premises with its 15.000 sqm GFA. This new construction shall be the initial step for further urban development in this area.
We proposed the client 3 options:
1. The Monolith - a 12 story high modern office cube with a green atrium and living bridges creating one of the first green high-rise buildings in Mauretania.
2. The Mosaic: a cluster of small office units from 3 to 7 stories are forming green courtyards planted with date palm trees and sweet acacias.
3. The Pyramid: a triangular structure with a green courtyard, an ocean walk and modern office space with generous open spaces and voids to let air and indirect sunlight into the massive and sun protected building. All facades are designed as double skin structures with prefabricated local stone in brownish, red tone as sun shading devices.