Franco Namibia

Project Architect:
Architext inc in association with Charles Delamy Architects

Client:
French Mission for Co-operation and cultural affairs

The new Franco-Namibian cultural centre (FNCC) on Windhoek’s Robert Mugabe Avenue is the result of a bi-national competition in October 1997between five groups of French and Namibian Architects. Hemmed in by streets on three sides, the site with its distinct characteristics had a profound impact on the shape of the new building.

The following factors influenced the design:

The preservation of the old existing German house;

Two distinct orientation axes, east-west (reinforced by a pronounced slope towards Robert Mugabe Avenue and the old house) and north-south (Robert Mugabe Avenue);

A geological fault running alongside Robert Mugabe Avenue.

The most important consideration was the notion of inside-outside space. This concept is well presented in traditional-built form in Namibia, in the ‘courtyard building’ types. Infinitely more reconcilable with the fundamental aims of the FNCC is a configuration where the inside-outside space enfolds the building by serving as a two-way filter. The building thus elevates the extended activities taking place within these spaces to the same level of exposure as those without.

The slopin site towards Robert Mugabe Avenue is treated as a tiled platform displaying these varied aspects to the passing viewer. Visual and physical barriers were restricted to only that which is required for proper functioning.

In like manner, the existing German colonial house is treated as an object of display forming part of a stage set within the larger ‘theatre’ space formed by the courtyard. It depicts one of the many cultural influences in Namibia, whilst its function as Café des Arts will represent another.

The new structure was conceived as a transparent container accommodating the activities of the centre. Its expression as an elongated rectangular box of three layers responds well to the urban context by assuming a domestic single storey scale along Schotzen Street and a more public three-storey scale along Robert Mugabe Avenue.  The new building functions as a window, allowing the activities inside and around it to become more prominent.

The positioning of the new building across the sloping site creates a dynamic tension, enabling proper north-south orientation, bridging the fault and reinforcing the existing axes.

A minimalist approach was taken when dealing with materials, details and finishes.

Structural elements are exposed, as well as unadorned concrete, steel and glass. Each of the four façades expresses appropriate response to a different combination of internal function, external conditions and overall architectural language.

The complex was erected in three distinct phases, over a period of two years.