Founded in South Africa in 1960, Bentel Associates International (BAI) is a well-established, award-winning architectural practice, based in Johannesburg (South Africa), and Mumbai and Bangalore (India).
The practice has developed over the years into a leading emerging market professional architectural firm, providing innovative and practical solutions for the built environment across Africa, India and the Middle-East. Inclusive of architectural, master planning, interior design, store-planning and green building services, BAI’s expertise covers multiple sectors, including retail, office, residential, hospitality, mixed-use, education, healthcare and infrastructural projects.Grandview Addis is an award-winning, landmark mixed-use development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The project is being implemented by MDM Developers, a subsidiary of CP Power E.A which is a leading market player in real estate, construction and project management in the Eastern Africa region. With architecture and interiors by BAI, it has been designed to be a landmark differentiator in the market. Comprising of 700m² of retail, 5,000m² of office space, it also includes three residential towers which are separate, yet intrinsically linked.
These towers range from 13 to 16 storeys high and contain a total of 182 luxury apartments – 24 studios, 47 one-bedroom, 50 two-bedroom, 56 three-bedroom and five penthouse apartments.The basis of the development’s design was influenced primarily by context, orientation, topography, certain pre-determined site parameters and a sensitivity to how it responded to the surrounding urban fabric. Consequently, the office building has been located along the highest point, addressing the road side in a sculptural form whilst also creating an active edge and entrance to the site. Slightly north of this is the piazza which is framed by a split-level retail offering.
The overall design has been multi-layered with an emphasis on the horizontal progress of functionality. Thus, the architectural language of the office building is one of an iconic form, introducing a slightly ‘wavy’ and curvilinear form to articulate and provide a contrast between itself and the adjacent geometric residential buildings. Externally, the buildings are modern and simplistic with clean lines. They feature a combination of concrete finishes, timber composite, plaster and glazed curtain walls. Natural lighting has been encouraged via large apertures, whilst aluminium louvres will be used on the southern façade of the building to enhance its aesthetics and reduce glare and sunlight penetration.Spaces between the buildings are landscaped to form an attractive pedestrian interface including the piazza, terraces between the three buildings and the floodplain zone between the site’s boundary and the water’s edge. A communal pool and clubhouse are conveniently located between the two and three-bedroom buildings.
Grandview Addis is capitalising on an urgent and growing demand for high-end, secure, luxury housing and offices in a city that hosts over 130 diplomatic missions, multinationals and a fast-growing number of young professional and upper-middle class residents. Comprising an intricate mix of living, shopping, working, leisure and visiting, the project’s palatial design embraces light and shadow, rising over the city to create a silk lining of architectural marvel