Supervision:
Ing. arch. Vojtěch Dvořák, Ing. arch. Pavel Filsak

PROJECT IDEA
At the very beginning of this project, I made a summary of Czech history and looked up an analysis of Czech exports. For it appeared to me that the embassy should represent not only the culture as described by history but also, maybe more importantly, whatever it is that our country can offer to its political and trading partners.

It wasn’t hard to find that what the Czech republic excels at is heavy industry and metallurgy. The tradition of which was largely built during the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When it was divided after the first world war then Czechoslovakia inherited approximately two-thirds of all the industry while containing only slightly more than a quarter of the empire‘s inhabitants.

And it’s mostly this fact that led to today‘s proportions of Czech exports where far ahead of others are vehicles and their parts (cars, parts of turbojet engines, trains, railway rails, etc.) then there is a gap followed by much smaller amounts of exported products of light industry, chemical industry, and oils.

To symbolize the tradition of the heavy industry I chose to use architectural concrete and corten steel as the two main materials.
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In the north not far behind the city of Addis Ababa are the Toto Mountains with its highest peak Mount Entoto overlooking the city. The mountain has historical importance and several celebrated churches arelocated here.

To take advantage of this landmark I decided to orient views from the embassy (most importantly the representative sections) toward the mountain. That is also why most of the representative spaces are above the ground level, to see over the closest surrounding structures.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The site is placed roughly in the middle between two main roads both of which lead to a motorway in the north of the site. The best connections to these roads are located in the southern parts of the site. That is why I decided to locate the main entrance and exit in the southwest and southeast parts of the site (as recommended), thus creating an arrival zone surrounded by the edge of the site and the embassy’s structures. The structures and greenery enclose the whole zone ensuring the privacy and safety of the rest of the Embassy’s gardens. They also serve as a small park -an „outside waiting room“- for guests, their drivers, etc.

RESIDENCE
In the far east part of the site is located the ambassador's residence in close approximation to the exit gatehouse, which for the ambassador can be used as an entrance as well, thus providing more privacy if needed.
The residence takes an „L“ shape which hides its garden from sight for more privacy in dealing with confidential affairs.
The Representative section of the residence is on the ground floor, while the ambassador's flat and guest room are on the top floor.

OFFICIAL EMBASSY BUILDING
The office building is divided into two functional zones –representative and office.
The main entrance is highlighted by a cantilever which provides upper-floor lounges with a balcony and protects the entrance from weather conditions. The entrance hall pierces the building from the arrival zone straight to the garden it reaches the upper floor and is dominated by a concrete staircase that hints at a division into representative and official parts of the hall, with a launch (separable by mobile partitions) and a door into the garden on one side and meeting rooms on the other. A representative dining room, assembly room, and two other lounges are on the top floor. The representative kitchen is on the far east of the whole building conveniently close to the representative kitchen in the residence.The Office part of the building has two floors. Office section A is on the top floor and the others are on the ground floor. The top floor does not take up the whole area of the ground floor its mass is distanced from the arrival zone to further highlight the entrance and create a gatelike element in the fence of structures.

CONSULAR AND VISA BUILDING
The consular and visa building furthers the southern facade of the official building leaving a passage partly sheltered by the office section "A". The building reaches the western side of an enclosed perimeter. Where it opens onto a sidewalk leaving a wider space and creating an entrance area protected from weather conditions. The building is divided into an office section and a public section.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING OF EMBASSY STAFF
The residential building is placed in the northwest part of the enclosed site. It is conveniently close to the office section of the official building and far from the residence. Together with the official building, it creates an almost fully enclosed yard intended for recreational purposes. There is greenery and a decorative pool in the yard.
The whole of the residential building stands on columns and recreational facilities are set underneath it. They are two 25-meter swim lanes and a gym, supplemented by common changing rooms.

BUILDING FOR THE LOCAL WORKFORCE
Building for the local workforce is set in the far west part of the site outside the enclosed perimeter. It is a two-storey building part of which shelters a parking lot. The building stands on the edge of its fenced garden. South of the building there is a playground and parking primarily for visitors of the consular and visa building.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
All of the buildings' load-bearing structures are reinforced concrete (offical and residence-frame). The outside shading systems are fixed and are made out of corten steel plates - all except the local workforce building where the shading system is wooden.