Africa Hall

Africa Hall
View of the 1975 addition.
Location within Ethiopia
General information
Type	Conference centre, offices
Architectural style	Modernism
Location	Addis Ababa
Country	Ethiopia
Coordinates	9°00′53″N 38°45′43″E / 9.0147°N 38.7620°E / 9.0147; 38.7620
Elevation	7,726 feet (2,355 m)
Current tenants	UNECA
Construction started	August 1959
Completed	February 1961
Client	Government of Ethiopia
Height
Top floor	7
Technical details
Floor area	205,000 m2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Arturo Mezzedimi
Main contractor	Varnero Construction plc

Africa Hall is the permanent headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The structure, built in the span of only 18 months, was completed in February 1961.^[1] It covers an overall area of 75,000 m2, with a usable area of 13,800 m², consisting of 3,600 m² of conference halls, 5,500 m² of offices and 4,700 m² of general facilities.^[1] Its main characteristic is represented by the “continuous spaces” of the internal layout.^[1] Ten years later, in 1971, work was commenced on a project funded by the United Nations to extend the structure, which was completed in 1975. It consists of a block of 800 new offices, a 6-storey building to house the huge library and other buildings for general facilities. This extension work added a further 130,000 m².^[1]

Along with the Addis Ababa City Hall, Africa Hall was one of the two projects designed to demonstrate, in the words of Emperor Haile Selassie, “that it is possible to construct grand buildings here too [in Ethiopia], by erecting a couple of high-profile structures. It is not their complexity or size that matter, but the maximum possible use of home-produced materials, in order to shake our wealthy middle class (which keeps its money under the mattress) from the inactivity that also binds it in the field of construction, and stimulate it to invest its assets also in building to make this ‘great village’ a city and a true great capital”.

It was here, in this conference center, that the African Union's predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded on 25 May 1963. Also in this building is Afewerk Tekle's most famous work, Total Liberation of Africa, a 150 m² stained glass triptych. The work depicts images symbolizing African nations uniting to tackle poverty and disease.^[2] Also designed by Afework Tekle are the geometric design surrounding the central window, reminiscent of patterns of traditional shema clothing, which was added after the original design of the building to commemorate a construction worker that died during its construction.^[2]