#orange glazing

[bauzeitgeist]

Continuing from the previous post, the inverted pyramid of the Electroprivreda is connected to a cubic annex building, which seems to have been preserved in the original gold glazing and mustard cladding panels that adorned both in the prewar era. Quite an “electrifying” combination—don’t think I’ve ever encountered on another façade anywhere. Ivan Štraus, c.1978. Photos July 2019 Bauzeitgeist

[bauzeitgeist]

Deep-tropical sunlight illuminates the glazed cubes of the Ministerial Building Number One (which primarily houses the Cameroonian Ministry of Urban Development & Housing) in an electricifying spectrum of pink-orange, depending on the cloud cover and time of day. Even in crepuscular hours it appears as if the light is emanating from within the blocks rather than upon them. So my kind of thing. Photos February 2019 Bauzeitgeist.

[bauzeitgeist]

And then there is THIS: the tallest building in Yaoundé and in Cameroon, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), headquarters of the regional multinational monetary union. An astonishing exemplar of 1970s modernist expressionism, this palatial skyscraper’s stylish, angular geometry begins immediately with the cement-chevron shapes of the forecourt planters, to the jagged tinted-glass port-cochère, extending over the entryway formed by the plan of a bulky, spread-winged tower, sheathed in differing patterns of lavender-pink paneling and orange-bronze glazing.

This glittering mass culminates in an enormous hexagonal capital, overhanging the central façade and articulated with a row of large diamond-shaped windows like a humungous, metallic spider face.

Communicating equal parts the exuberant optimism of the region’s post-independence, petrol-fueled boom years, and the overwhelming authority of state supremacy, it’s one of a variation of central bank towers across West and Central Africa, manifest in a style quite unlike anything designed since that era or elsewhere in the world.

ATUAB Architects, c.1988. Photos February 2019 Bauzeitgeist.

[bauzeitgeist]

Detail of the multi-level plaza court of the Ministry of Urban Development & Housing in Yaoundé, with its (empty) blue-tiled water feature and setback series of exterior walkways, decorated with intricate murals featuring traditional masks.

There’s a curious history of this complex, as shown in the previous post: officially referred to as Ministerial Building Number 1, it is still more popularly known as the Building of Death (Immeuble de la Mort), as it was first constructed in 1984 and was still incomplete in 1989, when work halted. The place was overtaken by criminals and squatters, hence its morbid nickname. The 18-story tower was not re-controlled by governmental authorities until 2009, and the startling pink-orange glazing was only applied as part of a completion effort by the Chinese firm Shanxi Construction in 2010. What looks like a vintage skyscraper is in fact relatively recent construction.

Photos February 2019 Bauzeitgeist.

[bauzeitgeist]

Zooming in on L’immeuble BEAC, Yaoundé’s tallest building. The curled millipede of the brutalist Central Market (previous post) can be seen in the foreground of the first photo.

ATUAB Architects, c.1988. Photos February 2019 Bauzeitgeist.

[bauzeitgeist]

Early morning shot of the fabulous pink-glazed Ministerial Building Number 1, an 18-story tower primarily housing the Ministry of Urban Development & Housing, and one of the Cameroonian capital’s few tall buildings. Like many African capitals, Yaoundé’s towers are almost all government buildings. Photo 2019 Bauzeitgeist. #skyscraper#tallbuildings #building #tower#architecture #modernarchitecture#africanarchitecture #pinkglazing#orangeglazing #archilovers#architecturephotography #archiporn

[bauzeitgeist]

Rue Mermoz, Douala, Cameroon. Photo February 2019 Bauzeitgeist.