Henning Larsen Architects has won the international architectural competition for the new Calabar International Conference Center in the southeastern part of Nigeria. More images and full press release after the break.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and one of the continent’s fastest growing economies. Calabar is already hosting numerous conferences and, with the completion of the new Conference Center, the city hopes to attract even more international meetings and tourists.
“We visited the city of Calabar between Christmas and New Year and we are really looking forward to establishing a close collaboration with local partners. It will be our job to carry out the project that will provide Calabar with an international profile”, says Architect and Associate Partner, Ulrik Raysse, Henning Larsen Architects.
The Calabar International Conference Centre consists of four adjoining, sculptural volumes. The building is situated on top of a hill and has a panoramic view from the foyer. The location on the middle of the hill creates a natural amphitheatre with a room for several thousand people on the one side and a spectacular view of the river delta on the other side.
The building is multi-functional and will offer the citizens of Calabar a new cultural centre that will provide the setting for concerts, film festivals and exhibitions.
”Nigeria is developing rapidly at the moment and, as an architect invited to contribute to this development, you have a special obligation to consider architecture as more than a question of geometry. Architecture also contributes to the development of society”, says International Design Director and Partner, Louis Becker, Henning Larsen Architects.
Henning Larsen Architects has designed several cultural and conference centres and has also previously worked in Africa. In 1992, the Nation Center in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi was completed. The competition for the Conference Center in Nigeria was won over Mecanoo from the Netherlands and three other international architecture companies.
