9º (Nueve Grados / Nine Degrees)

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9º (Nueve Grados / Nine Degrees)

Firm

Built by Associative Data

Type

Residential › Apartment
Commercial › Office

SIZE

500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

BUILT BY
ASSOCIATIVE DATA has been awarded the commission by
Hassan Hachem to construct a mixed used, environmentally responsive building in
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The project
will add approximately 5,000 square meters of office and furnished apartment
spaces to the Malabo Dos development, on the island of Bioko. Construction is set to begin in the second
quarter of 2013.

9º is a modern,
mixed use (office, residential) project in the city of Malabo, Equatorial
Guinea designed through the careful observation of environmental data. The
unique localization of this project, only 3.7º north of theEquator, meant that orientation and form
were crucial to obtainingoptimum
climactic performance and a reduced energy footprint. Once constructed, the 9º project will set the
standard for designing and constructing high quality environments in this
African region.

BAD_RX, the research unit at Built by
Associative Data, established a series of benchmarks to test various design
strategies. These benchmarks included
computational models to test the effects of winds, temperature, humidity, and
solar radiation on the project. This
process ultimately yielded the simple elliptical shape we see in the 9º project,
oriented 9º from East in order toreduce
solar exposure and maximize the potential to receive the prevailing windsfrom the south-west. The data study was
complemented by an architecturelanguage
which responds to all sustainable aspects and gives its tenants accessto the great views of the surrounding
nature and new development.

The 9º project adds quality spaces for
conducting business in a zone which is undergoing rapid economic change. Furthermore, all aspects of the design, from
the orientation, to the facade treatments, to the interior finishes, have been
designed and implemented to ensure the most optimum environmental performance
of the project at its opening, and for many years to come.