Description

The State Officials Building (1965–1968) is a collective housing building designed by Vasco Vieira da Costa (1911–1982) in 1965 to accommodate civil servants working in Luanda. It is positioned parallel to one of Luanda’s busiest thoroughfares, connecting the city centre to the airport (Amílcar Cabral Street), and a secondary road (Padre Francisco Gouveia Street), transitioning into a low-rise residential neighbourhood that extends to the Alvalade district.

The building is a mega-structure comprising five floors elevated on pilotis, supported by a colossal base that takes advantage of the varying elevation between the two streets, creating a wide open and permeable public space at ground level. The access volumes are centrally located within a symmetrical composition. The entrance area, which includes a lift, is flanked by two pure volumes housing stairwells. These stairwells are connected to long horizontal distribution galleries, each measuring 80 metres in length and 2 metres in width. These galleries serve as semi-private corridors, positioned approximately 1.50 metres away from the main volume, intermittently interrupted to provide access to the apartments through an uneven private entrance composed of three steps signifying the transition from communal to private spaces. These galleries emphasise the longitudinal aspect of the block through a volumetric interplay of light and shadow, projecting and recessed planes, raw concrete grids, and transverse beam structures that extend beyond the building boundaries, defining the rhythmic and brutalist expression of the complex.

The typologies are carefully coordinated to maintain a consistent volumetric interplay, consisting of a sequence of five three-room apartments (two bedrooms plus living room, 166.10 square metres) culminating at the northern tip with a one-room unit (81.30 square metres). The functional organization of the flats is defined in relation to the façades: service areas such as the kitchen, bathrooms, storage and one bedroom are oriented towards the eastern façade, adjacent to the galleries. On the western façade, one finds the more communal areas comprising the living room, dining room, balcony and the two main bedrooms. The design of the domestic space places a strong emphasis on communal areas, particularly the living room (35 square metres) and the balcony (21 square metres), which occupy roughly half of the apartment’s space.

The building is oriented in a northeast–southwest direction, an unfavourable position with respect to insulation and ventilation. However, these limitations have been ingeniously addressed through smart climate control mechanisms. On the western façade, this issue is overcome through the creation of an exterior box, projecting forwards from the façade plane, which is fully enclosed from the parapet by a series of wooden louvres functioning as a brise-soleil. This transformation converts the balcony space into a flexible environment that can be utilised in an open or closed configuration. This interior–exterior balcony connects directly to the double-height living area, allowing for adaptable use throughout the day. The shading and ventilation systems are based on shutters and windows with adjustable glass or wooden blades, as well as fixed concrete grilles.

On the eastern façade, functional areas are shielded from solar exposure by the galleries themselves, as well as adjustable wooden slats (Beta windows) that facilitate natural ventilation for the bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms. Transverse natural ventilation is further facilitated within the apartments through an open strip between the ceiling and the wall. This innovative solution features adjustable wooden slats, not only in the wall separating the living room from the balcony but also in the wall separating the bedroom corridor, the entrance wall beside the door and the interior doors. The ventilation and shading systems extend beyond the interior of the apartments, with concrete grilles also found within the stairwell volumes. Consequently, these blocks do not impede the circulation of air in the external galleries. Instead, they serve as both openings for airflow and as shading elements simultaneously.

The State Officials Building emerges within the cityscape as a prominent residential block. It distinguishes itself through its scale and volumetric design, showcasing the architect’s ingenious ability to seamlessly integrate and harness construction systems to its advantage. With clear references to the works of Le Corbusier, the sky streets of Alison (1928–1993) and Peter Smithson (1923–2003), and the construction traditions of many tropical African and Asian regions, Vasco Vieira da Costa manipulated structures in a plastic manner. He employed volumetric interplays of light and shadow, solids and voids, projections and recesses. The constraint of low-cost construction implied imaginative solutions and meticulous design, forming the basis for precise construction and a tectonic approach to the concept of “dry construction”, which was prevalent in the 1960s.

Today, the State Officials Building has undergone significant changes. The original design intentions have been reversed, as public and semi-private spaces have been repurposed into compact apartments or commercial units. Moreover, many of the balconies have been enclosed, and mechanical air-conditioning systems have been introduced.

References

Bonito, J. (2011). Arquitectura Moderna na África Lusófona. Recepção e Difusão das Ideias Modernas em Angola e Moçambique [Master dissertation, Técnico – University of Lisbon]. Técnico Scholar. https://scholar.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/records/ajXBh97x0oeGewhtklnTNYg9H5ASChgaoBok

Fry, M. and Drew, J. (1964). Tropical Architecture in Dry and Humid Zones. London: William Clowes and Sons.

Kultermann, U. (1969). New Directions in African Architecture. New York: George Braziller.

Olgyay, V. (1963). Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Quintã, M. (2009). Edifício Servidores do Estado. In Arquitectura e Clima, Geografia de um Lugar: Luanda e a Obra de Vasco Vieira da Costa. Porto: Iperforma/Soapro, pp. 143–149.

Quintão, J. (1987). Vasco Vieira da Costa 1911–1982, in Arquitectura Pintura Escultura Desenho, Património da Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto e da Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto, Universidade do Porto.

Tostões, A. and Bonito, J. (2013). “State Officials Building. A Version of Corbusier’s Lesson”. In: A. Tostões (ed.), Modern Architecture in Africa: Angola and Mozambique. Lisboa: ICIST/Técnico-University of Lisbon, pp. 196–205.

Tostões, A. (2016). “Collective Dwelling Block (Public servants building)”: Heritage of Portuguese Influence. HPIP. https://hpip.org/en/heritage/details/2001

Tostões, A. (2021). Public Servants Building. In: P. Meuser and A. Dalbai (eds.), Architectural Guide. Sub-Saharan Africa (Vol. 6: Central Africa: from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Berlin: DOM Publishers, p. 396.

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Originally published in: Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões, Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Birkhäuser, 2024.