South African studio SAOTA has completed the Noom Hotel Abidjan Plateau in Ivory Coast, featuring a layered facade as a contemporary extension of the city’s modernist heritage. The studio references local patterns and motifs within clean, rational forms at this skyscraping hotel, blending modernism with regional identity advancements in both design and architecture.
SAOTA Blends Modernist Heritage with Local Identity
The Noom Hotel Abidjan Plateau features a layered facade that draws inspiration from Abidjan’s modernist heritage as a canvas for architectural ambition. A lens to “express Noom’s luxurious, cosmopolitan appeal while remaining firmly rooted in its African identity”, the skyscraper comprises 22 storeys and rises from the “dense, dynamic” central Plateau district, distinguished by what the studio calls a “dialogue between the past and the present, between local identity and global aspirations”.
“Abidjan, often called the ‘Paris of West Africa’, has long been a canvas for architectural ambition,” said the studio. “The city’s modernist heritage, rooted in the optimistic post-independence era, saw the creation of bold, expressive forms – symbols of progress and newfound identity.”
Local Craftsmanship Informs a “Modern Architectural Language”
The wired facade incorporates an aluminium rainscreen and a layered composition of openings and enclosures over the glass walls. SAOTA referenced traditional local craftsmanship that has been reinterpreted and woven into a “modern architectural language that echoes the clean lines and rational forms of mid-20th-century modernism”.
“In Abidjan, a city where modernist ideals have often been tempered by the practicalities of tropical climate and rapid urbanisation, SAOTA’s design for the Noom Hotel is a study in contrasts and convergence,” said the studio. “The tower’s facade, with its asymmetrical articulation of windows and its layered use of contemporary finishes, draws from the rich tapestry of local craftsmanship – textiles, ceramics, and other artisanal practices emblematic of the region.”
The hotel has been designed with what the studio describes as an “open, expansive” feel, achieved through the placement of communal areas on the seventh floor. The floor comprises a pool and a terrace with views of the city and of the Ébrié Lagoon.
“The challenge for SAOTA was to translate the open, expansive feel of Noom’s previous low-rise hotels into a vertical format without losing the sense of openness and connection to the surroundings,” said the studio. Featuring locally inspired motifs, the hotel features 179 rooms, as well as restaurant areas, a conference space and leisure areas accessible through an elaborate triple-volume entryway.
SAOTA topped the hotel with a patterned crown, which both shields it from sunlight and serves as a formal culmination point for the tower. The layered facade of the building maintains a separate materiality for each storey, with floorplates expressed through their orientation and through varied framing elements.
“Noom Hotel Abidjan Plateau is more than just a luxurious new addition to the city’s hospitality scene; it continues Abidjan’s modernist legacy, reinterpreted for the present,” said the studio.
