National bank of Ethiopia: let’s sneak a peek at the behind-the scene
Sneak Peek: Interior Design project in Ethiopia. The works at the National Bank of Ethiopia have been delivered. Before showing the finished work, we want to talk about the making of two peculiar furnishing items: the “diamond” columns and the world map. Come with us!
Let’s have a look at the works delivered at the National Bank of Ethiopia building: the 5 floors that are included in our scope of work are various and they differ for design and mode of use:
- from the reception to the Governor’s office
- from the bar to the lounge area
- from the Conference Hall to the Operative offices
WORKS COMPLETED IN 2023
In this short article we’ll talk about two pieces of furniture tailored to the National Bank project, specifically for the Governor’s office on the second floor and for the executive offices on the first floor.
Called to face the FAST-TRACK nature of the project, we supported and worked with the Main Designer, the Consultant, the Main Client as well as our client to find solutions that could fit the architecture, the construction techniques and the final budget; the main work was on our procurement, called to find in stock materials that met and matched the Design Intent. (Marina Manfrin, Export sales manager)
Federica Zizzari, Project Manager for Devoto Design, adds:
Project Management has been determining for the achievement of the desired goals. The application of the procedures has been obsessively focused on the right balance of the overlapping steps of this complex project and on the evalution of the construction techniques. This made it possible to handle a constant optimization of time and costs, always safeguarding the quality of the design. (Federica Zizzari, project manager)
Interior Design project Ethiopia: here are the columns and the world map
To the package of the custom works belong two interesting elements in wood, the result of an engineering process that helped us save time and costs at the same time.
In this short article we’ll show you some production pictures of the columns and the world map.
The cladding of the columns
For the columns – 2,35 m high – we engineered and produced two sub-elements that wrap and clad the existing structures. As you can see in the pictures, these elements were conceived to be easily joined on site.
These two half-columns are made of a polygon substructure in metal onto which we glued hundreds of wood prisms which we like to call “diamonds”.
Again the engineering process was important here, because we conceived the “diamonds” with a simple joint mechanism that could support and follow the curve of the column. In this way the pre-assembly was faster and we saved precious production time.
On both the top and the bottom of the column there is a gold-finished ribbon.
The ceiling in the Governor’s office
Inside the Governor’s rooms we find a peculiar ceiling in wood – here below you can see it in the making.
The ceiling was conceived as the extension of the two side columns covered in walnut wood strips. These strips rise from the bottom of the columns and uninterruptedly extend onto the ceiling and intertwine on the world map creating harmonious lines.
FUN FACT: the world map design is negative: the oceans are made of wood and the dryland is the backlit section.
How did we make it?
The wood oceans were placed on a large transparent Lexan sheet. When backlit, Lenax can highlight the empty parts which in this case are the continents.
It goes without saying that we are extremely proud of the fact that our client has chosen us again and involved us in another important project in Ethiopia. It means trust, it means reliability and professionalism, something we constantly work for everyday, so it is good to see them acknowledged. (Cecilia Devoto, CEO)
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