Architect: SKARDELLI György
The new embassy complex has been built with unified characteristics, using the same building materials. The buildings have been designed with consideration to the local climate, stilized motifs of the local vernacular architecture have been applied. The complex fits well into the garden suburb district of the new capital.
In 1991, Abuja became the new capital of Nigeria and the embassies moved there from Lagos, the old capital. The new Hungarian embassy complex had been built by the Emir of Muri on his own land and the Hungarian State rent it from him, like the previous embassy had been rented.
The buildings of the embassy are located along an interior walkway on the long, narrow, 6030 m2 area plot, they present a unified image. The sequence of the buildings is determined by their function, which changes from official to private, starting from the entrance and moving inward. The buildings are separated by various gardens. The embassy compound is surrounded by a wall, there is an Entrance building on the streetfront with a guard’s room, electrical rooms, covered parking and a connecting open-air guest parking lot. The two-storey Chancellery building has been built on the other side of the parking area; besides the offices there are also two guest apartments on its ground floor. The Chancellery is separated by a garden from the two-storey Residency building, which has two wings surrounding an open inner courtyard. The ground floor accommodates rooms for events, their service areas and a kitchen; the apartment of the ambassador is located upstairs. Another garden separates the Flats for the diplomats, a building with three wings. Two of the four flats have single storey, two have two-storey arrangement. At the back of the plot, separated by a fence, the building of the Flats for the local employees has been built, with 4-4 flats on each floor. There is also a utility building in this part of the plot, accommodating a workshop, a storeroom and a mechanical room.
A very important aspect of the design was to establish an organic relationship between the buildings and the gardens, adapting them to the local climate. Building structures and materials generally used in Nigeria had to be chosen and the climatic conditions had to be considered. The walls have been built of in-situ precast concrete blocks, with in-situ reinforced concrete columns and slabs. There are roof tiles on the low pitch roofs. The white plaster facades are protected by a plinth made of local stone. The balconies, shaded by overhanging roofs, are supported by steel columns filled with concrete; they have wooden lattice railings. The buildings are surrounded by a well kept garden, decorated with tropical ornamental plants suitable for the climate.
Today the Hungarian embassy is located elsewhere.
Location: Jose Marti Street, Abuja, Nigéria
Built: 2000
Architects: SKARDELLI György
Associate architects: DUDÁS István, GÁSPÁR László, KÁDAS Eszter, LÁZÁR Ferenc
Interior architect: PLACHTOVICS Vilmos
Landscape architect: HAVASSY Gabriella
Area: 1450 m2