La Pyramide Architecture Competition

La Pyramide Architecture Competition

La PyramIde: The Futuristic soul of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
In the heart of Abidjan’s administrative district, La Pyramide rises as a 62-meter monument to the era of the “Ivorian Miracle.” Designed by architect Rinaldo Olivieri and engineer Riccardo Morandi between 1968 and 1973, a 15-story brutalist landmark meant to announce Côte d’Ivoire onto the global stage.

Known as “The Lady of the Plateau,” the building is instantly recognizable by its rhythmic concrete geometry and its radical hollow-core design, allowing light and air to circulate naturally through the vast interior. Olivieri carefully adapted the project to Abidjan’s tropical climate: the open, exposed structure encouraged ventilation, while the exterior panels shielded the building from intense sunlight and gave it a futuristic, spaceship-like appearance.

At the time, La Pyramide was considered an engineering marvel. It was designed to contain a vibrant mix of boutiques, offices, and public spaces, all supported by an underground parking garage, a symbol of modern urban ambition in post-independence West Africa.

Over time, however, humidity, aging infrastructure, and rising maintenance costs led to the building’s gradual decline. Its silhouette never disappeared from Abidjan’s skyline. Today, La Pyramide is no longer viewed as a failed project, but as one of the most powerful symbols of African Modernism, a memory of extraordinary optimism and a challenge to a new generation of architects to rethink the future of the African city.

The objective is to repurpose La Pyramide to make it habitable, transforming a celebrated but empty monument into a functional, living part of the city.

The design should:

Make it Habitable:

Propose a program that breathes life back into the Building.

Respect the Existing Structure:

The primary task is the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the existing Structure. Any changes in the form should be justified by your conceptual approach to the building’s new life.

Social & Urban Integration:

Design a project that bridges the gap between the formal business district of Le Plateau and the vibrant life of Abidjan.