Abidjan’s F Tower in West Africa with a height of 385.8 meters is poised to become the tallest building in the continent when it is finally competed.
According to thetravel.com, while we may argue whether Chicago or New York is the birthplace of modern skyscrapers, there’s no denying that we’ve always been fascinated by towering heights and tall structures.
Some, such as the New Yorker’s columnist Paul Goldberger, has described our obsession with tall structures as “a pursuit that’s both pointless and exhilarating.” The quintessential castle in the air. Granted, space and efficiency make for some sound arguments. However, the truth is that most tall structures that have reshaped the skylines of many of our cities and metropoles have been inspired not by practical efficiency but by pride. Some would include ego and hubris.
Whatever the case, the allure of height is not about to go away. It’s as if we envy the eagles, the sequoias, and the Great Smokies. Following this trend, Abidjan’s F Tower is poised to become the tallest building in Africa.
Here’s What To Know About Abidjan’s F Tower
The outstanding thing to know about the F Tower is that, at its completion, it will become the tallest structure in Africa. The concrete part of the F Tower is expected to be 373.2 meters high. However, according to several reports, the full height of the structure will be 385.8 meters when complete. While this is much shorter than the Burj Khalifa’s height of about 828 meters—it rises above many American skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building (381 meters), the Bank of America Tower (366 meters), and St. Regis Chicago (363 meters). Still, according to Statista, eight American buildings will still peer down Africa’s tallest. The F Tower is a tower. While the term is used interchangeably with others like “building” or “structure,” there’s a fine distinction.
Technically, a tower tends to be tall in proportion to the size of its base. And the difference is usually conspicuous and significant. Also, while a building is habitable, a tower is typically built for other reasons other than habitation or work. Many times, they serve as observation decks, telecommunication transmitters, or military installations.
That notwithstanding, the F Tower will primarily consist of office blocks. Grazing the Abidjan sky from the heart of the city center, the F Tower will be the Central Business District’s sixth Skyscraper. Currently, Africa’s tallest tower is the Great Mosque of Algiers, also known as Djamaa el Djazaïr, which goes up 264 meters and has the world’s tallest minaret.
Other Interesting Facts About What Will Be Africa’s Tallest Structure
The task of designing F Tower fell on PFO Africa, the leading construction company in the Ivory Coast, which also has investment interests in mining as well as real estate. The honors particularly go to the Belgium-trained architect Pierre Fakhoury who reportedly was the brain behind the tower’s architectural blueprint. To see through the F Tower’s completion, however, PFO Africa contracted the Brussels-based construction group Besix to take charge of the tower’s construction right through to completion. Among Besix’s other ongoing projects that are notable are the Triangle Tower, the third-highest tower in Paris, as well as the 460-meter long Kangaroo Point Green Bridge in Brisbane, Australia—one of the longest-span cable-stay pedestrian bridges on the planet.
When complete, The F Tower will have 64 floors of office space. It will also have quite a number of additional facilities and amenities, including an auditorium which will be able to comfortably seat about 200 people. The exterior of the building is reportedly inspired by the symmetry of African tribal masks. The influence and inspiration of traditional African fabrics will also be highlighted in the contrasts and reflections on the building’s exterior, which will feature a double skin with sloping facets.
The F Tower And Abidjan’s Changing Skyline
It’s remarkable that the F Tower has been in the urban development plans of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s capital, since 1970. It is now poised to add a shade of glitz and glamor to a city that has been christened the “Manhattan of Africa” because of its towering skyscrapers and flashy buildings.
Also known as the “Paris of Western Africa,” Abidjan combines the air of American free-spiritedness, French lifestyle, and West African pride. With beaches primarily around the lagoon that are lined with beautiful cone-shaped palm trees, and a nightlife considered to be one of the liveliest in the whole of Africa, Abidjan is a city that’s worth visiting whether for business tourism, culture, or just the sights and scenes that abound.
And with the sky-piercing F Tower in its bustling midst, the city’s aesthetic appeal is assured. Today, Abidjan is witnessing an impressive uptick in infrastructural growth, doubtless as a result of political stability.
