Hôtel de la Paix

Hôtel de La Paix is a conceptual proposal for an adaptive reuse of one of Lomé’s most iconic, but derelict hotels. The iconic building sits on a 10-hectare-plot on the seafront and remains an urban landmark. Designed in 1972 by French architect Daniel Chenut, Hôtel de la Paix was for a few decades one of Lomé’s most frequented hotels, but it fell into disrepair in the 2000s.
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Having stood empty for a good two decades the abandoned structure is under constant threat of demolition with rumours of real estate developments or generic office blocks to replace it. Given the truly unique character of the architecture as well as its prominent position in the city, Studio NEiDA here proposes for the building to become a hub for education and culture.

In this vision, the building’s layout is kept, as are its various adjacent structures. The ground and first floor will be interdisciplinary creative studios and the upper floors a University of Applied Arts for architecture, design, and visual art. 

The sixteen former bungalows on the west are turned into a food-court, and the old pool and kiosk into an art centre, surrounded by vegetable gardens and a plant nursery. To the building’s east a park with sports facilities would provide free recreational activities. All of it is publicly accessible, transforming an abandoned luxury hotel into a multipurpose commons.