Eastgate Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe
Mick Pearce
The Eastgate Centre is a large-scale project that combined traditional Zimbabwe technology, local materials, and bio-inspired cooling methods to passively cool a large building mass.
The Eastgate Centre is a 9-storey mixed-use building (shopping centre, parking, and office space) located in Harare, Zimbabwe that does not utilize an active heating and cooling system to regulate the building’s temperature. Inspired by termite mounds, the designer incorporated a ventilation system that draws and redirects hot air through the chimneys at the top of the structure.
*Please note that building designs are being included as “products” in the Habitat Sector of the Solutions Library to allow readers to learn from how projects were designed and constructed and how they are serving the occupants, whether effective or ineffective.
The Eastgate Centre was commissioned by Old Mutual Properties and designed in collaboration with Ove Arup and Partners.
Construction costs totaled 35,000,000 USD.
Internationally, primary competitors include buildings that employ biomimicry to achieve sustainability, such as the MMAA Office Building in Qatar, 30 St Mary Axe in London, and the BIQ House in Hamburg.
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Target users include tenants renting the retail and office spaces in addition to individuals visiting the shopping centre in Harare, Zimbabwe.
