The Shippon Offices: An Earthen Anchor in Accra, Accra, Ghana

The Shippon Offices represent a homecoming for Adjaye Associates, serving as the firm's own global headquarters within the heart of the Cantonments neighborhood. This four-story structure rejects the sterile, glass-and-steel vernacular of modern corporate West Africa in favor of a tactile, grounded presence. By integrating ancient material wisdom with sophisticated structural engineering, the project proves that high-density urban workplaces can breathe and belong to the soil they stand upon.

The Vision

The design is an exercise in radical transparency and climatic response, moving away from the typical sealed office box. It seeks to dissolve the boundaries between the professional and the communal, creating a space that feels more like a living ecosystem than a rigid place of work. By lifting the primary office floors upon a dramatic 26-meter cantilever, the building preserves the ground plane for social interaction and parking, while providing the upper levels with a sense of floating weightlessness.

Tectonics

The building’s architectural language is defined by its massive rammed earth fins, which serve as the primary environmental filter for the interior. These fins, deep and rhythmically spaced, provide critical solar shading and privacy in the intense tropical light of Accra while allowing for precise, framed views of the city. This heavy, earthen skin is paired with low-carbon concrete and timber, creating a material palette that prioritizes environmental performance and the celebration of local knowledge systems.

The Living Building

Inside, the atmosphere is defined by a warmth and tactility rarely found in Grade-A office spaces. Natural light is softened as it passes through the glazed fin system, illuminating timber surfaces and earthen walls that regulate humidity and temperature naturally. The building is designed to support the human needs of its 180 occupants, featuring a dedicated creche for staff families, a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen, and a shaded garden pergola at the ground level that encourages spontaneous gatherings.

Data Sheet