Founded in 2006 by Rosemary and Martin Orthner, OOA_Architecture has taken the lead to transform the capital city Accra by combining European know-how with locally available building materials to create sustainable developmental projects.
With projects such as the Legon City lofts, the Austrian trained Architects have been able to demonstrate a contemporary interpretation of traditional building concepts for tropical climates. During the construction fair held in Accra in October 2019, this residential complex received the “City Construction and Property Award" for the best residential town house development in Ghana. To cater for the growing mass of the population with limited income/resources, OOA has begun a project called “Pata4two”. “Pata4two” are simple homes designed using the concept of traditional buildings.
The Austrian couple and its team has constructed distinctive landmark buildings in Accra for clients as diverse as the WORLD BANK/IFC, ORACLE and GOOGLE but its clientele also includes government agencies. With their energy-efficient design, they won the tender for the construction of an energy-efficient IT training center by the Ghanaian tax authorities, which is to be inaugurated in 2021.
Recently, the couple added a new feat to their bag of accomplishments, OOA Architecture was featured in the 2020 edition of Domus 50 best architecture firms with the focus on identifying the world's 50 most creative, interesting and promising emerging architecture practices. They are very excited to be amongst the very few chosen from Africa.
Since 2018, Rosemary and Martin Orthner have been the Austrian Honorary Consuls to Ghana and in addition to this responsibility, they organize architectural trips for local architects to the “Future of Building” in Vienna.
For more information, please visit their website www.orthnerarchitects.com
