01Gothenburg · Addis AbabaCommercial & Mixed-Use
Workplaces and mixed-use environments designed for dense, fast-growing city centres.
Typology — Offices · Retail · Mixed-use
Architects · Engineers · Planners
Architecture forcomplex urban futures.
ABAKO International Partners combines Swedish architectural discipline with decades of on-the-ground experience in Africa — delivering buildings, planning processes and sustainable urban development for communities, institutions and growing cities.
Founded
1985
Offices
Sweden & Ethiopia
Disciplines
Architecture · Engineering · Planning
Focus
Sustainable Urban Development
Method
SymbioCity experience
The practice
Built for environments where architecture, infrastructure and society meet.
ABAKO works where design, planning, engineering, delivery and local context have to align. Most of our projects sit at the intersection of public ambition and real-world constraint — fast-growing cities, limited resources, complex stakeholders.
Founded in 1985 and independent since 1998, we operate from two permanent offices — Gothenburg and Addis Ababa — so Swedish architectural rigour is paired with a deep, lived understanding of the places we build in.
40
years of practice
2
continents, one studio
7
countries delivered in
Project Atlas
From 57°N
to 34°S.
One studio, one connecting line. From Gothenburg to East Africa and across the continent — ABAKO works where cities, institutions and communities are taking shape.
2
Offices
11
Locations
7
Countries
Active locationOFFICE
Addis Ababa
9.0°N
Ethiopia
Office · Architecture · Urban Development
A practice connected by context, not borders.
Selected work
Six bodies of work, one design intelligence.
01Gothenburg · Addis Ababa
02Ethiopia · Southern AfricaHotels & Lodges
Hospitality architecture rooted in landscape, climate and local craft.
Typology — Hotels · Lodges · Resorts
03Multi-countryResidential
Housing at every scale — from single dwellings to planned residential districts.
Typology — Housing · Low-cost techniques
04Ethiopia · ZambiaHealth & Education
Hospitals, clinics and schools that strengthen public institutions and communities.
Typology — Health · Education · Civic
05Multi-countryResearch & Industry
Laboratories, production and industrial facilities engineered for performance.
Typology — Research · Industry · Logistics
06Sweden · AfricaSustainable Urban Development
City-scale planning and SymbioCity processes for resilient, resource-efficient growth.
Scale — Districts · Cities · Regions
Capabilities
The full chain — from first sketch to handed-over capacity.
01
Architecture & Interior Design
Buildings and interiors developed as one continuous design idea.
02
Engineering Design
Structural and technical design integrated from the first concept.
03
Construction Management
Procurement, programme and cost coordinated through to completion.
04
Supervision & Contract Administration
On-site oversight that protects design intent and quality.
05
Sustainable Urban Planning
District- and city-scale planning for resilient growth.
06
SymbioCity Processes
The Swedish approach to resource-efficient, holistic urban systems.
07
Capacity Building
Training and processes that strengthen local institutions.
08
Feasibility Studies
Clear-eyed assessment before commitments are made.
09
Low-Cost Housing Techniques
Affordable, buildable methods with lasting technical support.
The method
How a project
actually moves.
A consistent process whether the project is a single building or a city district — context first, systems thinking throughout, and capacity that stays behind.
01
Understand the context
We begin on the ground — reading climate, culture, economy and the realities of each place before a single line is drawn.
02
Design the system
Architecture, engineering and planning are developed together as one coherent system — not separate deliverables.
03
Coordinate delivery
We manage construction, supervision and contracts so the built result matches the intent.
04
Build long-term capacity
We leave behind skills, processes and local capability that outlast the project itself.
Why it matters
The fastest-growing cities can't afford the wrong decisions.
01
Resilience
Buildings and plans that hold up to climate, demand and time.
02
Resource efficiency
Designing more public value from fewer materials and less energy.
03
Local capacity
Skills and institutions strengthened long after handover.
04
Public value
Health, education and civic life made tangibly better.
05
Long-term outcomes
Urban decisions measured in decades, not project cycles.
Forty years, one trajectory
1985
Founded as a subsidiary of Swedish practice ABAKO Arkitektkontor AB.
1998
Becomes an independent international architecture and planning company.
Today
Two permanent offices — Gothenburg, Sweden and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
7 +
Architecture and urban development projects across Sweden and Africa.
Next
Future-focused, sustainable urban development for cities in transformation.
Before you ask
Questions we hear often.
Yes. With permanent offices in Gothenburg and Addis Ababa, we deliver projects across Sweden and several African countries — combining a Swedish base with genuine, on-the-ground presence.
We cover the full chain: architecture and engineering design, construction management, supervision and contract administration — so the design intent survives all the way to the finished building.
No. Alongside buildings we work at city scale — sustainable urban development, planning and SymbioCity processes for districts, cities and regions.
Public institutions, municipalities, development organisations and private developers — partners delivering health, education, housing and urban infrastructure.
A short conversation. Tell us about the place, the programme and the constraints — we will outline how architecture, engineering and planning can work together for it.
Telephone
+46 31 12 67 67Email
info@abakoip.seStudio · Sweden
Lilla Byvägen 12 A
SE 430 84 Styrsö
SE 430 84 Styrsö
Studio · Ethiopia
Addis Ababa