There has been a continued escalation in fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The destruction of the capital Khartoum continues – physically, economically, socially and culturally – as buildings are bombarded and homes looted. One of the city’s landmark skyscrapers, the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower, was recently engulfed in flames. We asked three Sudanese architecture experts – Amira Osman, Akram Elkhalifa and Tallal Abdalbasit Saeed – about the skyscraper and the destruction of the city. Osman also interviewed Khartoum-based architects Arwa Ahmed and Hassan Mahmoud for this article as part of her ongoing research.
Why is the tower so prominent and what does it represent?
Amira Osman: The 18-floor skyscraper was constructed in 2010, the first of two towers originally proposed by the local Alsunut Development Company. As architect Hassan Mahmoud told me, “It’s the headquarters of the Greater Nile Petroleum Company, the consortium that in 1997 led the exploration and export of oil in Sudan. Its glass sides and dramatic, curved bullet shape made it a distinctive building. The design was meant to be iconic, with the steel structure and glazing shaped to resemble a flame representing the oil blaze in the fields.” Another local architect, Arwa Ahmed, said: “Since its construction, there was hardly a photo, painting or a graphic design piece about Khartoum that did not include this building in its skyline. It had become a symbol of the region … I remember the day when I was an architectural student and our lecturer introduced us to the Alsunut project as a vision for new hope for the Sudan.”
