The building is located in the center of a government complex in downtown Antananarivo, a short walk from rice fields from which the clay for the building's bricks was dug out and baked. The roof structure and framing took advantage of a local laminated timber company which was able to form complex structural shapes and angles with great precision. The splayed columns were an abstraction of the local Zebu, a culturally significant symbol in Malagasy life.