Basotho Hat building

The Basotho Hat Shop is a craft shop and tourist attraction in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The building is shaped like a cone and copies the mokorotlo, the traditional straw hat that is a national symbol of the Basotho people. The thatched roof ends in the hat's woven knot at the top.

Architects call a building shaped like an everyday object "novelty architecture". This one was designed by Colin Unsworth, then assistant Government Architect, and it opened on 28 April 1962. The shop sells handmade goods made in Lesotho, including Basotho hats, masks, pottery and wood crafts. The mokorotlo also appears on Lesotho's flag, so the hat is easy for visitors to recognise.

The hat behind the hat

The mokorotlo is a cone-shaped straw hat, and it is a national symbol of Lesotho. Its shape was inspired by Mount Qiloane, a cone-shaped mountain. So the shop is a building shaped like a hat that was itself inspired by a mountain. Local crafters make hats and other goods, and in 2000 the shop employed 11 Basotho craftspeople.

Burned and rebuilt

In September 1998 there was civil unrest in Maseru, and the Basotho Hat building was destroyed by fire. In 2000 the government set aside L5,200,000 for rebuilding. At the reopening, the prime minister, Pakalitha Mosisili, called the building a landmark and symbol of unity that shows the nation's identity. The new building keeps the original shape, with reinforced concrete and a thatched roof.

On the globe

The model shows a thatched cone topped by a woven knot, copying the Basotho hat.