The CICES, International Center of Foreign Trade of Senegal is the exhibition center of Dakar. It regularly hosts a wide variety of fairs and meetings. In the frame of  the World Festival of Negro Arts (Fesman III), the site had been selected to host exhibitions of art, the HQ press, television studios and organizing teams for the entire festival. The CICES had been chosen to be the flagship site of the festival.

The CICES occupies an area of 220 000 m² and is an enclave in the city. It is surrounded by an enclosure and the site level is down below the main access road level. It contributes to the lack of visibility of this equipmentits and its isolation from urban flows.

The CICES includes several existing buildings, some of which are connected by an upper circulation that offers nice views but is virtually abandoned by its lack of convenience of access.

The assignment was to identify priorities of action to give back to this site a  more clearly identifiable overall image in the city and to improve the thermic comfort in the outdoor courses.

The project is not a global rehabilitation of this equipment but precises punctual interventions that have the capacity to transform the image of the site and its use. The project is reshaping the topography and thus reverses ground relationships by considering the high level of the access road as the main 0 level. Masses of earth creates a landscape in negative that mixes built and not built. This action gives back its city scale to the site, allows the existing upper circulation to make sense again and articulates all the different fluxes in a fluid way.

These “hills of earth” are coming from the numerous work sites in process in the city. It reduces transport costs and places the project in a sustainable economy logic. These hills are also used to limit asphalt ground areas whose maintenance is costly and harmful to the environment. A new pedestrian net of paths is settled.

The other main action of the project is the planting of a great number of trees and shrubs that require no maintenance or watering. These plantations are fundamental to create the new image of the site. Faidherbia albida, flamboyants, bougainvilliers, Beach morning glory were chosen for their suitability to the climate and their bright colours. They are located on the site to form large splashes of colour. The whole creates a new landscape, unusual and singular.

The objective of this new vegetation also give comfort to the climate and the external traffic. Pedestrian areas become shaded. The outdoor areas can be fully experienced and once again become places of leisure.

Interventions on existing buildings were reduced to the minimum like surgical operations :  The project redefines the patio as a place for festive receptions (cocktails, parties...). A new wide size staircase is built to give a fluid and privileged access to this patio; Some simple cuts are made in upper floor around the patio to bring natural light; New coconut trees are planted and invaded the patio through some of the cuts made in the slab; The side walls of punctual buildings are partially demolished to transform them in simple shelters carving this festive place (they conveniently allow the positioning of buffets to be protected from rain or dust).