Archinect - News

The new Bët-bi Museum by atelier masōmī will continue a shift toward cultural justice in Senegal

2022-05-17T12:32:00-04:00

A historic new museum is set to take shape in West Africa, the vision of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and designer Mariam Kamara of Niger’s atelier masōmī.

Bët-bi is said to be the first institution dedicated to the (temporary) collection and display of repatriated objects taken from their native lands in a reversal of controversial practices which have been at the heart of many Western museum operations since their beginnings in Colonialism.

Image courtesy atelier masōmī

The studio beat out four other firms based in Africa for the commission, including Rwanda’s MASS Design Group and the Moroccan firm Aziza Chaouni Projects.

Located in the Kaolack region of southern Senegal, Bët-bi (or “The Eye” in Wolof) aims to position itself as an intermediary between Western art-collecting institutions and surrounding nations in addition to serving in its functional capacity as an educational fount to the area. In this regard, its mission and scope are similar to that of the planned Ed...

Kéré Architecture breaks ground on new Goethe Institute center in Dakar

2022-02-23T15:49:00-05:00

Senegal is taking a big step towards further establishing itself as an architectural capital thanks to Francis Kéré’s design for the Goethe Institute that has officially broken ground in Dakar.

The 56-year-old architect was on hand Wednesday for a ceremony which included German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Goethe Institute’s Carola Lentz.

Exterior view of the Goethe Institute. Rendering by Goethe Institute.

Speaking at the ceremony, the architect mentioned the shared values that both he and the Institute share, stating that his climate-oriented approach to the project was met with an “open and sympathetic” response that encouraged him to “take things further” in a collaborative effort later outlined by Steinmeier.

Architect Francis Kéré, the Senegalese artist Baaba Mal, Senegalese Minister of Town Planning and Public Hygiene Abdoulaye Saydou Sow, and Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Image courtesy Goethe Institute.

“I am optimistic that Africa and E...

Oliver Wainwright obsesses over the distinctive architecture of Dakar

2022-01-14T14:40:00-05:00

Their obsessive geometrical composition was an attempt to answer the call of Senegal’s first president, the poet Léopold Sédar Senghor, for a national style that he curiously termed “asymmetrical parallelism”. Senghor never quite defined what this brave new style should look like, but he spoke vaguely of “a diversified repetition of rhythm in time and space”. Forceful, faceted forms and strong, rhythmic geometries became the vogue.

Dakar is known as a regional hub of modernism, which is equally the product of Senghor’s arts-centered vision and of its past colonial linkage. Wainwright traced the history of post-independence architecture in Senegal from the 1974 International Fair to Abdoulaye Wade’s controversial outsized African Renaissance Monument in Ouakam.

The Guardian critic appeared to be impressed by the city’s variety of styles and influences, offering Philipp Meuser and Adil Dalbai’s guide to the region as his bible and saying that it “offers a glimmer of hope from a new generation of young architects and engineers rediscovering vernacular techniques.”

“It is the postcolonial architecture of the 1970s and 80s that really stands out for its originality, much of it by Senegalese architects Cheikh Ngom and Pierre Goudiaby Atepa, as well as France’s Henri Chomette. They all developed a distinctive form of modernism in tune with President Senghor’s ideas of asymmetrical parallelism. Monolithic tapering p...

Pop star Akon set to break ground on Senegal's first LEED-certified crypto-city

2020-01-22T20:18:00-05:00

Global pop star Akon and Senegalese government officials are readying to break ground on a new ground-up 2,000-acre sustainable tourism city near the country's capital, Dakar.

Just finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal. Looking forward to hosting you there in the future pic.twitter.com/dsoYpmjnpf
— AKON (@Akon) January 13, 2020

CNN reports that the musician-turned-businessman and government officials recently signed an official agreement initiating the development of the city. In a tweet marking the occasion, Akon writes, "Just finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal. Looking forward to hosting you there in the future." The project is being developed with the help of SAPCO, Senegal's state-owned tourism company, Africa News reports. Hussein Bakri, BAD Consultant, Semer Group are credited with the design of the project has not been announced, while the Sana'a-based engineering firm Yemeni Group is listed as another project partner.

Proposed renderings of Akon Cit...

Its curves recall the vernacular found in southern Senegal's Casamance

2018-12-09T20:41:00-05:00

The idea of establishing the museum dates back more than 50 years, to Senegal's late poet-president, Léopold Sédar Senghor. Along with Martinican writer Aimé Césaire, Senghor was a creative force behind the philosophy of Négritude, which opposed the imposition of French culture on colonies in Africa and the Caribbean.

Senegal's new Musée des Civilisations noires opens this week in the capital, Dakar.

Anyone know who the architect is? Nothing I could find/Google Translate seems to indicate. Perhaps, some nameless bureaucratic office or Chinese ExtraStateCraft(er)?

Manuel Herz Architect's rural hospital expansion in Senegal

2018-06-05T16:12:00-04:00

The Switzerland-based firm Manuel Herz Architect has been selected to design an important new expansion for a rural hospital in the Tambacounda region of Senegal. Conceived and funded by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa, the facility's expansion will help alleviate a current overcrowding issue.

The hospital currently serves 20,000 patients per year from the surrounding area and is in desperate need of more space to accommodate these numbers.

Manuel Herz’s design aims to sensitively address the brief with a focus on greater coherence and comfort within the space. The design consists of a winding curvilinear building with lattice brickwork to help alleviate the region's extreme temperatures.

Win "African Modernism", a book that investigates nation building in five African countries

2016-01-06T14:16:00-05:00

Several African countries gained hard-fought independence from their colonizers during the 1950s and 1960s, and one way the countries expressed their new national identities was through architecture. The book African Modernism delves into this relationship between architecture and the complexities of nation building, particularly in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia.

Edited by architect Manuel Herz and published to accompany the Vitra Design Museum's "Architecture of Independence" exhibition, the hefty 640-page book features 103 buildings with brief description texts, images, site plans, floor plans, and sections, as well as significant photo contributions from Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster — who each documented the buildings in their current state. The book also features essays that focus on different aspects and topics regarding post-colonial Africa, which are illustrated with images and documents. If you're in Chicago, the Architecture of Independence exhibition wil...

Toshiko Mori designs pro-bono a new artists' residency in Senegal

2015-01-15T15:45:00-05:00

The rural village of Sinthian in southeastern Senegal is home to the THREAD arts center, a new artists' residency and cultural community space set to open this March. The idea for the arts center originated from the long-term efforts of doctor and local Sinthian leader, Magueye Ba, who spearheaded the project with environmental sustainability expert Moussa Sene and The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. The project has already gained deserved recognition with a selection for the 2014 Venice Biennale and an AIANY award.

Designed pro-bono by New York-based Toshiko Mori Architect, the art center's design incorporates local materials and building customs. While local masons and villagers provided their expertise on working with bamboo, brick, and thatch, Mori rendered those materials into a contemporary geometric design that complements its surrounding flat landscape. The structure's most notable feature is its inverted roof that can collect and retain rainwater to provide for 40% of the ...

The City That Made Solar Power Illegal

2014-08-13T14:09:00-04:00

The rainy season coincides with summer in Dakar, which means it’s the power-cut days. The heat goes up, A/Cs kick into gear and the power utility, Senelec, cannot cope. [...] Enter solar. This potential renewable savior is a latecomer to Dakar because until recently solar power was banned in cities, as it was considered what the French pointedly call “compétition déloyale” – unfair competition. But under pressure from Dakar’s own citizens, the ban was lifted under the last government [...].