With the second weekend of Coachella underway, many festival-goers have already flooded social media with their experiences and favorite Instagrammable installations. Laid across the Coachella Valley are mesmerizing installations by architects and designers whose work blends art, architecture, and design exploration. One project in particular who has kept people buzzing is Francis Kéré's towered installation, Sarbalé Ke. Founder of Kéré Architecture Kéré was inspired by the Burkinabè baobab tree, a significant tree in African culture. Kéré reflected on the tree's cultural significance and used that as inspiration to further explore themes surrounding the topic of a village. The project's name Sarbalé Ke translates to "the House of Celebration" in Moore, a language spoke in various parts of Burkina Faso. Twelve baobab towers are placed around each other each varying in height and color. 

The materiality of the installation has a colorful and reflective quality which changes throughout the day. In describing the piece Kéré shares, "At the installation’s center, the tallest baobab reaches a height of 19 meters, followed by one of 18 meters, then 17 meters. These three adjoin, forming Sarbalé Ke’s largest gathering space. Here, at the heart of the village, the baobab towers create space for visitors to flow through the trunks from all directions. This gives way to a light-filled, naturally ventilated and shaded interior, both evoking the wonder of daylight in the heart of a baobab while responding to the immediate need for shade in Coachella’s sweltering spring climate. "

True to Kéré's dedication to honoring his home while focusing on material usage, affordability and local material availability the architect allows for his installation to interact and communicate with its surroundings by "adopting a new collection of shadows and highlights, a reference to the symbiotic color palette of Coachella’s sunrises and sunsets with the nearby mountain range."

After the festival, the installation will be transported to its permanent location in the East Valley of Coachella. It will stand as a public gathering pavilion for all to enjoy. Capturing the vibrant and welcoming nature of the installation esteemed architectural photographer Iwan Baan took photographs of the project.