Francis Kéré has been announced as the architect of a new virtual museum of stolen cultural artifacts for UNESCO. The project will exhibit 3D versions of the objects while at the same time elevating the voices and narratives of the global communities from which they were taken. 

Renderings released along with its announcement show a large transparent dome with gallery spaces lining a Guggenheim-like spiraling central ramp, inspired by the African baobab tree.

The 52,000 works displayed were digitally rendered using the Stolen Works of Art database of INTERPOL, the international police organization that tracks the trafficking of looted cultural artifacts globally.

UNESCO says this will become a "tool to raise awareness on the illicit trafficking and the importance of protecting cultural heritage among the relevant authorities, culture professionals, and the general public, notably young generations."

"Behind every stolen work or fragment lies a piece of history, identity, and humanity that has been wrenched from its custodians, rendered inaccessible to research, and now risks falling into oblivion," UNESCO's director, Audrey Azoulay, explained finally to a meeting of national representatives in Paris. "Our objective with this is to place these works back in the spotlight and to restore the right of societies to access their heritage, experience it, and recognize themselves in it."

The museum is expected to open in 2025. Saudia Arabia is the chief backer so far after a $2.5 million commitment.