Exhibition until the end of October 2011.

And here they are, 12 exciting projects, illustrating different aspects of Africa’s architectural future (in alphabetical order):

• African Agora as Generator, The,
• Building an Identity for Fiamah
• Case Ameliorée, La
• Catalyst – Environment for Change
• Daydream for Africa, A,
• Garden City Park
• Hairdresser’s Premises
• Indigenous Meets Contemporary
• Living Kiosk
• Re-designing the Temporal Spaces
• Sedar Hall of Residence
• Suburban Slipstream & Grow-a-Garage

The jury has selected twelve entries to be on display at the exhibition that will be held in 2011. Those twelve are listed in the report. Three projects have been awarded a prize, and a special mention has been given to two projects. The ranking of the prize winners will be announced at the opening of the exhibition in April 2011. Prize winners will receive personal notice and an invitation to the exhibition’s opening at the Afrika Museum in Berg en Dal, Netherlands.

Read the jury report

For more information on the Afrika Museum, please check www.afrikamuseum.nl.

Colophon

Organisation

The Afrika Museum has been a forerunner in displaying African art, culture and architecture for decades now and has all the expertise that is required to organise spectacular exhibitions.

African Architecture Matters/ArchiAfrika has an excellent network of architects, planners and educational institutes as well as good contacts with the cultural circuit on the African continent and within the Diaspora.

Website

Infofilm/Museummedia is a creative company focused on producing innovative visual media in HD, online video, new media and highly accessible websites.

A recommending committee has been put together for this project with the following members:

Prof. dr. ir. L.O. Fresco (University of Amsterdam)
Drs. O. Bouman (Director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute)
Prof. ir. W. Patijn (Dean at Delft University of Technology)
Mr. Th. C. de Graaf (Mayor of Nijmegen)
Drs. G.E.W. Prick (Mayor of Groesbeek)

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. — Eleanor Roosevelt

Joe Osae-Addo comments on Blueprints of Paradise

The work of Kingelez can be seen elsewhere on these pages; beautiful models of a futuristic African city. Pierre Goudiaby Atepa (Senegal) creates buildings that bring reality to these models. From his offices in Dakar, Paris, Dubai, New Delhi, Moscow and Washington he has built an impressive oeuvre over the past decades.

ECOWAS offices by Atepa architects.

His building designs exude strength and appear ready for the future. Just like Thabo Mbeki, Atepa talks of the African renaissance and is working hard to redesign what was once recognised as one of the most influential civilisations in the world. ‘Just look at Timbuktu and the Pyramids!’ In the meantime, after more than 30 years’ architectural practice, the ‘Groupe Atepa’ has expanded and currently operates in various fields, including IT, mining, energy production, banking and agriculture.

Groupe Atepa

interview with Pierre Goudiaby Atepa

Project by students from KNUST in Ghana.

These models were made in 2007 by architecture students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. These students undoubtedly became acquainted with the work of Kingelez and Atepa while they developed their ideas for the new African city.

Nowadays, the appearance of the African city is largely determined by modernism. Shortly before and after independence, construction took place on a large scale, as a result of which the then current architectural trend, not restricted to a particular location and suitable for use anywhere in the world, had a great impact on African cities.

Housing block by Jean Hentsch and André Studer in Casablanca, photo 2008.

Some people consider it only natural that this architecture should be applied here, for others it is an eyesore: this Western style of architecture is too reminiscent of colonial rule. As a result of the economic development of certain African countries over the last decades, these buildings have sometimes had to be demolished. Elsewhere, however, they are seen as the basis for a new life cycle.

A building in Johannesburg now used by Ethiopian merchants (photo by Hannah Le Roux).

In Johannesburg a group of Ethiopian merchants, who emigrated to South Africa, now use an office building as market place. The merchants have negotiated with the owner of the building and arranged matters formally. Hannah Le Roux delivered a presentation on this during African Perspectives 2009 and, together with students, sought opportunities for future developments.

Elephant and Castle shopping centre in London.

The large Elephant and Castle shopping centre in London has been on the nomination list for demolition for several years. Meanwhile the building has ‘come into the hands’ of a diverse group of immigrants, including a large contingent from Africa. The area has been transformed into a multicultural market, with a whole new dynamism. The same kind of development can also be seen in other major Western cities such as Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and New York. Africa and its Diaspora have consequently also influenced the rest of the world.

In the 1950s, Casablanca (Morocco), then still under French rule, conducted wide-scale experiments in the field of housing, often by Western architects. It was the express intention that, over the years, these buildings would be ‘appropriated’ by their occupants. This has really gone quite far and whilst one wonders whether or not that was quite what the designers had in mind, perhaps it also creates a basis for new developments!

Housing block by Hentsch and Studer, just after completion in 1955.