This fall, an architectural project will be implemented in Mako, a village of 2600 inhabitants in Eastern Senegal. Since 2018, the project team has been analysing current issues regarding building, living and working in Mako and has developed a concrete architectural design that offers solutions to some of the existing challenges.
The community is currently transitioning from a traditional, self-sufficient round hut village to a modern, infrastructurally and economically developed small town and is increasingly perceived as a regional centre. These developments have caused unprecedented population growth. Better educational opportunities and a growing, supra-regional economic system, which extends beyond the agricultural sector, contribute to the continuing upswing.
The project ‘Suddo Neuve’ aims to nurture the traditional building culture in the urbanisation process to offer an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to modern prestigious buildings made of concrete and steel. The goal is to adapt the traditional clay architecture to the urbanising landscape and to document and diffuse pass on the structural expertise tested by Suddo Neuve for future building projects in the region.
In order to serve as a reference for future construction projects, it is necessary to methodically lead the project towards autonomous reproducibility. The inclusion of local craftsmen and the optimisation of construction costs play decisive roles to ensure the long-term anchoring of this new building typology in the local building culture.
The building will be constructed on a property along the main road in the centre of Mako. The 100m2 large plot will provide space for two different typologies: A commercial space will be constructed on the ground level bordering the road; additionally, two residential units will be built on the second floor and in the courtyard. The central location as well as the public character of the commercial space will promote communication of the project content with the local community.
The total costs of the building will amount to about 16 million CFA [approx. 24.000€]. This includes expenditures for tools, materials, technical building equipment, as well as wages for the craftsmen and apprentices. Through different awards, partnerships and grants we have been able to fund more than 60 percent of the total project costs, and we now hope to finance the remaining sum with this fundraising campaign.
Thank you very much for your interest and support,
A detailed project description can be found
here.
