Friends of Niafourang!
What would you describe
as truly inspirational architecture? Something that’s never been seen before, or
something that adheres to classical trends? The use of newly engineered material, or maybe
the employment of high-tech machinery? For us, this crucial question was
answered by the inspiring works of project Niafourang youth centre.
Just like the beautiful backgrounds that it’s set on, this amazing structure represents the bright future of Senegal’s people and the opportunities that await them! The main purpose behind building the 250 sq. m Youth Centre is to create job opportunities for the youth in the nearby village. Most of the youth often leave the village in search of jobs, and sadly leave behind an aging community in their wake.
Alas! The collaboration between three students from Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet in Trondheim, Norway, and a nonprofit organization by the name Friends of Niaforang, conceived this radical change for the youth in Niaforang, Senegal and Africa alike.
The Project Niafourang architects explain their relationship with the community whilst working on the
project: “We became close with many of the locals that partook in building the
Youth Centre. For the first time we had the opportunity of being directly
involved with the future users of the building. This made us very aware of the
consequences of our design decisions in addition to making the work feel
meaningful.” In this case, a mutually beneficial relationship developed
between the architects and Niafourang community as the two parties taught each
other their skills in design and construction, leaving the students ‘inspired’
by their time in the village!
Bricks were made from compressed sand that was sourced from a nearby ditch. The sand was hand presses in local machines and then stacks were made with some cement. A neighbouring village welded the steel brackets holding a corrugated aluminium roof in place, raised slightly to allow for natural ventilation and extended to create a second floor reached by an external ladder. The fact that this structure was actually built with the lack of any electricity and exclusively with the use of local materials, show just how Africa can inspire a whole new typology in architecture!
This 10 week building and planning process is not only an example of a completely sustainable architecture that incorporates all local building materials. It’s the pinnacle of African architecture. Helping youth exchange their talents and skills for the wholesome development of the community, providing them with a social and educational platform, this is definitely a lesson that the rest of African could take heed from.
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