KAMRAN ADLW
Designed by the French architect and anthropologist Patrick Dujarric, a long-time
resident of Senegal, this extraordinary building houses the Alliance-Francaise, along
with a community center, library, and performance area for the town of Kaolack, about
160 kilometers south of Dakar. While its mission is to promote French culture, the
building seems to celebrate the mingling of French and Senegalese esprits, employing an
exuberant Senegalese vocabulary of iconography and ornament in a manner that is fresh
and modern, with a hint of French flair. Equally innovative is the building's
construction: terrazzo flooring, painted PVC tubing, load-bearing concrete block, and
concrete roofing. Only a small portion of the center is entirely enclosed, the rest is
at least partially open, so that visitors can assemble and interact in the open air, as
is the local custom. Completed in 1994, the building was honored with an AKAA the
following year.
|