ARCHITECTURE Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2019 Shortlisted Projects - Part 1

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building

• Bambey, Senegal

• Architect: IDOM, Bilbao, Spain

• Client: ACBEP, Ministry of Urbanism & Ministry of Higher Education, Dakar, Senegal

• Completed: 2017

• Built Area: 12,000 m2

Inspired by a large tree in the centre of the Alioune Diop University campus, the new lecture building was designed as a place of shelter, shade and freshness for its students. Scarcity of resources conditioned the use of bioclimatic strategies: a large double roof canopy extending 10 m over the north façade and latticework covering the south one prevent direct solar radiation while remaining permeable to air. To solve the lack of water and sewers, the architects incorporated infiltration rafts with vegetation that collect rainwater. Waste water is purified through an ecologically sound system that uses activated sludge. The simple yet ingenious building offers facilities for training and research in applied sciences and information and communications technology. It can accommodate up to 1,500 students in its large amphitheatre, differently sized classrooms, technology rooms and laboratories.

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building, View of access ramps and façade. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Colonnade supporting the upper gallery © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Upper gallery © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Classroom. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Lecture room. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Arris detail. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall (photographer)

Alioune Diop University Lecture Building. Ground floor plan. © IDOM

Warka Water

• Dorza, Ethiopia

• Architect: Arturo Vittori, Rome, Italy

• Client: Emergency Programme, Italian Development Cooperation, Rome, Italy

• Completed: 2015

• Built Area: 315 m2

During a trip to Ethiopia, architect Arturio Vittori discovered the natural beauty of the country along with one of its dramatic realities: a dearth of drinking water. To solve this issue, Vittori and his team came up with an unusual design solution: Warka Water. The prototype consists of an elegant triangular frame, made out of local bamboo, that encloses a thin polyester mesh that captures droplets from high humidity in the air. Tall (9.5 m) and lightweight (80 kg), it is easy to transport, put together and maintain. Most importantly, it collects up to 100 litres of water daily. The aim of the Warka Water project is, in the long run, to create economic and social opportunities based on the manufacturing, setting up and management of the towers.

Warka Water. Sheep around Warka. © Architecture and Vision / Arturo Vittori (architect and photographer)

Warka Water. The Warka Water's edible garden. © Leone Magliocchetti Lombi

Warka Water. Inauguration day. © Architecture and Vision / Arturo Vittori (architect and photographer)

Warka Water. Inauguration day. © Architecture and Vision / Arturo Vittori (architect and photographer)

Warka Water. Women fetching water and children playing. © Architecture and Vision / Arturo Vittori (architect and photographer)

Warka Water. Section of Warka Water Version 3.2 © Architecture and Vision

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory

• Nansana, Uganda

• Architect: Terrain Architects, Tokyo, Japan

• Client: Ashinaga Uganda, Kampala, Uganda

• Completed: 2015

• Built Area: 2,140 m2

This residential school accommodates 50 orphans from different countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The students learn to live together with people from different cultures and are prepared to enter universities abroad. Six buildings that house classrooms, a canteen, separate dormitories for girls and boys, offices, and staff quarters surround a planted courtyard, the social centre of the community. Linear modules of brick walls are spaced in bays of three or four metres; smaller spaces are delineated within some of the bays. Concrete frames permit large openings and support steel posts that hold the wood-truss roofing that is covered with metal sheeting. The architects took special care to work with (and train) the carpenters and masons in order to attain the high quality of workmanship, including, for example, working with masons in the making of bricks.

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory. Aerial view of the site. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory. Canteen and sky deck. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory. Classrooms. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory. Ground floor plan. © Terrain Architects

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village

• Tadjourah, Djibouti

• Architect: Urko Sanchez Architects, Nairobi, Kenya

• Client: SOS Children's Village International, Innsbruck, Austria

• Completed: 2014

• Built Area: 2,600 m2

Based on the model of SOS Children’s Villages, the project team built 15 houses in a medina-styled complex designed to shelter at-risk children and give them the chance of a normal childhood in a loving family. Each unit, built in cement blocks and RC structure, houses six to seven children and a foster mother. The design emulates the traditional layout of narrow streets; wind towers and lattices provide natural shade and ventilation. Because the local Afar people were traditionally nomadic herders and lived in broad open spaces such as the desert, the sand colour chosen for the walls and the openings between the different spaces echo this lifestyle (only the bedrooms have doors). Vegetation is also an important part of the design: the only existing tree on the site has been preserved and the inhabitants are encouraged to garden.

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. Main entrance. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. One of the main squares. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. Path leading to the dormitories. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. Boys dormitory. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. Playing area. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Jjumba Martin (photographer)

Tadjourah SOS Children's Village. Ground floor plan. © Urko Sanchez Architects

Muttrah Fish Market

• Muscat, Oman

• Architect: Snøhetta, Oslo, Norway

• Client: Municipality of Muscat, Oman

• Completed: 2017

• Built Area: 5,769 m2

The new market celebrates the continuity of the region’s trade and fishing traditions, while also catering to Oman’s growing tourism industry. Situated at Muttrah’s harbour, a top tourist attraction, it houses a rooftop restaurant in addition to the market itself. The design exemplifies contextual regionalism, respecting the scale and integrity of the traditional context whilst adding new and dynamic elements. The curved wall that defines its spine reflects the radial shape of the corniche and bay area, and has light-filtering pierced decoration. The canopy’s form was inspired by the sinuous flow of Arabic calligraphy, exploiting the play of light and shadow. Its aluminium fins provide shade, natural ventilation and an ephemeral appearance that contrasts with the simple solidity of the concrete structure below.

Muttrah Fish Market. General view. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. View of the entrance. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. Fishermen emptying their nets. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. Market on a usual working day. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. Rooftop and canopy. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. View of the exterior. © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden (photographer)

Muttrah Fish Market. Siteplan. © Snøhetta