Senegalese school project wins Aga Khan architecture award

Kamanar Secondary School

Kamanar Secondary School students in front of their classes.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

A Senegalese school project is among the six winners of this year’s Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its innovative design that addresses the needs and aspirations of the local community.
Kamanar Secondary School in the town of Thionck Essyl in the county’s northwest was built in 2020 by David Garcia and Aina Tugores, both architects from Dawoffice Studio in Barcelona.

Kamanar Secondary School

A series of squares at Kamanar Secondary School.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The school has a unique design that encompasses ‘‘the multiple scales of urbanism, landscape, architecture and building technologies with equal commitment and virtuosity.’’
Award’s jury says that the site’s topography and flora are the key founding conditions of the project, which prompted the introduction of a grid of classroom pods organised around tree canopies and adopting their shade as social spaces that serve students and teachers alike.

Senegal is a lower-middle-income country in Africa’s Sahel region, characterised by arid conditions in the north, which borders the Sahara Desert, and humid savannah conditions to the south.

Others that won are Urban River Spaces Project, and Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response, Cox’s Bazar, in Bangladesh; Banyuwangi International Airport in East Java, Indonesia, and Argo Contemporary Art Museum and Cultural Centre, Tehran, Iran.

“Arising from a sea of paddy fields, the building extends the language of the landscape into a concentrated event that coalesces architecture, functionality and setting in a seamless yet discernible disposition,” the jury said of Banyuwangi International Airport project.
“Modern and efficient in all aspects, but at home in its place, Banyuwangi International Airport may be a game-changer in airport architecture, especially considering that the Indonesian government is set to build some 300 airports in the near future”.

Kamanar Secondary

Outdoor seating at Kamanar Secondary School in Senegal.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Renovation of Niemeyer Guest House in Tripoli, Lebanon, was also recognised for its ‘‘inspiring tale of architecture’s capacity for repair, at a time of dizzying, entangled crisis around the world.’’

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, ‘‘to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities’’ in which Muslims have a significant presence.

According to the organisers, the award’s selection process ‘‘emphasises architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs’’ but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural aspirations.

From left: Clay and lattices which act as an evaporating cooler, the interior view of a classroom and the administration block at Kamanar Secondary School.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

The six winners will now share between them a $1 million (Sh120 million) cash prize, one of the largest in architecture that shows promise for communities, innovation and care for the environment.

In the award’s 45th anniversary, an independent panel shortlisted 20 projects from a pool of 463 nominated from around the world.

To be eligible for consideration in the 2022 Award cycle, projects had to be completed between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2020, and should have been in use for at least one year.
This year’s awards gala will be held in Muscat, Oman, in conjunction with the Aga Khan Music Awards ceremony.

Kamanar Secondary School

Students at Kamanar Secondary School in Senegal.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Previous venues encompass many of the most illustrious architectural achievements in the Muslim world, including Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (1980), Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (1983), the Alhambra in Granada (1998) and Emperor Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi (2004).

In recent years, there has been critical focus on architectural designs, especially for housing projects, as effects of climate change escalate and calls for affordable, decent and durable housing grow around the world louder.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture pays particular attention to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere.

“It should be noted that the Award not only rewards architects, but also identifies municipalities, builders, clients, master artisans and engineers who have played important roles in the project,” say organisers.

Kamanar Secondary School

Kamanar Secondary School in Thionck Essyl town in Senegal.

Photo credit: Amir Anoushfar | Aga Khan Trust for Culture

In the past 15 triennial cycles of the Award, 128 projects have been awarded and nearly 10,000 building projects have been documented.

Projects commissioned by His Highness the Aga Khan or any of the institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) are ineligible for the Award.