Kéré Architecture Designs the New Goethe Institute in Dakar

For the first time in its history, Germany's Goethe Institute has commissioned the design of a purpose-built space, to be located in Dakar, Senegal. The capital city, which has grown quickly and now counts over a million inhabitants, is one of the cultural center’s main West African hubs, making it a suitable location for the new building.

Francis Kéré is the architect of choice for the new building. Born in Burkina Faso and based in Berlin, Kéré is a wunderkind of German contemporary architecture, known for using local materials and traditional craftsmanship for energy-saving, low-budget architecture. Kéré has won numerous awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Primary School in Burkina Faso. 

In Dakar, Kéré is combining patterned exposed brick walls with white steel roofs. Visitors and employees will find a space “that is welcoming and versatile in speaking to the cultural encounters and asking a diverse community to gather,” according to the architect. Sitting in a residential area with lush gardens, the design is respectful to its neighbors, which include the Léopold Sédar Senghor Museum, and to the natural environment along the shore of the Atlantic. 

Exhibitions and language courses, concerts and conferences will take place in a two-story building shaped to mirror the outline of the canopy of trees on the site. The structure will protect the occupants and visitors from noise, particularly traffic. The structural walls are made are made from local compacted earth blocks (BTC). An outer, partially translucent brick skin ensures a light appearance for the elevations. 

The ground floor will house an auditorium, cafeteria, and library, while offices and classrooms will be on the first floor. An accessible rooftop, echoing the garden with its tree-shaped pillars, will make a nice addition to the cityscape of Dakar.