Unearthed Dialog

University of Pennsylvania

Project idea

The project Unearthed Dialog seeks to symbolize coalition of the foreign and the local by bringing together contemporary design ideas and techniques and rendering them with local material and construction. The built complex serve as the epicenter of spreading and preserving Burkina Faso’s indigenous culture including dance, music and theater.

Project description

The overall planning aims to sustain an urban density around the existing amphitheater where people can access classrooms, media rooms and co-working space while leaving an open space in the existing compound for outdoor performances, temporary stalls and leisure. A bold design intention of the amphitheater is to create an under path to the seating area, creating an experience of arriving at the center of the amphitheater. After the show, visitors can exit through the side doors, passing through the cultural center or out to open space with smaller performance stages.

Technical information

The project celebrates internationalism by combining foreign design/building technology with local material found in the country such as natural vegetation, earth mound and mining minerals. For the complex, primary building walls are composed of earthen blocks that use the local earth mound and finished with protective coating. Further incorporating the abundance of mining minerals, special blocks of same dimension are galvanized in zinc for texture and durability on the brick screen facade.

A formal idea of urban pixelation is derived from the adjacent motorbike market where modular units can combine into larger space or programmed singly. The modular design starts with a simple 10x6 meter block with 2x2 meter carvings that become seating and informal meeting points, while the carved wall extends upwards as metal panels and serve as support for the roof system. The majority wall dimensions are additions of 3’s and 4’s which are important number for the locals regarding male and female where additions of 3’s(6m walls) result in cast-in-place concrete walls and combinations of 3’s and 4’s result in earthen block walls with brick screen.

Lastly, the roof spans over the multiple building units free from their gridded layout and provides outdoor congregation area by shading spaces between the buildings. The roof provides ventilation between the roof and the building units, and its parametric design is realized through local vegetation weaved together as a thatch roof on wooden supports.

Co-authors

-