Architecture in Dialogue: The Aga Khan Award for Architecture

View of access ramps and façade. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall

Alioune Diop University Teaching and Research Unit

Bambey, Senegal

The Alioune Diop University Teaching and Research Unit, where a scarcity of resources led to the use of bioclimatic strategies, includes a large double roof canopy and latticework that avoids direct solar radiation but allows air to flow through it. By employing locally familiar construction techniques and following sustainability principles, the project succeeded in keeping costs and maintenance demands to a minimum, while still making a bold architectural statement.

Architect: IDOM, Bilbao, Spain
Client: ACBEP, Ministry of Urbanism & Ministry of Higher Education, Dakar, Senegal

Colonnade supporting the upper gallery. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall

Upper gallery. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall

“Thanks to this double roof and double facade system, we are able to reduce the external temperature from 40°C to 25°C in the inside.”

Classroom. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall


Lecture room. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall

Arris detail. / Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Chérif Tall

Ground floor plan. / Photo © IDOM

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