Centre Culturel Polyvalent


Tanaff, Senegal
Humanitarian Project by Balouo Salo
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This is the project for a cultural centre in Tanaff village, at the extreme south of Senegal, made by Italian architect Raoul Vecchio, who uses only natural and local materials, to enhance the resources of the territory and preserve the environment. Through the arrangement of court volumes and a fragmented double cover, the project wants to evoke the perceptions of space and local perspectives. In fact, the arrangement of the volumes follows a classical functional logic of the domestic environments where the training takes place according to hierarchies of people and spaces. Integration with the natural and anthropic context is one of the characterizing elements of the project. The village is particularly disadvantaged and full of vegetation, in the skyline appear the sheet metal roofing of the shacks or other buildings. The volumes are covered by a broad coverage that intends to integrate itself into the anthropic context, creating a jagged movement, to capture the historical moment with interpretation of precariousness. About technological concept, the coverage isolates the volumes from direct irradiation, and being detached from the lower volumes creates an air gap that permit the creation of flows of air masses that cool the rooms. The thermal insulation, being a necessity for high temperatures, becomes a technological aspect particularly cared for even on the vertical plane, where a series of wood strips protect against irradiation and sandstorms, creating a shading on the external walls. These are realized through a composition of earth and sand bags, grafted with wire and with wooden joints. The foundation is in stone. The roof structure is made of recycled wood, recovered and treated with linens of local essences to protect it from termites, and a sheet metal finishing come from abandoned buildings.

Tanaf cultural Center Raoul Vecchio architect