How Senegal's Nzinga Mboup is building the future

DW (English)

In Africa's architecture scene, some rebels are opposing the climate-damaging concrete mainstream and working with sustainable building materials such as raw earth. One of these rebels is Nzinga Mboup in Dakar, Senegal.

Transcript

00:00Dakar, Senegal, in the historic neighborhood of Vanhoek.

00:05The architectural firm Vorofila has its headquarters.

00:09Co-founder Nzinga Mboub was born in Mozambique to a Cameroonian mother and a Senegalese father.

00:15After studying in London, she returned to West Africa to realize her vision of sustainable architecture.

00:21I feel very blessed and very lucky.

00:23Here I feel total freedom to be able to invest myself in the conversations of architecture

00:28and then use that in order to inform the practice and build it.

00:32Together with co-founder Nicolas Rondé, she is working on Vorofila's current project,

00:38the rainforest gallery for the Museum of West African Art, MOVA.

00:42This prestigious project blends functional design with traditional building materials.

00:48The rainforest gallery sits within the MOA campus in Benin City.

00:53We use natural materials such as timber which is going to be used for the roof

00:56or raw earth which is used in the walls.

00:58It has a great capacity to absorb humidity in the air.

01:01So that's a great way to also, you know, reduce the humidity level

01:05which is important for the artwork that is going to be there.

01:09In 2019, at age 30, she founded her architecture firm.

01:13Two years later, her team was already tackling one of its first major projects,

01:17a residential building in Dakar's Engor district.

01:20The concept, climate conscious design, a shaded facade of cooling clay bricks and natural ventilation.

01:26Smart design with attitude.

01:29I do feel that as an African we need a bit more of a radical approach.

01:33A radical approach that is sort of anchored in our traditional knowledges to really make buildings and cities that sort of work better for us.

01:43From a climatic point of view, from a cultural point of view, from an economical point of view.

01:48And I do believe that the use of locally sourced material, low-tech materials, is going to enable us to do that.

01:55Her favourite building material is raw red earth, abundant across Africa.

02:01Mixed with about 7% cement and a touch of lime, it's pressed into shape and sun-dried.

02:06A climate friendly method that doesn't require firing.

02:10This is how buildings were traditionally made.

02:13And what the future could look like, entirely without concrete.

02:17Today, modern earth architecture is still a niche.

02:20But Nzinga is proving its value with this residential project in southern Dakar.

02:27There's sometimes a lot of scepticism when it comes to what can be done.

02:31People have a lot of constructs that have developed over time and that we need to deconstruct by actually doing.

02:37So it helps that we have clients that are willing to go for it.

02:40That we have architects, engineers, contractors that are all participants in this revolution.

02:48And one building at a time, we're showing that it's possible and more people are adhering to it.

02:53Change of scene to Francis Carré's studio in Berlin, Germany.

02:59The architect from Burkina Faso, winner of the Pritzker Prize, is a pioneer in sustainable earth-based construction.

03:06One of his most renowned projects is the new Goethe Institute in Dakar, Senegal.

03:12Nzinga's Vorofila team is managing on-site construction in collaboration with the German planning office Rebuilding.

03:20For Nzinga, the project is more than just work. It's a statement.

03:27We knew that this project has the capacity to really shift the perspective on earth and architecture,

03:34because it's a cultural institution, because it's going to be a public building.

03:38And we were just excited and wanted to make sure that we participate in the success of the project.

03:44Having, obviously, Francis Carré being chosen, I think having a West African architect operating and doing this building in Dakar,

03:51also based in Germany, so obviously being this kind of like cultural bridge, you know, was a golden opportunity.

03:57Nzinga's next opportunity arises in Venice in 2023, when Leslie Locco, curator of the Architecture Biennale, invites the most exciting African architects,

04:08including Nzinga, to showcase their work. While still in Venice, Nzinga is also honoured by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, CCA,

04:18by naming her one of its curators in Dakar. She's a voice of a new sustainable architectural movement.

04:25I realise that I'm even less alone than I thought we were, and it's quite heartwarming to be able to also have those conversations

04:32and see that we're not the only ones asking ourselves those questions and that we're thinking collectively about how to redefine the role of architecture.

04:39So I'm a lot more involved in to be able to go back and kind of continue in the multidisciplinary approach that I have to my practice

04:47and connect more as well with the others, because there's been a lot of exchanges of contacts, of emails,

04:52and with the true will to collaborate.

04:56Back in Dakar, the newly appointed CCA curator immediately sets her mandate in motion.

05:02She organises panels, researches Senegal's modern architectural history, and gives a stage to forgotten architects.

05:09While giving others visibility, she is also becoming more prominent herself.

05:14Nzinga has long been a role model for a new generation of African architects,

05:19a role she embraces with poise, curiosity and responsibility.

05:23Her latest challenge? Building a network.

05:27Together with colleagues, she founded Female Black Architects, a space for exchange and mutual empowerment.

05:33Here women architects from across Africa connect, share experiences, ideas and strategies.

05:40Nzinga is a unifying figure whose influence extends far beyond Dakar, and even beyond Africa.

05:47Africa.

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