What African architecture can teach the world

The salt brick and all-over earthen walls recently unveiled by some African architects could become the building blocks of future innovative designs.

Such ideas were recently explored by Nigerian architect Tosin Osinowo in a major exhibition organized in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

She wanted to understand how regions like Africa function with scarce resources.

“I think the ultimate issue for most of us is climate change,” Oshinowo told the BBC on the program “The Beauty of Impermanence: Adaptive Architecture.”

Designers from 26 countries were invited to Sharjah to come up with pieces to tackle the issue of scarcity.

For Ethiopian designer Miriam Hilawi Abraham, this meant building something like a church out of salt.

It’s located in the Danakil Depression, more than 100 meters (330 feet) above sea level, and is probably the hottest place on Earth.

Now largely abandoned, Dallol still has one-story buildings made from blocks hewn from the nearby salt lake.

Miriam’s structure is made of pink Himalayan salt, which will corrode without regular maintenance.

“The question becomes, ‘What can we learn from these places?'” Osinowo says.

Another work at the Sharjah Architecture Triennial is by Hive Earth Studio, a Ghanaian architecture firm that specializes in compressing locally sourced earth to form walls.

The soil is called “etadan”, which means “earth wall” in Ghana’s Fante language, and was sourced from the United Arab Emirates to reduce the environmental impact of transporting the materials.

Hive Earth’s ethos is to learn from the past and explore sustainability and pleasing aesthetics to create buildings for the present.

Osinowo said the design team, which has been at the forefront of research into rammed earth technology in West Africa, used rock from the United Arab Emirates to achieve the layers and strength needed for the walls.

“Through the exploration of the material, they were able to pass on the technique of rammed earth,” she said.

“A lot of testing was done to see how it performs in this environment, especially in sandy areas.

“This just shows you what’s possible. If you think about things differently, you can really change the way you build and design buildings.”

Ghanaian-based design duo Dominique Petit Frères and Emile Grip tackled the potential of unfinished architectural projects prevalent in West Africa.

Known as Limbo Accra, the duo has transformed an abandoned shopping mall into an enchanting space.

They collaborated with Ivorian fashion label Super Yaya to expertly drape white calico cotton fabric across the entrance.

The work “Super Limbo” was also a homage to Bedouin culture and their desert tents.

“We were inspired to combine our experience exploring the remains of unfinished architecture in West Africa with the environment of the Middle East,” Petit-Frères told the BBC.

Papa Omotayo and Ibu Nnaji, architects based in Lagos, Nigeria, found inspiration when they found potted plants and birdcages tended by mechanics in Sharjah’s industrial area.

Birds Resting in Their Nests The three-story building is made from scaffolding and organic waste, providing a sanctuary for both birds and workers.

A metal staircase led to a platform decorated with plants, and an atrium descending from the open roof to the ground level was lined with 2,000 biodegradable cardboard nests. From the windows of the passageway we could see a bird paradise.

“As architects, we tend to focus on people, but we share this planet,” Osinowo said.

“When you start thinking about adapting to other species, it’s a very powerful story as well.”

Oshinowo hopes the exhibition will give attendees an opportunity to stop and think about sustainability and design.

And exhibits from Africa, a continent heavily affected by the climate crisis, showed how designers are starting to work towards a “better balance with ecology”.

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