Dakar Architecture City Guide: 10 Modern and Contemporary Works that Reflect the City's Evolving Identity

A city that defies expectations, this is what many visitors often express about the Senegalese capital, Dakar. As Africa's most western port city, which gained independence from the French in 1960, Dakar is a regional hub for diversity and culture. While it's often described as an unexpectedly sleek and "modern" city, with its characteristic and sometimes colorful monolithic buildings, Dakar is in fact in constant development and each of its districts tends to reflect a different style and focus, depending on its inhabitants and the dominating functions.

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Sprawling over the mostly flat and vast terrain, Dakar is split into many industrial, institutional, high-end residential/touristic, or culturally relevant quartiers. Each has its distinctive feel, though all are constantly in the works. There is a clear intention of redefining the capital's identity through its new construction. This often comes in different or contested forms, with more local architects looking into pre-colonial architecture and the upgrading/updating of local materials, such as Elementerre or Worofila who are working on promoting the use of earth construction in the city.

Many other works reflect the diverse interpretations that local and international architects have been setting for Dakar as seen in the below 10 projects.


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International Trade Fair Centre / Jean-François Lamoureux and Jean-Louis Marin

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© Iwan Baan

Dakar International Conference Centre / Tabanlioglu Architects

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© Emre Dorter

Dakar Train Station / GA2D

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Courtesy of GA2D

Lycée Jean Mermoz / TERRENEUVE architectes

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© Daniel Rousselot and TERRENEUVE

Women's centre in Rufisque / Hollmén-Reuter-Sandman Architects

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© Helena Sandman

Cite Scolaire Internationale – Campus Ngor / Atelier Kalm

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© Angela Sorbaioli

Villa Fann Hock / MOST Monti Studio

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© Andrea Ceriani

Eglise de l'Epiphanie / In situ architecture + GA2D

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© Régis L'hostis

Oikos a - Villa Patio / MOST Monti Studio

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© Andrea Ceriani

Mosque of the Divinity

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© Salvador Aznar

You can visit our list of City Guides here.

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Cite: Hana Abdel. "Dakar Architecture City Guide: 10 Modern and Contemporary Works that Reflect the City's Evolving Identity" 23 Sep 2024. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1020935/dakar-architecture-city-guide-10-modern-and-contemporary-works-that-reflect-the-citys-evolving-identity> ISSN 0719-8884

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