In the Mermoz district of Dakar, situated beside the museum honoring former Senegalese president Léopold Sédar Senghor, a new architectural dialogue has emerged. Kéré Architecture, the Berlin-based studio led by Pritzker Prize-winner Diébédo Francis Kéré, has completed the first purpose-built headquarters for the Goethe-Institut. The two-story structure marks a significant shift for the German cultural organization, moving from rented facilities into a permanent home designed to reflect the specificities of its West African context.
The building is defined by its use of compacted-earth blocks and perforated brickwork, materials that offer both natural thermal regulation and a rhythmic, textured facade. Its L-shaped footprint is a deliberate echo of the tree canopies that historically occupied the site. By framing a central garden and preserving a mature tree as a focal point for gatherings, the design blurs the boundary between the institutional interior and the public realm.
Kéré’s approach treats the act of learning as an inherently social endeavor. The program integrates an auditorium and classrooms with flexible spaces for exhibitions and concerts, grounded in the belief that culture is forged through meeting. It is a structure that seeks to be "rooted and flexible," providing a secure yet porous environment within one of the continent’s most vital cultural hubs.
With reporting from Dezeen.
Source · Dezeen