The Pavilion:

The ArchiAfrika Pavilion located in the Giardini della Marinaressa, a park adjacent to the entrance of the Giardini of Biennale, serves as a gathering place, a point of reference for all who visit the ArchiAfrika’s contribution to the 17th International Architecture Exhibition. It will be a place to gather, to exchange cultures and from where to go back for that which we have forgotten; how to live together.

Like its predecessor in Jamestown, Old Accra, it is a space to gather, share and imagine an African future. The 5x5m installation, set in Giardino della Marinaressa, allows people to gather inside while respecting current social distancing measures. Externally, its four expressive corners, act as seats and resting spaces. The bright and colourful tapestry that forms its roof is reminiscent of the original Jamestown Cafe in Accra, where rich Ghanaian wax prints provide shade and add a joyful presence to the courtyard. This language of colour, pattern and form is extended to the enclosure externally. Made from painted jute fabric, each panel tells a story, representing a particular aspect of Ghanaian culture and heritage that speaks to the essence of living together. In comparison, the simple, natural finish of the internal jute lining, allows the roof to become the main focus while inside the pavilion.

Every interaction with the installation changes its character. As people engage with its physical form, their bodies, their own form, becomes part of the architecture, like the totems, carvings and sculptures in Africa’s building culture.

The Build and Exhibition

5th July - 24th July 2021

We will be building the pavilion in Venice as a build project with our collaborators 121 Collective and a team of student participants from the Faculty of Art and Architecture. The build process will conclude with an exhibition and symposium on Thursday, 22nd July 2021.

We will be presenting our ongoing research and design projects based on the African compound house. The exhibition will focus on the design projects situated in Accra, Ghana which engage with local knowledge, skills and expertise to promote architecture for a pluralist society. The works will explore how this historic housing typology could be used to generate more thoughtful responses to urban growth and continuity in African and Western cities.

The exhibition will invite reflections on the ongoing research project, creating space to engage and discuss how we can continue to facilitate strategies of cultural exchange through an understanding of both western and non-western types. It will also explore how effective methods of translation can be used to create richer responses to the multifaceted and multicultural demographic of contemporary cities.

How we will live together in future depends on true collaboration between the global north and the global south, one without conditions or caveats.