Bibliothèque Centrale de l'Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD)

Dakar, Senegal

The rehabilitation and expansion of the university library is part of a huge undertaking to modernise all of Senegal's structures of higher education. The vocabulary of Senegalese architecture, the need for solar control, and the desire to symbolise the central importance of the library within the campus, all contributed to the choice of a circular form encompassing the existing building. The library is tied to the natural landscape through its colours and its materials: red lateritic stone, black basalt, terracotta and render for the walls, and aluminium for the roof.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture