The rehabilitation of this historic structure called for a restoration based on authentic documentation, while adapting it for use as a contemporary bank. Built in 1906 as the Banque de l’Afrique Occidental in characteristic French colonial architecture, it includes Art Nouveau and neo-Moorish touches and is decorated in ceramic friezes with floral and vegetal motifs from Senegal. The rehabilitation of the facades and interiors was based on documentation from the archives of the Quai d’Orsay, and includes the furnishings of a bank from that era. Traditional craftsmanship played a vital role in the restoration of the ceramic tile, as well as in the zinc dome, and in the decorative wrought iron employed in grills and vaults.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
