B A B E L | Divine Architectonics in the Tanaf Valley

BABEL

DIVINE ARCHITECTONICS IN THE TANAF VALLEY JUSTIN BANDA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

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2. HISTORY AND PURPOSE |

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3. PROBLEM STATEMENT

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4. EXISTING CONDITIONS

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5. PRECEDENTS

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6. DESIGN RESPONSE

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7. STRATEGIC PLAN

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INTRODUCTION In the Mandinga language, the phrase “kaira looro” holds great significance. In wishing someone “kaira looro,” one is not merely wishing that the recipient has a good morning, or a good evening, but rather holds a divine significance more akin to “God give you peace.” This common prayer, similar to the western “God bless you” or the Hebrew berakhahs, arrives imbued with special intent from the divine.

The Kaira Looro project, sponsored in part by the Italian relief organization Balouo Salo, seeks to impart a similar divine blessing, etched in permanent architectures, onto the arid Senegalese landscape of the Tanaf Valley, some forty miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. In this context, “kaira looro” is not mere architecture, but rather the expressed blessing of a culture and the spirituality of interiority. The Kaira Looro project seeks to celebrate this philosophy by designing a sustainable and vernacularly-sympathetic worship space for the Tanaf Valley, in a place of scarcity.

The goal is to design a new multifaith worship hub that also serves as both a new landmark and a graceful expression of Senegalese spirituality, that can serve as a symbol of union between the mundane and divine.

This project is an exercise in scarcity, meaning that both land and resources are stretched thin. The site itself is bound to a single 61’x60’ SF lot in the center of town, while the height is capped at 50’, though extant local buildings do not exceed 20’. Balouo Saolo recommends that the materials remain low-tech and waterindependent, and requests that the worship space be able to accommodate worshippers of all faiths, including the majority Muslim population and minority Christian, Orthodox Christian, and local animist worshippers.

It is a special privilege to use one’s talents in service of a greater power, but moreso in the act of bridging the mundane into the presence of the divine. I hope that this booklet can begin to serve the population of the Tanaf Valley, and in the process become a new symbol of African spirituality.

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BALOUO SALO / HISTORY AND PURPOSE Balouo Salo is an international nonprofit organization based in Italy.

Their motto is “Un Ponte Per La Vita,” or in English, “A bridge for life.” The organization was formed as a direct response to the pressing humanitarian and environmental emergency in Senegal that 80,000 lives are on the line for.

Due to rising global temperatures and incremental climate change over the past seventy years in the Sahel region (the dividing ecosystem that bridges the Sahara with the Sudanian savanna), the water levels from the Atlantic Ocean that have allowed agriculture to thrive in the region have become salinated.

Because of the drought, as the tides of the Atlantic flood the river Casamance, in the southern Senegalese valley, making it saltier than the ocean, flooding farmlands, and contaminating well-water. Since the drought, there have been over a million deaths, and over 50 million people live in famine.

Balouo Salo’s ultimate goal in the region is to build a dam-bridge in the largest valley in Casamance, the Tanaf Valley. Estimates show that the dam will allow agriculture to resume in the valley on over 10,000 hectares of land that will then feed more than 350 villages, as well as decontaminate well-water, which will eliminate 70% of water-related diseases within a generation, and reduce poverty across the region by bringing back bountiful agriculture.

Within this context, Balouo Salo has sought to raise awareness of the issues in the Tanaf Valley by bringing it to the attention of the international architectural community with a competition. The hope is that enough awareness will be raised that architects will volunteer to design and build the dam. To that end, Balouo Salo has introduced the Kaira Looro project, which aims to replace Tanaf Village’s two dilapidated centers of Muslim and Christian worship with a new, multifaith space that draws increased attention to the valley and it’s ecological issues.

The Kaira Looro project is supported by a wide range of governmental, charitable, and architectural partners, including the CNA-PPC, the Commune de Tanaf Government of Sedhiou, the Kengo Kuma Lab at the University of Tokyo, the World Architecture Community, the National Association of Students of Architecture, the Australian Design Review, and media partners such as ArchiPortale and Archilovers.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT Between 1980 and 2005, over 20,000 refugees and 5,000 casualties have marked the ongoing conflict in the region of Casamance, in the southwest of Senegal. In the late 19th century, the Casamance region was subject to French and Portuguese colonial efforts, until a border was negotiated in 1888, with Portugal losing control over Casamance, which was its primary commercial hub. In the process of implementing artificial national boundaries on hundreds of unique people groups, various native groups began to fight for separation from Senegal as a whole.

The modern Casamance conflict springs from over a century of deep-seated aggressions between various native people groups, and boiled over in 1982. The Jola people, the dominant ethnic group in the Casamance region, only represent 4% of the total population of Senegal, and thus sought independence due to perceived disenfranchisement. The Jola formed the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance in 1982, a low-level insurgency that has seen weapons crossing the border from Iran, Nigeria, and the Congo, all of whom have supplied the MDFC with weapons at various points in history.

In addition to the human conflict, from 1965 to the present, Casamance has also faced devastating drought that has left the Sahel, the lone ecological boundary between Tanaf and the Sahara, dry and dying. Increasing global temperatures have led to a reduction in the amount of potable rainwater.

Three distinct regions lie along the river Casamance: Ziguinchor, Kolda, and Sedhiou. The project site for Balouo Salo lies in Sedhiou, in a village called Tanaf, which sits at the boundary of Guinea-Bissau and forms a critical border for the entire region. Prior to climate change, the valley used to be fertile and vibrant; now, because of the drought and salinity of the rising Atlantic tides, almost all agricultural efforts have been destroyed. The Atlantic waters which run through Casamance reach the valley and evaporate, leaving salt in its wake; the water has a salt concentration which is five times more than the ocean’s levels. This has also infected the groundwater.

All of these issues affect the Tanaf Valley’s 350 villages and their 80,000 residents. The largest of these, Tanaf Village, lies on the river basin of the Tanaf Bolong Valley. Tanaf Village has the largest population of the villages, with over 4000 residents, as well as the deepest supply of resources (with a market, school, and hospital). Within the village there is also an aging mosque and church, both of which are in bad structural condition.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: SITE The soil in the region is characterized by a red laterite stone, iron-rich, as well as sand banks and clay banks. Tanaf Village is well-placed, with several nearby laterite quarries as well as the Balmadou Forest, which provides the village with baobab, palm, and mango trees.

The diagrams below and right show the site location, with the continent of Africa, the nation of Senegal, the region of Casamance, the valley of Tanaf, and then on the following page, the village of Tanaf and the site location in red.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: LOCATION AND CONNECTIONS The image below shows the Casamance River’s primary hydrological basin, as well as the primary villages that benefit from its water. The largest villages in the basin, Tanaf, Baghere, Nianga, Dioudoubou, Sanoufly, and Sambacounda, each have over 1000 residents. Municipalities up to 1000 residents are shown in smaller grey rings, while villages with 500 residents or fewer are denoted by red dots.

The image to the right shows all major connections between the towns, villages, and municipalities. Red connections indicate paved asphalt government roads, while orange connections indicate two-lane dirt roads, and blue connections indicate dirt paths two meters wide or less.

Tanaf and Baghere Villages, at the center of the map, have the most connections in the region, with multiple government, dirt, and path roads connecting them to the larger region. Sedhiou, the only town on the map, lies an unfortunate 154 km away, as it requires traveling around the Casamance. If there were a bridge connection, it would take only 10 km.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: TOPOGRAPHY The image below denotes topographical lines, showing the rather hilly Tanaf River Valley and the relative locations of nearby landmarks, towns, villages, and municipalities.

The primary takeaway from the graphics below are that a) there are close to zero people living in the Balmadou Forest just north of Tanaf Village, b) the most populated areas are within the valley, not in the higher altitude flatlands to the north and south, and c) more of the population lives east of the Casamance than west of it. This is especially highlighted in the image on the right.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES The image below shows the various mineral types found in the Tanaf Valley and along the Casamance. While the types of minerals to be found are largely dependent on water levels, as evident below, other types appear out of place as well.

In the map below, red and dark red (the primary colors in the Balmadou Forest region) denote ferralitic soils, while blue, green, and light green (mostly shown closer to the Casamance itself) denote hydromorphic soils. Orange, yellow, and hatched variations denote sesquioxides and metal hydrates.

The map to the right shows major natural resources. Tanaf Village, close to where the Casamance breaks off into a tributary, is the most resource-rich area. Green patches denote forests, yellow patches are sand quarries, orange patches are laterite quarries, and grey patches are clay quarries. Tree icons denote large palm groves, while the bush icon indicates baobab groves.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: HOUSES OF WORSHIP As stated previously, Tanaf Village currently has two houses of worship that serve all 4000 inhabitants in some way or other. The four primary religions practiced in the village are Islam, Christianity, Orthodox (Eastern) Christianity, and various strains of animism. However, architecturally, only Islam and Christianity are represented.

Both the existing mosque (below) and the church (right) are in poor shape, with major structural flaws that threaten to bring both buildings down within the next decade or so. The mosque is one of the few buildings in the village with electricity, and is in slightly better shape structurally. The minarets, however, are beginning to crumble.

The church is in much worse shape. With no electricity or running water, there is no infrastructure to worry about damaging; however, the foundation and walls have begun to crack. The tin roof is missing large portions, which have come off due to age and weather.

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: TANAF VALLEY

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: TANAF VILLAGE

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EXISTING CONDITIONS: MATERIAL STUDY

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PRECEDENTS

The material and spiritual inspiration for a quiet, multi-faith, meditative space came from both the art and works of Richard Serra (above), who famously uses corten steel to form monolithic, sinuous shapes, and the Sancaklar Mosque in Istanbul, by Emre Arolat Architects (right).

The relevance of Serra’s work to this project was the way the material and context play such a large role in determining the spaces within. The corten steel is incredibly similar in appearance and texture to the iron-rich red ore found in the Tanaf Valley, and it serves a secondary function as 32

a structural material, making it twice as enticing. liturgies because of the nondescript nature of its interior. The bold, dramatic natural daylighting For the interior qualities of the space, I sought to coming from the suspended ceiling against the create a nondenominational meditative space, pale concrete inspired the use of smooth, nearlymuch like the Sancaklar Mosque in Turkey, which reflective concrete as the floor of this project. could function to serve a variety of religious 33

DESIGN RESPONSE In designing an architectural response that attempts to mediate peace and greeting between a nation at war with itself, and two religions that often find themselves at odds, with room to grow, I was most reminded of the story of Babel.

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The Babel myth is relayed in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions.

In Jewish and Christian tradition, once upon a time, every man, woman, and child spoke the same language. In the land of Shinar, men sought to build a tower of clay that reached to the sky, in order to mark the earth with their names that they would not be forgotten. The myth recalls that God himself descended from heaven, afraid that as one unified people with one common tongue, nothing would be out of their reach.

“Come then, let US go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

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Thus God scattered them over the face of the earth, and broke down their tower.

Islamic tradition perhaps paints a more forgiving picture of God; the tale of “Babil” appears, wherein divine winds sweep over the plains of Babil, collecting the children of men. God gathers them in one place and assigns each man a language, and then the divine winds scatter them, returning them to their former lives, but with new powers of language and speech.

In Islamic tradition, God created nations to know each other and not to be separate.

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LEVEL_03 / 30’ - 0”

Thus, the name “Babel” here refers to the mythical tower or land that people from all traditions and languages gathered together to build.

The Babel uses 35 corten steel panels, lightly rusted to resemble the red laterite soil of the Tanaf Valley. Each panel is equal in profile yet each is hollowed out differently, to form a series of hollowed-out spaces that represent the separate yet equal types of worship ongoing in the space.

The Babel worship hall is simple given the scarcity of the context. Drawing material inspiration from the local landscape, it uses the 35 corten panels measuring roughly 12 by 30 meters in profile, braces with HSS beams and inlaid with intricate metal screening panels, to create a layered space with exquisite yet simple light characteristics.

Using local earth-berming techniques, the panels are driven into the earth and angled at 12° to “push” worshippers forward to the eastern-facing prayer wall.

LEVEL_04 / 40’ - 0”

The program is divided into three primary spaces: a squatter, wider primary worship hall; a narrower, taller secondary worship space, and an ancillary gathering or meeting space. As a mosque, the twin parallel spaces can serve as either men’s and women’s prayer halls, divided yet together, or the neighboring worship space can serve as a Christian or animistic meditation, prayer, or gathering hall.

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DESIGN RESPONSE The building is oriented so the entry occurs on the northwest corner of the plan. The off-axis plan is broken by the east wall, which abruptly ends the space after approximately 40 meters, and cuts off the remaining panels. With a footprint of roughly 30 meters by 45 meters, the Babel hall fits comfortably into the site context and the given space (which measures 162 by 160 meters), even on an angle, leaving extra site space for meditation or gardens.

The Babel is an imposing space externally and a meditative space internally, giving worshippers solace in pattern and repetition. Inspired in color by the iron-rich red clay in the Tanaf Valley, the Babel grows out of its context like a natural formation of the Senegalese landscape, bringing worshippers from all faiths back into one house.

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SECTION PERSPECTIVE

The floor plans on the previous two pages, as well as the aerial site plan shown to the right (this page), show the gradually fading spaces, which mirage in and out of existence like phantom negative spaces.

Both the section perspective on the right and the exploded axonometric on the following page demonstrate the various structural qualities of the space, as well as the intricate detail and care that was dedicated to the traditional Islamic patterned panels.

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EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC

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DESIGN RESPONSE

In the elevations on this spread and the following two pages, the dramatic height of the Babel temple is revealed, rising an epic 67’ above the rest of the village.

Balouo Salo’s guidelines requested that participants not rise higher than 100’, while emphasizing that existing village structures do not currently rise greater than 20’. Thus, the Babel is given the freedom to act as a landmark without rising to disrespectful or uncontextual heights.

The beauty of the panels are on full-display while passing by; the building’s panels appear to flip open like a book.

EAST ELEVATION

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DESIGN RESPONSE The main prayer wall, which rises to 67’, is the only wall in the building that lies on a cardinal axis, facing directly east-west, which suits both Christian and Islamic liturgical practices. By abruptly ending the hollowed-out hallowed spaces within with an abrupt, taller wall, special importance is bestowed on the practice of bowing east to pray or meditate, as the Islamic holy site of Mecca lies just a few hundred miles directly east, at nearly the same latitude.

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WEST ELEVATION

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STRATEGIC BUILDING PLAN

Due to the nature of Balouo Salo’s goals, it will be some time until the next steps present themselves. Submissions were accepted until Sunday, April 23rd, and the jury period lasts until May 7th, after which time one winner, five runners-up, and ten finalists will be unveiled to the public for a period of public discussion and reflection. The winning plan will then be delivered to the government of Tanaf Village, led by mayor Ibrahima Gomas (who also sits on the jury), for review and execution.

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KAIRA LOORO