YAA Projects designs architecture in dialogue and response to place, identity, climate, material and history.
The ArchiAfrika Pavilion was designed as part of the European Cultural Centre’s projects at the 17th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. Situated in the Giardini della Marinaressa, a public park near the lagoon and adjacent to residential buildings, the pavilion enhances the social infrastructure of the neighbourhood.
This five-by-five-metre structure offers space for gatherings, exhibitions, and talks in various forms. Externally, the perimeter and four distinctive corners provide seating and resting areas. The roof, made from bright and colourful Ghanaian wax prints, filters sunlight dynamically into the interior. The pavilion’s colour references moments in the historic Jamestown area in Accra, Ghana.
As people interact with the pavilion, their presence becomes an integral part of the architecture, reminiscent of the totems, carvings, and sculptures found in West African architecture.
Drawings: © YAA Projects
Photography: © Luca Bosco
in collobration with 121 Collective & Bushra Mohamed
Solar, Design Museum