Staged across three rooms, this exhibition explores the African compound house typology through fragments, drawings, and photography. It documents three compound houses from various regions in Ghana. 

A palette of everyday materials such as earth, brick, timber, and corrugated roofing sheets is used to create simple construction forms, referencing the utility of this building typology.

The exhibition also reflects on the typology’s ephemeral and spiritual qualities. Through material, form, and spatiality, Common, Communal, Community, highlights the key attributes of the compound house typology. These attributes - particularly the central compound space and the veranda - create a layered range of public, semi-public, semi-private, and private spaces. These elements are expressed in the scenography of the exhibition, guiding visitors through a series of thresholds and spatial experiences.

Photography: © Simon Veres


Solar, Design Museum
  Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Power in West Africa  Dallin Road   Althea McNish: Colour is Mine   The Bachelor Girl’s Room   ArchiAfrika Pavilion