The Prague Post - Burkina's 'Opera Village' by its groundbreaking architect

EUR -
AED 4.303976
AFN 81.441964
ALL 97.724417
AMD 449.756269
ANG 2.097062
AOA 1074.532108
ARS 1467.319002
AUD 1.793664
AWG 2.109223
AZN 2.007504
BAM 1.958274
BBD 2.365789
BDT 142.830437
BGN 1.955834
BHD 0.441678
BIF 3446.235331
BMD 1.17179
BND 1.500996
BOB 8.096228
BRL 6.556157
BSD 1.171981
BTN 100.360786
BWP 15.654777
BYN 3.834544
BYR 22967.090269
BZD 2.353573
CAD 1.604592
CDF 3381.786877
CHF 0.93107
CLF 0.029006
CLP 1113.110977
CNY 8.413747
CNH 8.416905
COP 4712.940666
CRC 590.946541
CUC 1.17179
CUP 31.052443
CVE 110.733745
CZK 24.628631
DJF 208.250341
DKK 7.46078
DOP 70.48331
DZD 152.044871
EGP 58.118102
ERN 17.576855
ETB 159.490077
FJD 2.633306
FKP 0.863336
GBP 0.862264
GEL 3.175215
GGP 0.863336
GHS 12.176313
GIP 0.863336
GMD 83.782479
GNF 10143.017355
GTQ 9.005376
GYD 245.029545
HKD 9.197904
HNL 30.876537
HRK 7.532502
HTG 153.784275
HUF 399.797296
IDR 19039.249117
ILS 3.888528
IMP 0.863336
INR 100.455709
IQD 1535.045319
IRR 49361.666877
ISK 143.40402
JEP 0.863336
JMD 187.306624
JOD 0.830825
JPY 171.514723
KES 151.742248
KGS 102.473037
KHR 4711.768848
KMF 493.324088
KPW 1054.585525
KRW 1610.122236
KWD 0.357783
KYD 0.976434
KZT 607.637627
LAK 25240.363919
LBP 104992.412278
LKR 352.255003
LRD 234.941473
LSL 20.846005
LTL 3.459992
LVL 0.708804
LYD 6.329253
MAD 10.551939
MDL 19.860089
MGA 5191.031139
MKD 61.507957
MMK 2460.182431
MNT 4205.038884
MOP 9.474069
MRU 46.525908
MUR 52.972553
MVR 18.042664
MWK 2034.81537
MXN 21.838129
MYR 4.980692
MZN 74.947358
NAD 20.845642
NGN 1797.127848
NIO 43.063088
NOK 11.836558
NPR 160.576856
NZD 1.952268
OMR 0.450555
PAB 1.17168
PEN 4.153409
PGK 4.848848
PHP 66.335527
PKR 333.081322
PLN 4.246852
PYG 9081.472602
QAR 4.266021
RON 5.077134
RSD 117.19662
RUB 91.646306
RWF 1680.347319
SAR 4.395227
SBD 9.769127
SCR 16.535124
SDG 703.660427
SEK 11.142801
SGD 1.50036
SHP 0.920843
SLE 26.368938
SLL 24571.861406
SOS 669.677436
SRD 43.649776
STD 24253.693785
SVC 10.251951
SYP 15235.769903
SZL 20.846096
THB 38.293909
TJS 11.336221
TMT 4.112984
TND 3.40394
TOP 2.744453
TRY 46.921414
TTD 7.956051
TWD 34.240841
TZS 3078.883475
UAH 48.97497
UGX 4206.313826
USD 1.17179
UYU 47.39988
UZS 14875.878317
VES 131.577763
VND 30629.42717
VUV 139.799183
WST 3.226363
XAF 656.786717
XAG 0.032209
XAU 0.000354
XCD 3.166822
XDR 0.815664
XOF 654.420316
XPF 119.331742
YER 283.397416
ZAR 20.8927
ZMK 10547.504558
ZMW 28.502007
ZWL 377.316005
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Burkina's 'Opera Village' by its groundbreaking architect
Burkina's 'Opera Village' by its groundbreaking architect

Burkina's 'Opera Village' by its groundbreaking architect

With its imposing, angular proportions made out of clay, laterite and other local building materials, the Opera Village cultural and educational project, designed by Burkina Faso-born architect Francis Kere, blends into the landscape.

Text size:

It overlooks Laongo, a rural community not far from Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, and is the sort of groundbreaking design that helped Kere scoop architecture's most prestigious award, the Pritzker Prize, this week.

In so doing, the 56 year-old, who holds dual Burkina and German nationality, became the first African to win the honour in its more than 40-year history.

Built on 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) of a granite plateau, the Opera Village is shaped like a spiral, with 26 buildings housing workshops, a health centre, guest houses and a school.

Eventually, at its centre will be a performance venue and covered exhibition area with 700 seats.

Built in the early 2010s with the aim of combining art, education and ecology, the project was the brainchild of late German theatre director and filmmaker Christoph Schlingensief.

- 'The simplest material' -

Kere was hailed by the Pritzker's sponsors on Tuesday for designs that are "sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants -- in lands of extreme scarcity".

His Opera Village used local construction materials, such as clay, laterite, granite and wood to allow it to withstand the extreme heat of the region, the site's administrator Motandi Ouoba said.

"These are local materials that the architect found on site: blocks of compressed earth, bricks taken from the site, paving stones made from granite," he said.

Kere "starts with the simplest material, which we commonly share... which our parents used, and he makes something noble out of it," he added.

"It's the earth, it's all that's around us, when he brings them together, he brings to life something that is magnificent."

It also blends well with local vegetation, contributing to a sense of harmony.

- 'Bioclimatic buildings' -

The immense roofs overhang the walls and ventilation keeps the temperature in the rooms down, even when it's more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) outside.

Kere ensured that "our buildings are bioclimatic, with a double ceiling and openings to dissipate hot air," Ouoba said.

The health centre's consultation and treatment rooms have dozens of long windows that slide upwards.

"With so many openings, patients feel less isolated by hospitalisation. They have a view of the landscape," doctor Issa Ouedraogo said.

The stylish classrooms filled with daylight are a far cry from the makeshift decor of many of the schools in Burkina Faso, a country battling a jihadist insurgency since 2015 that swept in from neighbouring Mali.

"The architecture of the buildings changes everything. We are in perfect classrooms because it is very hot here and not everyone can afford fans or air conditioning," said headmaster Abdoulaye Ouedraogo, who is also an actor and playwright.

Six classrooms can accommodate 181 pupils -- and there's a separate space for music, dance, theatre, plastic arts, photography and audiovisual lessons.

- 'Durable and functional' -

Opera Village also serves as a creative residency site for artists, according to Ouoba.

"It reminds us that we can get something beautiful, durable and functional from local materials," he said.

With its unique architecture, the centre attracts around 2,500 visitors every year.

Ouoba hopes that international recognition of Francis Kere will help maintain the curiosity of visitors.

 

"We are happy for Mr Kere but also for us who are among the first beneficiaries of his work," he said, in congratulating the architect.

T.Kolar--TPP