Usually representing spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, these figures were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. Through a wide range of style, scale, belief and function the couples depicted share a timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies.

Posts
Thumbs

L’Amandier Hotel / Nick Gowing Architects

Nick Gowing's L’Amandier Hotel emerges from the rich, red earth of the L’Amandier Plateau. So, whilst remaining true to the natural colour palette, he juxtaposed the buildings’ bold and striking geometric lines with the contours of the surrounding hills and mountains.

Noomdo Orphanage / Kere Architecture

Situated in the rural countryside of the Boulkiemdé province of Burkina Faso, the Noomdo Orphanage lies approximately 2 kilometers outside of the city of Koudougou. Mimicking the nearby residential compounds, the project is layed out in a similar way to a small village clustered around a communal outdoor space. The complex consists of 5 modular courtyard buildings, a shaded open-air dining hall...

Yves Saint Laurent Museum / Studio KO

While studying the couturier’s archives, Studio KO became intrigued by the duality between curved and straight lines, and between loose and precise approaches to cutting fabric. The facade of the building appears as an intersection of cubes with a lace-like covering of bricks, creating patterns that recall the weft and warp of fabric. As with the lining of a couture jacket, the interior is radi...

Black Rhino Academy / NLE Works

The Black Rhino Academy is a proposed primary and secondary boarding school located in Karatu, Tanzania. The 7 hectare hilly site is situated just outside of the Ngorongoro Crater conservation area, surrounded by rich natural vegetation and abundant wildlife.

Looking Up / Francesco Bonanomi, Michael Goldoni, Riccardo Bovo

Cult, introspection, spirituality, rest, identity: these are some of the themes translated through an architectural perspective to design a versatile space which can serve several varieties of cult. This is the place where every visitor can seek his own spirituality through an experience of personal introspection and detachment from reality; the centre around which architectural spaces and shap...

Eco Maison / Studio Tamassociati

TAM associati inaugurated the 'eco-maison', the first batch of the H2OS project, which envisages the construction of an eco-village in Senegal’s Keur Village, 200 km from Dakar in a scheme that consists of common spaces and autonomous housing modules from the point of view of Energy and water in an area where desertification proceeds inevitably. The project predominantly focuses on desertificat...

French School in Lome / Segond-Guyon Architectes

The project includes the construction of an elementary school, and the extension of a kindergarten. Its aim is to build a contextual architecture, fully aware of its environment.

Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital / Sheppard Robson + John Cooper Architecture + GAPP + Ruben Reddy Architects

The Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Johannesburg is the first purpose built paediatric hospital in South Africa. The commission for the hospital, provided by the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund was won by John Cooper Architecture with Sheppard Robson, in an international competition. The design is one of four dedicated children’s hospitals on the African continent, creating a much needed f...