Following the launch of the CCA c/o Dakar program of public events in May, which activated the project’s research, join us for a discussion in Dakar on heritage and preservation.

Moderated by Nzinga B. Mboup, this event will gather participants Jean-Augustin Carvalho and Fodé Diop with practitioners Andrée Diop-Depret and Xavier Ricou to present their work and discuss the varied definitions and approaches towards architectural heritage, and to consider its relevance and importance for Senegalese architects today. The discussion will also reflect on how or whether their training at the École d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme de Dakar (E.A.U.) and professional apprenticeship prepared them for their work on heritage. They will consider the critical tools Senegalese architects need to promote their architectural heritage and traditions.

This public discussion will present both the student and practitioners’ approaches to heritage preservation; their tools and methodologies; and share positive examples of rehabilitations and preservation operative in the Senegalese architectural landscape, in an effort to showcase an alternative to the current trend of demolition and disfigurement to many listed buildings in Senegal.

Jean-Augustin Carvalho and Fodé Diop (graduates from the E.A.U.) whose thesis projects on seminal sites—namely the Sandaga market and the island of Saint-Louis—were influential in establishing a national preservation strategy for said sites (particularly Saint-Louis). Practitioner Andrée Diop-Depret (the first woman to graduate from the E.A.U.) has overseen the designs for the over a dozen rehabilitation projects, most famously the ancient train stations of Dakar and Rufisque and the Maison des esclaves in Gorée. Xavier Ricou has been an advisor to national entities on matters of heritage preservations of listed buildings in Dakar.

This event is free and open to the public. To reserve your place, please RSVP by writing to rsvp@cca.qc.ca, before 14 August 5pm (EST).