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Hundred-years old Baobab not only give birth to the prosperity history of Senegal, but also shelter the people who live on this ancient land generation after generation and the resplendent culture they created by wisdom. Under the grace of Baobab, people pass on and preserve the age-old history and resplendent culture bu ancient music and dance. Like tempting rhythm and beautiful dances. The huge canopy of Baobab already became an important part of local culture. The canopy not only provides shelter for those people who live here, but also gathers people from different cultures and religions, promotes cultures communition invisibly. THick and strong Baobao trunk also give us inspiration. In the past, people would hold the ceremony in the huge and hollow trunk of Baobab. We creat some cavhollow and tubular structure. They are not only the support of the roof, but also provide a specific space for local residents to learn and inherit their culture. At the same time, we extract the rule of local village's plan, and put this into our design, which means the traditional culture and local residents are sheltered bu the dense Baobaob canopy.
The present report deals with the description of the project of a cultural centre for the city of Sedhiou. This aims at offering a new identity to the territory, with the purpose to create a space where cultures can be handed down and spread. The intervention intends to show how it is possible to associate a cultural centre with the image of a basket, of a container – in this case a container of knowledge. The idea of the basket is the linchpin that has influenced the entire architectonic composition. Moving from the traditional African fruit baskets, particularly recurrent within the artistic transpositions of the place, we arrived to the proposal of a “full” building, full just like a fruit basket. In spite of this massive receptacle, the interior suggests a free, wide environment – which will house the different functions – to those who pass through the entrance. This alludes to the importance of culture and to that feeling of never being completely satisfied with our personal knowledge. If it is true that culture set us free, then this big basket proves it. The centre would not be a simple place of training, but a sharing experience. The arrangement of interior spaces develops smoothly and follows the red thread of the entire design. The idea of the basket is evident in the use of materials and in their siting. In order to recall the intertwining typical of the baskets, the external coating will show the same kind of entanglement, but realised in bamboo. This is possible thanks to its high tensile and compressive strengths and to its flexibility. It is a sustainable low-cost material, which is easily found in the surroundings. It is a clear reference to the natural environment in which our project is inserted. Cultural basket is a way to look at life, to witness the relationship between ethnic groups and to enhance the value of regional arts and traditions. Cultural basket also proves that architecture can be an important social instrument.
