MASQUE DE L'ÉMERGENCE

PROGRAM: LOCAL SMART ARCHITECTURE PROMOTER: CHORUS ARCHITECTURE LOCATION: TSINGA - YAOUNDÉ CAMEROUN TYPE: COMPETITION STATUS: PROPOSAL

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CONCEPTUAL OBJECTIVE

Associated with ancestrality, communitarianism and used during a specific ceremony, the mask, worn by an initiate to the detriment of his or her face (proper identity), is a work of art that passes from the status of an object to that of a representation of a social-cultural ideal whose essence is venerated… The mask is therefore the face of the common will and its use implies expectations projected in prayer or in recognition of the aspirations of the people who use it after having produced it… Due to its strategic position, the Autonomous Port of Douala, now under direct management by Cameroon, is an initiation to economic independence, but above all a proof of local know-how in a context of advanced technological innovation and great competitiveness and attractiveness. Its representation (representative office) in the political capital (Yaoundé) is therefore intended to be the mask worn by the insiders (Port personnel, State of Cameroon) to lead towards structural but above all infrastructural emergence.

CONCEPTUAL APPROACH

Anchored in the context (the country’s emergence program for 2035) and in the face of sustainability requirements as prescribed by UN-HABITAT and in the SDGs. The objective of our project is to develop a popular, identifiable, reliable, and unique benchmark… The envisaged approach is to combine a set of artifacts that will be drawn upon to produce a useful project… ! In order to produce contemporary architecture, we will revisit the concept of “Form Follow Function”. And in order not to end up with “another beautiful object”, we will instead design a system… A system is a set of elements interacting with each other according to certain principles or rules; or an abstract whole whose elements are coordinated by law, a theory: the conceptual framework being in our case the one indirectly prescribed by a meeting between the principles of biophilic architecture (nature as a source of interpretation) and iconic aesthetics… It is, therefore, a question of constructing a built ecosystem that frames the functional opportunities described by the “brief”, but above all, that projects its own know-how, as a basic model to be imitated scientifically to improve the built landscape.

VISUAL AND FUNCTIONAL INSPIRATION

LOCALISATION

The site (1000 m2) is located in the Tsinga district, adjoining the back of a sic camp, and facing the current headquarters of Fécafoot, at the end of a wasteland that is recessed in relation to the planned car park in front, and is served by two roads.

ELEVATION GAIN AND APPROACH TO THE SITE

The difference in level varies between 3 and 4 m, with the deposited earth found there we opted for a 6m high stripping taken from the level of the projected parking area… ! This ensures that we have two well-defined levels of parking, on the ground floor or in the basement, depending on the starting point.