With Gret, UrbaSEN, UrbaMonde and Transitec
Supported by Agence Française de Développement,
and part of the Pépinière Urbaine de Dakar.

Rufisque, Senegal, 2021.

This is part of a larger project called “Pépinière Urbaine Dakar”, supported by AFD and lead by Gret. This program revolved around innovative public spaces linked to the two main transport projects underway in this African capital: a TER –Train Express Regional, and a BRT-Bus Rapid Transit.

Here we worked in one of the main bus station in the region, located in Rufisque, where a train stop has already been build. The first step was to understand the needs of the different stakeholders. We hanged around this hostile space, for few days, with our « Penc’mobile » from early morning until late evening. Then we organized a few workshops with different actors to co-design an architectural response. We had thought about local resources: about materials, we tried to maximize local materials, as typha for the roof or Earth Compressed Bricks for the furniture, re-uses tires or ceramics, and use reversible material as for the steel structure. We also worked with local independent craftsmen in place of large companies. And at the end, we supported the establishment of a management committee to take care of the place.