Architecture Competition
Community Center in Africa

Every community grows around places where people can meet, share experiences, and build connections. It is in these spaces that stories are passed down, traditions are renewed, and aspirations become the future. In rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, however, the lack of communal spaces limits development and reduces opportunities for collective growth.

The Kaira Looro 2026 competition invites the design of a Community Center: an architecture that embodies inclusion and resilience, capable of hosting educational, social, and cultural functions. A vibrant and safe place, the beating heart of the community, where people can meet, learn, engage in dialogue, and collectively build new perspectives. A sustainable center, rooted in the local context and inspired by traditions, yet innovative and capable of shaping hope and change.

We seek an architecture that goes beyond mere construction, one that restores dignity, strengthens identity and rights, and reflects the universal values of solidarity and shared humanity.

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The project

Imagine a place where communities come together, share experiences, and build the future collectively. The vibrant heart of communal life, where education and culture intertwine with dialogue and creativity.

The challenge of this competition is to design a Community Center in a rural area of southern Senegal. An architecture intended to become a driver of development: a safe, inclusive, and multifunctional space, capable of promoting participation, learning, and sharing, while reinforcing collective identity. A symbol of cohesion and resilience, where people can learn, organize cultural activities, make shared decisions, and build the future together.

The project should be conceived as a humanitarian self-construction initiative, without the use of heavy machinery or specialized personnel, prioritizing natural materials and sustainable solutions to generate lasting benefits and reduce environmental impact.

The Community Center will host community assemblies, meetings with authorities, training and remedial courses, craft and entrepreneurial workshops, as well as cultural, recreational, and awareness-raising activities. In this way, the architecture becomes a catalyst for opportunities, development, and social cohesion.

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Awards

1st Prize: 5.000€ - Internship at Kengo Kuma - Construction

1st Prize

5.000 €
Construction
Internship at KKAA (Japan)
Sharing with partners
Exhibitions & events
Publication in volume
Certificate

2nd Prize

€2,000
Internship at one of EMBT (Spain), Adjaye Associates (UK), SBGA (Italy)
Sharing with partners
Exhibitions & events
Publication in the volume
Certificate

3rd Prize

€1,000 Internship at one of EMBT (Spain), Adjaye Associates (UK), SBGA (Italy)
Sharing with partners
Exhibitions & events
Publication in the volume
Certificate

2 Honorable Mentions

100 €
Sharing with partners
Exhibitions & events
Publication in the volume
Certificate

10 Special Mentions

Sharing with partners
Exhibitions & events
Publication in the volume
Certificate

35 Finalists

Exhibitions & Events
Publication in the volume
Certificate

Project framework

Senegal - Africa
The project is to be designed for the rural areas of southern Senegal. This is a country in western Sub-Saharan Africa bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Mauritania, Mali, Gambia and Guinea. The national population is almost 18 million, concentrated mainly in the major urban centres and the capital, Dakar. The territory, mostly flat, stretches over about 200,000 km², on the hydrographic left of the river of the same name and the catchment areas of some smaller rivers such as the Gambia and the Casamance in the south, where lagoons develop. The territory also extends into the so-called 'Sahel': the transition zone between the arid Saharan and humid regions of Guinean Africa.

The south of Senegal
The southern region, beyond the Gambia enclave, is called Casamance, after the river of the same name, and is divided into three administrative regions: Ziguinchor, Sedhiou and Kolda, totalling about 1.5 million inhabitants. It is one of the least developed areas in the country, with an average urbanisation rate in rural areas of 8% and an average poverty rate of around 90%. The location is purely agricultural and the rural villages have an average of 1,500 inhabitants. The main towns of Ziguinchor, Kolda and Sedhiou have populations of 200,000, 65,000 and 30,000, respectively. In the rural areas of Casamance, the quality of life is among the worst in the country, due to lack of development, lack of resources and infrastructure, and climate change, which severely affect agro-pastoral activities that are the primary source of self-sufficiency. Here, poverty is at its highest with 97% of the population; 88% of families have no access to drinking water; 60% of the population lives in dwellings without direct access to electricity and 98% of the dwellings have no sewage system; 60% of children leave school before high school

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