Thomas Sankara said Africa must produce what it consumes and consume what it produces.
Francis Kéré built his mausoleum from the earth of Burkina Faso.
The walls are laterite brick pulled from the same soil Sankara walked on. Louvred gates are angled to catch the prevailing winds and push cool air through the interior. No mechanical cooling in one of the hottest capitals on earth.
Thirteen tombs sit beneath individual skylights, the sun illuminating each one at a different hour of the day. Thirteen columns frame open space representing not what is there but what was taken.
The site was where Sankara and his comrades were buried in secret after their assassination in 1987. Kéré has turned it into what he calls a space that belongs to the people.
A future tower will rise to 87 meters. The terrace sits at the height that marks the year everything ended.
Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Design: Kéré Architecture
Images: Kéré Architecture
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