Portfolio - Black Rock Senegal Artist Residency

CICES-Dakar International Design Workshop, Academic │ 1

Exterior view of CICES near the entrance, leading up to the Main Exhibition Halls. Triangles make up the structure and ornament in a rhytmic relationship.

CICES - DAKAR INTERNATIONAL DESIGN WORKSHOP Academic Project Organizers: University of Toronto and CUAD Team: Diana Franco, Clara Ziada, Papa Diallo, Roy Arnaoud, Adissa Dia, Ahmed Dieng, Tarek Mokhalalati, Adia Guisse

Date: Feb 17- 21, 2020 Site Area: 20.72 hectares Program: Commercial, Educational, Commuinty

In 2020, I participated in a workshop organised by the Daniels Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto, in partnership with the College Universitaire d’Architecture de Dakar in Senegal. In this fast-paced design charette, students from both universities came together with several design proposals for the renovation of the Centre International du Commerce Extérieur du Sénégal (CICES). The CICES was built in the early 1970s and commissioned by the first president of Senegal, Léopold Sedar Senghor. The CICES represents one of the best examples of African Modernism and its architecture follows Senghor’s idea of asymmetrical parallelism, which he defined as “a diversified repetition of rhythm in time and space”. This attempt to integrate architecture, poetry and music can really be felt in the spaces at CICES. With its monumental and spacious exhibition halls, the repetition of triangular shapes can be found at every scale; from the main structure, to the doorways, windows, staircases, and even the finest details (wall textures, decorative patterns).

Interior at one of the Main Exhibition Halls at CICES. Even the structural logic (columns and roof) follows the principle of assymetrical parallelism.

The building incorporates passive ventilation strategies (terracotta cylinders), reducing the need for mechanical systems such as fans and air-con.

CICES-Dakar International Design Workshop, Academic │ 2

Living Room

Group 10 - Masterplan for CICES

Interior view of the Company-Youth Space, which functions as makerspake for showcasing and experimenting with cutting-edge design and fabrication technology.

The design proposal from our group is based around the idea that the Senegalese economy is heavily reliant on Industry (50% of GDP) and Services (50% of GDP). Statistics also show that Senegal has a 39% digital literacy rate, meaning there is a current need to increase the dissemination of knowledge among the population, especially the youth who are part of an interconnected global economy where digital skills/knowledge play a major role. Our masterplan for CICES creates a space where youth and companies/ entrepreneurs (local and global) can exchange ideas in the form of workshops, seminars, networking events, and exhibitions.

It is also a space where local craft workers and companies (national and international) can collaborate and combine traditional knowledge/skills with the latest technology in design, construction, manufacturing, computation, art and science. The masterplan also provides public spaces for the enjoyment and pleasure of the general public and visitors; in the form of public parks, plazas, outdoor exercise (gym) infrastructure and sport facilities. The new CICES is a space that aims to make Dakar an international destination for the dissemination of knowledge and where people from all over the world can come together to learn about each other and themselves.

CICES-Dakar International Design Workshop, Academic │ 3

Collage of Artisan Village. This outdoor marketplace features traditional local art for preservation of cultural heritage, skills and knowledge; and providing a source of income for local craftsworkers.

View of Exhibition Hall, where art and technology meet to showcase young emerging talents from Senegal and all over the world.

Diagram illustrating the different stakeholders for the new CICES redevelopment.

Craftsman-builder working on some renovations at CICES during our site visit in February 2020.

Collage for the cafeteria / food hall, serving as a main gathering and social space for students, entrepreneurs, artisans and visitors.

Team of students from CUAD-Dakar and the University of Toronto; most of us are now working as architects in different parts of the world and we regularly keep in contact through social media.

CICES-Dakar International Design Workshop, Academic │ 4

African fractal villages (floorplan), illustration by Ron Eglash.

Model for a housing+aquaponics farm proposal at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto, Canada.

Diana Franco Camacho, Academic Project, 2017.

African fractal villages (floorplan), illustration by Ron Eglash.

Model for a proposed Bathouse and Community Centre in Toronto, Canada.

Diana Franco Camacho, Academic Project, 2016.

Illustration of Asymmetrical parallelism found in the architecture at CICES-Dakar.

Repetition of triangular motifs at different scales.

3D Print Study. Experiments in design, model-making and computation for a class at the University of Toronto. Diana Franco Camacho, 2019. Designed used Rhinoceros + Grasshopper.