Goethe-Institut Dakar
A Place To Meet and Learn
On April 18, the Goethe-Institut's new Dakar location, designed by the firm of Francis Kéré, was inaugurated. The building, unveiled in 2022, has walls made from with locally sourced compacted earth blocks shaded by a canopy roof. Kéré Architecture sent us some text and images on the project.
Active worldwide for more than 75 years, the Goethe-Institut commissioned a purpose-built space from concept to construction for the first time in its history. As one of its main hubs in West Africa, the choice of Kéré Architecture reflects Goethe-Institut Dakar's ambition to define what cultural exchange looks like in the 21st century.
The building sits within a residential area of Dakar surrounded by a lush garden. Kéré Architecture's design balances sensitivity to the immediate neighborhood—including the adjacent Léopold Sédar Senghor Museum—with the demands of a busy cultural institution hosting exhibitions, language courses, concerts, and informal gatherings. The building's compact two-story form is shaped to mirror the canopy outline of the trees that have long occupied the site, and its massing acts as a shield, protecting neighboring residents from noise while insulating visitors from street traffic.
The structure is built from locally sourced compacted earth blocks, used for the load-bearing walls, partition walls and a second translucent outer skin that gives the building a light, permeable appearance. This commitment to local materials connects the project to Kéré Architecture's wider practice of building with resources and techniques already available in the region.
“My first building was a school. I have always understood that where people come to learn, they also come to meet, and where people meet is where culture is made. The Goethe-Institut exists to create spaces that facilitate meeting and learning across the world. Designing their first ever purpose-built space is a responsibility I take seriously. In Dakar, one of the great cultural cities of the African continent, I wanted this building to be open and safe, rooted and flexible, and very much alive”
Public programming is concentrated on the ground floor, which houses an auditorium, a cafeteria, and the library. Administrative offices and classrooms occupy the first floor. Crowning the building, a canopy roof provides shaded protection across all levels, improving thermal performance and sheltering the interior from rain, while echoing the natural, organic forms of the trees and garden below. Across all levels, the design prioritizes a sustainable approach, making sure the building leaves a minimal footprint beyond the space it physically occupies.
The completed facility is intended to serve as a welcoming and versatile home for Dakar's diverse communities—a space that honors the layered cultural history of Senegal's capital while inviting a broad public to participate in shaping a shared and inclusive future.
Location: Dakar, Sénégal
Client: Goethe Institut e.V.
Architect: Kéré Architecture, Berlin and Burkina Faso
- Design Principal: Diébédo Francis Kéré
- Project Architects: Jaime Herraiz Martínez, Andrea Maretto
- Project Team: Fabiola Büchele, Léon Bührer, Javier Mola Cardenes, Linda Franken,
Juan Carlos Zapata
Scat Internationale s.a., Elementerre, Matthias Middelkamp
Size: 1.800 m2
