The new Italian Cultural Institute in Dakar merges two different worlds

The villa renovated by Most - Monti Studio in Dakar makes two distant cultures live in one single architecture.

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Plan

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Axonometry

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Axonometric diagram of the entrance porch

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Front

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020 Front

The international architecture firm based in Dakar Most-Monti Studio works on a villa from the 1970s of the Senegalese capital, to give life to the new Italian Cultural Institute. The result is an architecture that translates the encounter between Senegalese and Italian culture.

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

The villa is spread over a single floor of 490 sqm and occupies a plot of 1,000 sqm protected by a enclosure. Two wooden porches create a threshold between the inside and the outside, mark the entrances and invite you in. These elements, typical of Italian architecture, are defined by local geometric shapes. The woven wood used, each piece unique, pays a tribute to the resourcefulness of handicraft as a counterpart to technology.

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

The interiors of the villa are adapted to the new use with bathrooms, meeting rooms and offices. The facades are carved with large openings and a weave of coloured rhombuses typical of African clothes and Missoni’s zigzags, which together recall the manual skills of Senegalese and Italian tailors. The colours come out of the enclosure to invade the neighborhood and to show the Italian-Senegalese culture.

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020
  • Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar
  • Most-Monti Studio
  • Dakar, Senegal
  • 420 sqm
  • Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar
  • 2020
Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Foto Andrea Ceriani

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Plan

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Axonometry

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Axonometric diagram of the entrance porch

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Front

Most - Monti Studio, Italian Cultural Institute of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal, 2020

Front