Makola Cultural Centre
Is an art and cultural hub located in Accra, Ghana. This community-focused project creates important social spaces for the local community while promoting the arts. Designed to be responsive to Accra’s climatic conditions, the building showcases a series of windcatchers and skylights, arrayed on a flat, corrugated roof, with the site situated on the coast facing the sea within an urban context.
Incorporating passively ventilated spaces, courtyards, and rainwater collection strategies, the project prioritises comfort throughout the year. The building uses low-tech construction methods, using adobe brick and glulam timber, supported by a stone foundation, and is covered with zinc roofing. Locally sourced materials with low embodied carbon are used, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint and a sustainable design.
The programme of the centre consists of a gallery, shop, auditorium, café/restaurant, as well as spaces for local artists with artist studios and a learning centre. The building embraces a series of exterior courtyards which break up the spaces and allow for pockets of natural vegetation, promoting biodiversity and visual comfort for visitors.