President Amadou Toumani Touré Opens Centre for Earthen Architecture in Mali

President Amadou Toumani Touré Opens Centre for Earthen Architecture in Mali

On 29 October 2010, President Amadou Toumani Touré officially opened the new Centre for Earthen Architecture in Mopti, Mali. The centre, located in the city’s Komoguel district, includes an exhibition space designed to present Mali’s rich heritage of earthen architecture to the public, a community centre with public toilets and showers, a cafeteria and a park.

This project is the outcome of a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Culture, the municipality of Mopti and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The restoration of the Great Mosque in Komoguel, which opened in 2008, was followed by regeneration work across a substantial area of the Komoguel district, including street paving, with the aim of improving living conditions for local residents.

The partnership between the Ministry of Culture and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) aims to revitalise the tradition of earthen architecture in Mali. Its initial phase saw the restoration of several mosques, including the Komoguel Mosque in Mopti, the Djingereyber Mosque in Timbuktu and the Great Mosque of Djenné. Providing professional training in traditional construction methods has been a key component of these projects, which have proved to be an invaluable source of technical, organisational and relational learning in the wider context of preserving Mali’s earthen buildings. The second phase of the earthen architecture restoration programme will include further major projects involving Mali’s rich heritage and public spaces in various regions of the country.

The centre was opened to the public on 1 November 2010.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. Through its programmes the AKTC promotes debate on built environments, offers models and solutions to contemporary design challenges, and plays an active part in the physical and social revitalisation of communities in order to improve their quality of life.

Source
AKDN
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