Modern Mud Homes: A New Take on Building in Ghana

First Place: Sankofa House by M.A.M.O.T.H.

“There is no need to do a revolution in terms of sustainability, you need an evolution,” says Dorian Vauzelle, part of the four-person French team that won the design competition with the Sankofa House concept. “You need to go step-by-step, take elements from this vernacular architecture, simple and practical, think about the climate issues, and [think] in a contemporary way.” The team’s concept was informed by local design history. They adapted a traditional pitched-roof layout, which helps with heavy rains as well as air circulation. A double-skin roof and straw insulation were adapted from other European designs, while the external stripes of colors come from different types of clay. “All the answers are already there,” says Vazuelle of the challenge of designing in a new environment. “You just have to look behind to go further, like the traditional Sankofa symbol says.”