Analysis of Alioune Diop University in the Context of ‘natural and Cultural Sustainability’

Abstract

Alioune Diop University was founded in 2007 as a part of the Senegalese government’s efforts to decentralize higher education provision, seeking both to encourage youth to stay in rural areas and to provide educational programs appropriate to these contexts. The university structure was awarded the Aga Khan Architecture Award in 2019 by achieving both a bold architectural expression and minimizing cost and maintenance costs by using local construction techniques and compliance with sustainability principles. The Aga Khan Architecture Award, which is given once every three yearssince 1977, is an award for architectural products covering contemporary design, social housing, social development, restoration, reuse and regional conservation projects that successfully interpret Islamic culture. How architecture affects the quality oflife has always been a fundamental issue for the Aga Khan Award. While the search for an updated architecture is desired to ensure social development in the Aga Khan Awards, “tradition and locality” are concepts that the institution never gives up from. Local data can be covered as natural and cultural data. The use of local data in the architectural design process is of great importance in terms of “natural and cultural sustainability”. In today’s architecture, this understanding has faded, and it has been observed that the structures are designed as typical repetitive imitations rather than being indigenous to the location. Whereas, each design location has its own geography, culture and lifestyle, as well as many natural and cultural local data. The aim of this study is to emphasize the importance of local data usage in the architectural design process in the architecture that is trying to survive today, to analyze how these processes develop and are 565implemented through the Aga Khan Award winning Alioune Diop University. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that ecologically friendly solutions were presented in the structure, which contains reflections from local architecture. As a result, the Alioune Diop University Education and Research Building is an award-winning structure that has both an audacious architectural expression and has managed to minimize costs and maintenance costs using locally familiar construction techniques and adhering to sustainability principles. The information obtained will also enable future ecological solutions for the sustainability of local architecture.Keywords:Aga Khan Award, Alioune Diop University, Cultural Data, Locality, Natural Data, Natural and Cultural Sustainability1.IntroductionArchitecture is an example of art that has emerged in accordance with the basic needs of mankind. Evolved from the early ages to the present day and developed, varied according to its location, carried the traces of the period of its made, economical, cultural, religious, climatic, topographic, etc. were kneaded with all kinds of factors (Yüksel & Akbulut, 2009).The concept of ‘moving to the future’, which is the necessity of architecture, i.e. sustainability, plays an important role in architecture (Kısa Ovalı & Delibaş, 2016). Sustainability is often performed using local data with basic and simple methods. Local data reflects the fact that the structures are unique to the ground, the culture of the geography in which they are located and the way of life (Büyükpamukçu, 2019). Local data can be covered as natural and cultural data. The use of local data in the architectural design process is of great importance in terms of “natural and cultural sustainability”. In today’s architecture, this understanding has faded, and it has been observed that the structures are designed as typical repetitive imitations rather than being indigenous to location. Whereas, each design location has its own geography, culture and lifestyle, as well as many natural and cultural local data.While the search for an updated architecture is desired to ensure social development in the Aga Khan Awards, “tradition and locality”are concepts that the institution nevergives up from.The Aga Khan Architecture Award, which is given once every three years since 1977, is an award for architectural products covering contemporary design, social housing, social development, restoration, reuse and regional conservation projects that successfully interpret Islamic culture.The aim of this study is 565implemented through the Aga Khan Award winning Alioune Diop University. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that ecologically friendly solutions were presented in the structure, which contains reflections from local architecture. As a result, the Alioune Diop University Education and Research Building is an award-winning structure that has both an audacious architectural expression and has managed to minimize costs and maintenance costs using locally familiar construction techniques and adhering to sustainability principles. The information obtained will also enable future ecological solutions for the sustainability of local architecture.