Africa: the Green Belt project | 2C

Djennè Mali

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Università IUAV di Venezia - Atelier di sostenibilità
Prof. B. Albrecht - Prof. G. Mucelli - Prof. M. Scarpa                   


Djenné is a city of Mali, capital of the district bearing the same name, in the Mopti area. Situated west of the Bani river, it is a city with very relevant historical and commercial background and famous for its mud bricks buildings, most famous of which is the reat Mosque rebuilt in 1907. Its old city centre was designated World Heritage by UNESCO in 1988.
Djenné was founded in about 300 by the Bozo in a site called Djenné-Jeno, 1.5 km upstream of the river. Its site was moved in 1043 or in the thirteenth century, when the city was converted to Islam. This increased its importance as a market and a base for trans-Saharan trades. The Terracotta vase of Djenné and all other products of terracotta show the unique culture of Djenné.
Today, the city retains many featuresof its past, starting from the buildings that seem frozen in time. This also is direct consequence of UNESCO’s directives from 1988 onwards with regards
to maintaining the city’s original appearance: the guarantee to transmit to posterity “the city of mud,” opposes the will of the people to modernize their life by taking advantage of more comfortable roads and buildings than the traditional ones.


The project:


during the rainy season (July to September), Djenné is affected by the river Bali’s floods, which periodically swamp the entire area surrounding the historic city. From a high ground orography of Djenné we identified portions of land which remain safe from flooding, hence the decision to allocate these areas to the new autonomous districts satellite services. The surrounding areas are used for agriculture, the main factor of the local economy. In this way, as well as avoiding the danger of floods in the residential areas, we guarantee the consolidation of green areas (crops and intensive green) Furthermore, this solution acts as a compromise to the historical constraint imposed by the UNESCO: the expansions take place outside the historic center, which will remain attractive pole of the future Djenné. The urban fabric of the new city takes inspiration from the interpretation of the typological character of Djenné’s traditional dwelling: a series of communal and semi-communal areas, private or not, without any apparent distinction. We have created a series of inhabitable and completely permeable spaces in the lower level of the city: they will be home to public services, markets,
schools, businesses and more. The upper levels are reserved for living spaces, away from the city traffic.

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    Università IUAV di Venezia - Atelier di sostenibilitàProf. B. Albrecht - Prof. G. Mucelli - Prof. M. Scarpa                    Djenné is a city of Mali, capital of the district bearing the same name, in the Mopti area. Situated west of the Bani river, it is a city with very relevant historical and commercial background and famous for its mud bricks buildings, most famous of which...

    Project details
    • Year 2013
    • Work started in 2013
    • Work finished in 2013
    • Status Research/Thesis
    • Type Neighbourhoods/settlements/residential parcelling / Restoration of old town centres / Landscape/territorial planning / Modular/Prefabricated housing / Metropolitan area planning
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