Rehabilitation and Extension of Dakar Railway Station

Dakar, Senegal

A listed building dating back to 1914, the station had been disused since the railway line’s 2006 closure and was threatened with demolition. The creation of a new regional express railway in 2016 brought the prospect of its rehabilitation. Faced with a choice between replacing its collapsing metal framework or supporting it on a new structure, cost and scheduling constraints dictated the latter: each steel support is now coupled with one in rough-faced poured concrete. Given that the colonial architecture clashed with the message today’s government wanted to convey, preservation was balanced with adding a contemporary touch through material choices, lighting and custom-designed furniture. An extension continues the line of the historic building, though a gap dissociates old from new. The new building’s aesthetic creates a deliberate contrast, but with a vocabulary that echoes its earlier companion through a similar structural framework, colours and louvre-like brise-soleils. By relegating vehicle arrival spaces to behind the station, the project gives back the forecourt to travellers, creating a public square rare for Dakar. Poured-concrete benches under newly planted trees offer spots of shade. 

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture