Burkinabé Domesticity

Abstract

Burkina Faso is a developing country that is in a demographic transition. Its diverse population with dozens of ethnic groups, each with its own values and traditions, is growing at an extreme rate and exemplifies the phenomenon of rapid urbanization. However, the current social housing programs exclude more than 50% of the population, living from less than 75 euros a month. Housing is not accessible to the majority of the population, because of the high demand, the rising cost of basic building materials such as iron and cement, weak policies, no collaboration between the state and private sectors, and a large low-income population. This research and design project aim to contextualize issues such as high population growth, rapid urbanization, and the lack of mass social housing aimed at the Burkinabé population, whilst considering its context and cultural values. Planning for the expansion of cities, which were originally built for a limited few, is a challenge many countries in the Global South face and one that applies to all architects, planners and designers around the world. This paper shows that considering contextual Burkinabé strategies, such as the vernacular way of constructing with local techniques and materials whilst considering the harsh climate, and the way the large variety of ethnic groups communicates and shares resources, is important when wanting to scale up the rural dwellings to a city scale. Fusing both the vernacular and an African modernity offers viable solutions to the spatial development of the country’s urban growth.