African Design Magazine October 2014 | Page 34

K wame Nkrumah Presidential Library’s project comes from Samia Nkrumah’s dream to promote cultural improvement and sustainable development in her country, the Republic of Ghana. She is the daughter of Kwame Nkrumah, the African politician who drove Ghana to independence in 1957, and she is now the leader of the political movement founded by her father: the Convention people’s party (CPP). The library is conceived as a big “knowledge center” based on education, in all its forms. The project includes reading rooms and gathering spaces, conference halls, workshops and co-working activities. The library will also host rooms and laboratories to hold music classes as well as art and handicraft learning sessions. By joining Ghana’s education network, the library is going to represent the primary tool to train the next generation. 83% of Ghana’s population don’t have internet access, and most of the students don’t get to have books at school. To support social cohesion it is in fact paramount to involve the youngster in every cultural programs. The Young graduated students will have here the possibility to join internships or to be involved in child educational programs. The library will therefore represent an opportunity to train new professionals in fields like Culture and Education. ArchitectS: Mario Cucinella Architects PROJECT: Polyfunctional Sporting Centre Location: Volta Lake, Ghana TEAM: Mario Cucinella, Monica Luppi, Luca Sandri, Emanuele Dionigi, Michele Olivieri, Gabriele Motta, Giulia Pentella, Pietro Marziali model makers: Yuri Costantini, Ambra Cicognani and Letizia Lanzi Rendering: Cristian Chierici CC 79; Engram Studio Year: 2013 – on going project 34 africandesignmagazine.com The site The Library will be built in Akosombo, on the riverside of Volta Lake, the biggest artificial lake and one of the main water stocks in the world (circa 8.502 km² wide, 148 km³ stored water) Lake Volta Dike, which was promoted by Kwame Nkrumah himself, generates enough electricity for almost the whole country and it is a fundamental source of power for local industries. More than two million people live nearby the lake, which is a also a primary source of drinking water and fish. Description of the functional components The library will be a six-story building measuring 4600 square meters. The floors are developed around a big central empty space and they are structured according to a flexible scheme allowing free and diversified arrangement of the areas. Each floor will be connected through stairs and boardwalks and the curtain wall system offers a continuous perception of the external landscape. The main hall and the children areas will be situated at the ground floor and they will connected to the first floor where the laboratories and workshop rooms are. The first floor will also host spaces for arts and architecture exhibitions and it will include an handicraft section, with a 3D laboratory. Upper floors will be occupied by reading and