ProCredit Ghana is a micro finance bank, supporting many small and medium size businesses and in that sense contributing to the sustainable development of one of the fastest growing economies in the world. ProCredit takes its catalyst position serious and is not limited to finance when it comes to sustainability. Their new head offices, developed along Nsawam Road in Accra and designed by MultiCad Consulting Architects, Planners & Engineers Ltd., has been developed aiming at minimising environmental impact and maximising energy efficiency. African Architecture Matters executed an assessment for ProCredit to counter check the measurements and optimise the scheme. The assessment resulted in additional recommendations for passive energy savings, localised sourcing of materials and minimising maintenance costs. The proposed measurements, in addition to the design, will minimise environmental impact, but also result in a financially efficient building.

(2 students of the CUAD with the architects Mbaye Sene and Cherif Chiattara during the workshop) African public space may well provide successful solutions for public space challenges in the West – was the conclusion of the jury of the Blueprints of Paradise competition, developed by the Afrika Museum and AAmatters in 2010. As part of the Dak’art Biannual, the College Universitaire de l’Architecture de Dakar and African Architecture Matters explore this further in a workshop with over 40 students of the 1st to 3rd year of the school, taking place in the week before the Dak’art Biannual, being opened by Senegal’s new Minister of Culture Yousou N’Dour on the 11th of May. The results of this workshop, 6 proposals that aim to optimise the public space in and around Amsterdam CS, introducing ‘structured order’, ‘improved interconnectivity’ and multiple, more spontaneous and flexible use of the space, will be presented during the exhibition ‘Vision sénégalaise sur l’espace public aux Pays-Bas: La Gare Centrale d’Amsterdam Réinventée’ as part of the OFF programme of the Dak’art Biannual. the exhibition will be held in the garden of the Residence of the Dutch Ambassador, at the Rue des Ambassadeurs in Dakar between 18 May and 1 June 2012. Please find more information about the exhibition, the location, the OFF programme and the Dak’art biannual. The workshop is run by Mamadou Jean-Charles Tall, Mouhamadou Naby Kane (both CUAD), Cherif Diattara, Mbaye Sene (both Archi Art Concept) and Berend van der Lans (AAmatters). The project is supported by the Royal Netherlands embassy in Dakar.

After its first presentation in October 2011, the exhibition will now be presented on the well visited Msasani Slipway in Dar es Salaam. The exhibition Stars of Dar light-footedly introduces you to the most interesting public spaces and buildings of Dar es Salaam. It tells the visitor about their history but most important: what we can learn from them if we think about the future of our beloved city, according to Mustafa Hassanali, Mbaraka Igangula, Mrisho Mpoto, Njenje Band and other people in Dar’s society. During a workshop, freshly graduated Ardhi University (ARU) students went out to interview them and further conducted 3 short films with interviews at Kariakoo, Posta and Mwenge: what do the users think is great about these places, and what can be improved? The exhibition will be opened by Dr. Livin Mosha, Dean of the School of Architecture and Design (SADE) of the Ardhi University. Prior to that, a short film will be shown, capturing the project and the reactions of the guest visiting the Stars of Dar exhibition in October 2011. You are most welcomed to join the opening on 14 February at 18:30 hours at the exhibition venue at the Slipway. Exhibition Stars of Dar Presented: 14 February – 14 March Opening hours: 12:00 – 19:00hr. between Wednesdays and Sundays Exhibition space at The Slipway, Msasani Peninsular Opening: 14 February, 18:30 hrs. Further information: http://starsofdar.tumblr.com The exhibition Stars of Dar in October 2011 in Ebrahim building. Stars of Dar is a project under collaboration with Architects Association of Tanzania (AAT), Ardhi University (ARU) and African Architecture Matters of the Netherlands. We thank the Slipway for their cooperation and offer to use the exhibition venue. The project was further supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and Green Car rental. The films are developed by Hypermedia. The exhibition was developed and first presented in the context of GLOBAL CITY - LOCAL IDENTITY, a project series on architecture and city development organized by the Goethe-Institut Tanzania. For more information see: www.facebook.com/GLOBALCITYLOCALIDENTITY

Edited by Luis Fernández-Galiano, this volume gives insight in some of the interesting projects of the African continent and the Middle East. AAmatters director Antoni Folkers contributed to this publication with a chapter on Central and Eastern Africa, but also ArchiAfrika friends Iain Low, Nnamdi Elleh, Suha Ozkan, Hassan Radoine and Farrokh Derakhshani contributed to this book. Among many others you will find work of Daniela Diwouta-Kotto, Francis Kéré, Noero Wolff architects, Jose Forjaz, KILO architecture, Peter Rich and FBW Architects. You can flip through the book here.

The ArchiAfrika newsletter on the National Museum of Ghana is just spread, with contributions from Rachel Stella Jenkins, Rafael Chikukwa, Mae-ling Jovenes Lokko and Fatric Bewong. Does the role of National Museums in Africa have to be reviewed? In this newsletter, through the case of the museum in Accra, this question is discussed. In Accra this discussion is continuing through the activities of the Friends of the National Museum. You can download the newsletter here in English and French.

Opening session during the key-note lecture of Saskia Sassen (photo Rachel Stella Jenkins) Nearly 4 weeks ago, the 5th African Perspectives conference opened in Casablanca, Morocco. Another successful gathering of students, academics and professionals in the fields related to architecture and planning in Africa, organised by the network organisation ArchiAfrika. The conference closed after a number of very interesting interventions, exhibitions and debates, in search for new ways of approaching the challenges of planning for the future, not only restricted to Africa. More news on this will follow. This photostream will give you a glimpse of the events taking place.

(photo Elena Cattani) The exhibition Learning from Casablanca is dismantled over last weekend, but it lives on through some reviews and a facebook page. Casamemoire and AAmatters are preparing for the next steps in this journey. We will explore what the lessons from Casablanca could mean for contemporary planning challenges. We keep you updated. Meanwhile read the reviews at Archdaily and Made in Medinaand follow Learning from Casablanca on Facebook.

African Perspectives 2011 in Casablanca is about to start. The 5th conference of ArchiAfrika, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is again going to be special. From 3 to 5 November an international crowd will gather and visit places in Morocco’s largest city for lectures, debates, exhibitions, films and more on ‘the African Metropolis’. Many countries in Africa but also from elsewhere in the world are represented. Find the programme – with Saskia Sassen, Farrokh Derakhshani, Iain Low, Abderrahim Kassou, Jord den Hollander, Ola Uduku, Tom Avermaete, Joe Osae-Addo, Antoni Folkers and many others - on www.african-perspectives.com. We are confident that we can organize streaming of at least part of the African Perspectives event. Keep an eye at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/african-architecture-matters if you want to be with us over long distance!

Casablanca served as laboratory for European architects to experiment with modernist mass housing in the 40’s and 50’s. The visions of modernist architecture spread all over the world, suggesting new structures in housing, work, transport, and leisure. The spatial structure in Casablanca has been extremely transformed and appropriated by the inhabitants over time to respond to the requirements and aspirations of everyday life. The exhibition Learning from Casablanca shows the results of multi disciplinary studies undertaken in the previous year by students from Morocco and various parts of Europe. Films, multimedia presentations, posters and models present the stories behind the transformation. The ‘debates on tour’, organised with the Netherlands Architecture institute as part of African Perspectives 2011 on 4 November at the Sacre Coeur and on 5 November at the Ecole Superieure de l’Architecture, will use these unplanned developments as starting point for a debate on the possibilities of adaptation in contemporary planning issues. Learning from Casablanca is developed by Casamemoire and African Architecture Matters, with contributions from the Ecole Superieure de Casablanca, Université Hassan II, Delft University of Technology, the universities of Utrecht and Stockholm, ARCAM, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Morocco and the City of Amsterdam. The project is generously made possible by the Netherlands Architecture Fund. #Casablanca

After a successful opening of at the Urban Dreamscapeproject, part of the event ‘Global City – Local Identity?’ in Dar es Salaam, Stars of Dar is moving on and actually is now on display at one of its Stars! The exhibition is being built up at the Slipway in Dar es Salaam and can be visited for free most part of the day. Moreover you will be able to find everything about the Stars of Dar on the dedicated web page starsofdar.tumblr.com. You can see the videos on Dar es Salaams most important public spaces already now. Stars of Dar is a project developed by the Architects Association of Tanzania and African Architecture Matters, in close collaboration with the ARDHI University. #Architecture

With projects in Sao Paulo and Ghana, students from the academy in Amsterdam are intrigued by the position of the architect while working abroad. Heinrich Wolff, highly successful prize winning architect from South Africa is often crossing borders in his country. After his lecture for ‘designers of the future’ in Delft on 10 November (see www.designersofthefuture.nl), he shares his ideas on border crossing with the Amsterdam crowd. Kunle Adeyemi (to be confirmed) has been key member of Rem Koolhaas’ OMA team for many years. After his involvement in OMA’s innovative projects in his home country Nigeria, China and elsewhere in the world, he started NLé, focusing on shaping the architecture of development cities. AAmatters director Berend van der Lans is co-founder of ArchiAfrika, the network organization with focus on architecture in Africa which has border-crossing in the core of the veins. After three short introductions on the basis of their work, the speakers will be in discussion on the pros and cons of working in other environments. You are all invited to join. You will find the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture here.

Read about the latest news and activities of African Architecture Matters in the newsletter via http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a985ccc339a56cccb87d5c9a5&id=dedadaa6da&e=7d3fe8663b. There is news on African Perspectives 2011, the exhibitions Learning from Casablanca and Stars of Dar as well as the announcement of lectures / debates at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. Happy reading!