Clay bricks and community involvement led to this circular chapel proposal by Sean Cassidy and Joe Wilson, which won 3rd prize in the Kaira Looro competition for a multi-faith worship space in Tanaf, Senegal.

Courtesy of Cassidy+Wilson

Taking third place in the recently-concluded Kaira Looro competition to design a multi-faith place of worship for the community of Tanaf in Senegal, this design by Sean Cassidy and Joe Wilson proposes a circular chapel with a sunken exterior moat in which locals can privately reflect and pray. Meanwhile, the central sanctum is designed to be constructed by locals with handmade clay bricks, forming a design which, as Cassidy and Wilson explain, "literally comes from the 'God given land'" that the community equally "can take pride in and call their own upon completion."
Courtesy of Cassidy+Wilson

The Kaira Looro competition, whose name was derived from the words for "Architecture for Peace" in Tanaf's local Mandingo language, asked entrants to develop a small religious design focusing on "a sustainable and culturally-driven architecture, for a place with a lack of materials and with low technology." This was the inspiration for Cassidy and Wilson's use of clay brick, as they sought to use a common, cheap and sustainable construction method while nonetheless using that construction method "in new inventive ways, allowing the villagers to push traditions and g...