23/09/2026
• O’NDAR: The river of Senegal •
• Building in Africa is never an easy task, but building on the Senegal River delta at the gates of the magical city of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and close to the Langue de Barbarie National Park is a privilege. The hotel program, featuring 135 rooms, a spa, and conference facilities, naturally gravitated towards an Eco-resort Laguna Club positioning, with strict respect for the project’s surrounding environment.
• First and foremost, it features a low-rise construction of a maximum of two levels, with a single orientation facing the lagoon. Next, an almost natural layout follows the meanders of the river, emphasized by the wings of the accommodation buildings, arranged like pebbles along the riverbank. The project’s concept is born from this very arrangement. The meteorological conditions in northern Senegal are drier than in the rest of the country, but the heat and the sun at their peak strike the area relentlessly. This is why the project incorporates a double roof shaped like pebbles, which, like a string of beads laid out by a child on the riverbank, poetically emphasizes the building’s long silhouette. The project aims to be both discreet and iconic.
• Important for the growth of a territory partly forgotten due to the omnipotence and centrality of Dakar, it voluntarily submits to environmental rules derived from West African know-how and culture. A low-tech approach highlights earth brick construction, a focus on ventilation and the natural updrafts created by the double roof, and energy autonomy enabled by these roofs—which consist of a mixed structure, a straw covering, and a significant surface area of solar panels to achieve this autonomy.
• Finally, the study of the spatial and temporal migrations of the Senegal River mouth and the Langue de Barbarie has long been a concern for researchers. The construction could, in a way, « stabilize » the retreat of the mangrove mudflats on the site. To this end, it was decided to keep the site’s landscape intact by creating a network of elevated walkways above the ground, ensuring minimal impact on the flora and fauna in a spirit that is at once minimalist, poetic, and African.
