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The winners of the 2024 Kaira Looro Architecture Competition for the design of a maternity center in rural Southern Senegal have been announced. Organized by humanitarian organization Balouo Salo, the competition aims to jumpstart the careers of talented young professionals, support charitable projects, and stimulate research in the field of humanitarian architecture to reduce social inequalities.
The competition is entirely non-profit, with all proceeds donated to Balouo Salo’s numerous projects, which have improved the lives of tens of thousands of people.
The 2024 edition of the Kaira Looro Architecture Competition saw the participation of some 900 teams of architects from 112 countries, including Italy, Turkey, Poland, India, China, Mexico, Brazil, Taiwan, the United States, Colombia, Greece, Spain, Morocco, and France.
The task for entrants in this year’s competition was to design a health facility for pregnant women in rural Southern Senegal, where over 200,000 women die every year because of a lack of basic medical care. In Africa, one in 16 women runs the risk of dying in childbirth because of poor sanitary conditions and the absence of healthcare. As a result, six out of ten women opt to give birth at home using traditional methods, putting their own and their newborn’s health at risk.
The competition centered on the creation of a maternity center in rural Southern Senegal, with the conditions that the facility have 350 m2 of floorspace, use sustainable technologies, and promote self-construction with locally sourced materials, such as clay, cement, and timber. Its functions needed to include areas such as reception, staff areas, examination rooms, inpatient departments, labor and delivery areas, an operating room for caesarean sections, and a neonatal nursery.
The winning design, which will now be built, was by Bao Gia Luong from Vietnam, who also won 5000 euros and an internship with Kengo Kuma and Associates in Tokyo. Second prize went to a Japanese team composed of Kanomi Fukuoka, Ryota Oreng, Hitoshi Takahashi, Ayaka Soda, and Tomohiko Hama, who received 2000 euros and an internship with Benedetta Tagliabue EMBT in Barcelona. Third prize was awarded to Myrto Venizelou and Olga Psarri from Greece, who won 1000 euros and an internship with SBGA Blengini Ghirardelli in Milan.
There were also two honorable mentions, one chosen by Kengo Kuma and the other by Balouo Salo. The first was awarded to the group comprising of Wei Yuan, Wei Bai, Sicheng Liu, Ziye Pan, and Wu Yang Jiang from China, while the second went to Karl William Binlin-Dadie, Axel Rossi, and Harrif Danon from France. Special mentions were also awarded to teams from Italy, Poland, France, and Malaysia. The organizers also recognized 20 other finalists and 20 projects from the top 50.
All awarded projects will be published in the official competition book, and shared with global media partners and institutional sponsors, ensuring maximum exposure for emerging architectural talent at the global level.
The projects were assessed by an international jury of leading architects, including Kengo Kuma (KKAA), Benedetta Tagliabue (Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT Architects), Agostino Ghirardelli (SBGA, Blengini Ghirardelli), Mario Cucinella (Mario Cucinella Architects), Raul Pantaleo (TAM Associati), Tosin Oshinowo (Oshinowo Studio), Emmanuelle Moureaux (Emmanuelle Moureaux Architecture Design), Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani, and Mohamed Amine Siana. Their work was supported by an expert committee comprising Raoul Vecchio (Balouo Salo), Sebastiano D’Urso (University of Catania), and other specialists in architecture and humanitarian aid.
The 2025 Kaira Looro Competition will be announced and begin accepting entries in January next year. This next edition will again offer a chance to explore sustainability and architecture’s fundamental role in improving the living conditions of communities and reducing social inequalities.
>>> Discover “Architecture With,” the theme of the 2024 Obel Award
All images courtesy of Balouo Salo
