Ahmed Yahaya -Joe
The Great Mosque of Djenne in present-day Mali was first built in the 13th century. It is today the largest mud brick building in the world. However, the current structure on the same site dates back to 1907;
“Between 1834 and 1836, Seku Amadu, built a new mosque to the east of the existing mosque on the site of the former palace. The new mosque was a large, low building lacking any towers or ornamentation.
“French forces led by Louis Archinard captured Djenné in April 1893. Soon after, the French journalist Félix Dubois visited the town and described the ruins of the original mosque. At the time of his visit, the interior of the ruined mosque was being used as a cemetery.
In his 1897 book, ‘Tombouctou la Mystérieuse’ (Timbuktu the Mysterious), Dubois provides a plan and a drawing as to how he imagined the mosque looked before being abandoned.
In 1906, the French administration in the town arranged for the original mosque to be rebuilt and at the same time for a school to be constructed on the site of Seku Amadu’s mosque. The rebuilding was completed in 1907 using forced labour under the direction of Ismaila Traoré, head of Djenné’s guild of masons.
The mosque which can accommodate 3000 worshippers is now a United Nations World Heritage site. Djenne is located near Timbuktu along the banks of River Niger that empties into the Atlantic in Nigeria.
“Seku Amadu was the founder of the Massina Empire in the Inner Niger Delta, now the Mopti Region of Mali. He ruled as Almami from 1818 until his death in 1845, also taking the title, Sise al-Masini.”
Meanwhile, the African Heritage House is located at the outskirts of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, a city first established in 1898 at an uninhabited swamp.
It was built with mud bricks by Alan Donovan in 1972 who, “first arrived in Africa on July 4 1967 with the US State Department as a relief officer during the Nigerian-Biafra war. He resigned his post in 1969, bought a Volkswagen bus in Paris, and travelled across the Sahara Desert through Mai to Nigeria. He then drove across the Congo to Kenya, arriving in Nairobi in March, 1970.”
In 2014, the African Heritage House was at risk for demolition to pave way for planned standard gauge railway line from Mombasa to Nairobi built by the Chinese. Fortunately, the house was saved through an international online protest. In 2016, the structure was classified and gazetted as a national monument in Kenya.
Why do these buildings thousands of kilometers apart matter?
The simple answer is in the devastating effect of climate change on the environment because, “after water, concrete is the most widely used substance on Earth. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world with up to 2.8bn tonnes, surpassed only by China and the US. concrete is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world’s CO2. Among materials, only coal, oil and gas are a greater source of greenhouse gases.”
Therefore, the common denominator linking the Great Mosque at Djenne and the Africa Heritage House at Nairobi is known as – Passive Architecture which, “involves blending conventional architectural principles with natural building materials to ensure that the interiors remain warm when exterior temperatures drop but stay cool when higher outdoor temperatures occur, thus creating a year-round comfortable environment.”
No doubt, the Great Mosque of Djenne deeply inspired Mr. Donovan’s design. The current look of his African Heritage House is a 1990 upgrade featuring a roof top terrace with spaces for arts and crafts exhibition, musical and drama presentations including overnight stay for those that can dole out the US$500 bill per room as guests of Alan Donovan. These rooms are fully booked all year round.
Simply put, from the arid Sahara and scorching sun of the Sahel region of West Africa to the gentle rolling hills of grassland Savannah of East Africa – no fans, no ACs.
