A PLACE OF WORSHIP, WATER COLLECTION & WATER PURIFICATION
Tanaf, Senegal
The geometry is constructed by weaving 4 fabric threads through a simple triangular sequence of varying distanced holes drilled through a circular ring of wooden beams. The fabric creates an intertwined pattern that changes appearance when moving underneath. The arrangement creates a transforming decoration of shadows on the ground, shaping the landscape as a series of stepped prayer spaces from the entrance to the ceremonial wall.
The centre of the space is sunken and open to the sky. The geometric mesh collects dew water at night for plant growth below and is used for water collection during rainfall. After water has been collected, the construction becomes a source of purification. A transparent sheet is hung form the inner circle of structural columns, enclosing the centre and creating a funnel shape. By evaporation, the sheet collects clean water and by gravity the water channels to the centre where it drips into a central container.
The geometric pattern was chosen due its perceptual affects. From underneath, the pattern appears as a series of tiny circles, like water droplets; from a parallel angle, it transforms into a series of wave patterns in motion, as if the geometric droplets are evaporating.
The project attempts to connect the practicalities of daily life in Tanaf with the profound and sacred - a unity of sustainable methods with imaginative affects that evoke a sense of meaning - uniting the finite and the infinite, the square and the circle, and the Village of Tanaf and its people.
A project produced alongside James London Mills
