dot.ateliers | Ogbojo

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo

DeRoché Strohmayer

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

MEP ENGINEERING
Unique JOSAP

CUSTOM FURNITURE FABRICATION
PROFICO

STONEWORK
Stone Depot

GENERAL CONTRACTORS
ALC Constructs

ELECTRICAL SUBCONTRACTOR
B. Appah Electricals LTD.

ARCHITECTS
DeRoché Strohmayer

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Richard Ofori Addo

JOINERY CONTRACTOR
SDPS

METALWORKS
MeCraft

PHOTOGRAPHS
Julien Lanoo

AREA
500 m²

YEAR
2024

LOCATION
Accra, Ghana

CATEGORY
Gallery, Cultural Center

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

Text description provided by architect.

Among the production-led artist residencies that have recently emerged across West Africa, dot.ateliers|Ogbojo in Accra, Ghana, has set itself apart by focusing on rest and reflection.

This oasis, located on the outskirts of the city, combines living and informal collaborative workspaces with nature, contributing to a holistic approach toward creativity.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

This creative hub, initiated by the artist Amoako Boafo, is meant to be a place for invited intellectuals and artists to share a place to live, ponder, and rest over the course of several months during the respective time they spend at this creative incubator—seamless articulation for contemplation and leisure.

Designed to be a place of respite and regeneration, this adaptive reuse project is characterized by courtyards and voids on all scales, creating spaces of calm and varying levels of privacy within an otherwise heterogeneous, dynamic urban context.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

The architectural expression of dot.ateliers|Ogbojo balances the institutional and domestic characters of the brief through strategic massing, lush pockets of vegetation, and refined finishes.

The massing of the project keeps the existing building where it is, while a series of ancillary structures have been added to complete the program.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

The old and new structures are tied together through lush gardens and a new canopy that promotes outdoor living in the tropics.

The canopy also defines the central courtyard, which is used flexibly by the residents and guests for contemplation and leisure and hosting large communal dinners for like-minded creatives and thinkers.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

The articulation of the interiors has been carefully crafted to allow for a seamless flow from room to room.

Each room on the ground floor is framed by an external view – a picture window – of the many themed landscapes that surround the main building, allowing for a continual connection to nature as one moves from the exterior to the interior.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo

The existing two-story structure was retained, housing all of the communal programs, such as living, library, gym, and kitchen on the ground floor and private ensuite rooms on the first floor.

The building not only frames views to the gardens but also to the sky through a series of light shafts that permeate the building interiors and exteriors at various locations and depths, allowing for an abundance of light without any direct heat gain.

Although it is an adaptive reuse project, the building houses many passive sustainable strategies that help minimize heat gain, retain stormwater for irrigation, and put solar energy to use for the lights and water heaters.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
© Julien Lanoo
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Adaptive Reuse Diagram

One of the main features that contribute to achieving moderate interior temperatures is the use of the new canopy. The canopy not only provides a covered walkway between the various buildings but also acts as a light moderator, blocking direct heat gain from the sun wherever there is extensive glazing.

All other window openings, framing the views to the external gardens, are set back in a deep wall assembly, allowing for further reduction of heat gain. Large, operable openings also allow for a substantial amount of cross ventilation, reducing any energy consumption used for air conditioning.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Exploded Axonometric
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Elevation and Sections

A locally produced, low-carbon concrete was used to cast all new concrete elements. A render version of this mix design was applied externally and finished using a rough-earth render method that echoes the artisanal earth-construction methods of Ghana.

For the interiors, this low-carbon render was used to smoothly plaster the façade wall, while an interior wall liner was cladded with locally sourced walnut timber that reinforces the harmonious character of the spaces, as well as the holistic ideas of sustainability and beauty that have guided the project.

dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Axonometric


dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Ground Floor Plan
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
1st Floor Plan
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Site Plan
dot.ateliers | Ogbojo
Area Map