Urko Sanchez Architects has designed a concrete compound in Djibouti for the charity SOS Children's Villages International as a home for vulnerable children. The project, which completed in 2014, has been nominated for the 2019 Aga Khan Award for ArchitectureUrko Sanchez Architects, who are based in Nairobi and Madrid, referenced the traditional typology of a walled medina quarter found in many North African cities. With its open spaces and maze-like network of streets the SOS Children's Village is designed to foster a sense of community for the orphaned and in-need children who live there. "Ultimately, the SOS Children's Village is a shell to protect life," said the architecture studio. Urko Sanchez Architects work across Spain and North Africa, and recently completed an apartment block in Kenya encased in Mashrabiya-style screens.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 20, 2019 11:03 UTC