Christian Benimana: The next generation of African architects and designers
Christian Benimana: La prochaine génération d'architectes et designers africains
Christian Benimana wants to develop the talent and potential of the next generation of African designers with socially-focused design principles. Full bio
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que j'aie jamais fait :
that I have ever taken.
que je prenais l'avion
I had ever been on an airplane
that I had left my country,
mon pays,
j'étais un enfant.
ever since I was a child.
mon pays.
at the time in my country.
pour étudier en Chine,
to study in China,
derrière moi
a major building boom.
une ville de gratte-ciel.
into a skyscraper city.
étaient conçus
to convey a new image of development.
se construisaient dans tous les coins.
were going up literally everywhere.
of migrant workers,
of thousands of people
to the pollution
qui hante la Chine aujourd'hui.
semblable à celui que j'avais vu en Chine.
similar to what I saw in China.
un boom économique et démographique.
its own population and economic growth.
infrastructures et immeubles
infrastructure and buildings
la construction connait aussi un boom.
the entire continent of Africa,
slightly less than the current population
à la population actuelle
to accommodate this many people
pour accueillir tant de gens
dans l'histoire de l'humanité.
in the history of humankind.
de nouveaux logements,
700,000,000 more housing units,
années,
7 centres médicaux,
of unsustainable building and construction
de construction non viable
un modèle exclusivement africain
nigérian Kunlé Adeyemi,
Kunlé Adeyemi for instance,
of coastal megacities.
des mégapoles maritimes.
habitent dans des cabanes
live in makeshift structures on stilts
ni services gouvernementales,
infrastructure or services.
of rising sea levels and climate change.
de la mer et au changement climatique.
sont un exemple d'ingéniosité
are examples of great ingenuity
un prototype pour une école
a prototype school
du niveau de l'eau.
qui peux s'adapter aux dispensaires,
that can be adapted to clinics,
this community needs.
vit bien sur les eaux de Lagos.
lives safely on the waters of Lagos.
where he comes from,
en utilisant techniques traditionnelles.
that use traditional building techniques.
dans les communautés
working in the communities
pour des écoles
in the villages of this country,
dans les villages de ce pays,
pour les fondations,
for the brick manufacturing,
la production des briques,
to pound the clay floors.
pour battre les sols d'argile.
projects that function better,
des projets plus fonctionnels
et une ventilation adéquates.
and adequate ventilation.
for this particular context
adaptés pour ce contexte
at MASS Design Group.
au sein du groupe MASS.
dans plusieurs pays d'Afrique,
in several countries in Africa,
and sustainable model
plus équitable et viable
remote landscapes
et des vallées fertiles.
and fertile valleys.
de mortalité maternelle dans le monde.
maternal mortality rates in the world.
soit accouche chez elle,
either gives birth at home,
jusqu'à la clinique la plus proche.
to the nearest clinic.
dies during childbirth.
pendant l'accouchement.
avec notre équipe du groupe MASS,
un foyer pré-accouchement.
Maternity Waiting Village.
six semaines avant la date prévue.
six weeks before their due dates.
and family planning.
et planning familial.
elles forment une communauté
and their families.
et leurs familles.
Maternity Waiting Village
pré-accouchement
typologies of Malawi villages
des villages au Malawi
techniques et matériaux simples.
materials and techniques.
étaient fabriqués à partir de notre sol.
were made from the same soil of this site.
de ce bâtiment,
of this building,
pour ces futures mamans.
for these expectant mothers.
et le design
that architecture and design
des problèmes complexes.
to address complex problems.
de solutions efficaces
a model of effective solutions
d'architectes et designers africains
of African architects and designers
des milliers d'exemples.
sur l'architecture africaine, à Kigali,
on African architecture, in Kigali,
of the leading African designers
africains éminents
travaillant partout dans le continent.
working across the continent.
went to school abroad
à l'étranger
des solutions qui conviennent à l'Afrique,
solutions unique to us,
Kigali into Beijing,
de la prochaine génération
of the next generation
venant de tout le continent.
from across the continent.
en design et construction.
design-build fellowship program.
to tackle big challenges
des défis importants,
building solutions and processes,
de construction innovatrices,
des meilleures infrastructures,
the health impact of better buildings
avons mené des recherches à ce sujet
have been researching
le projet qu'ils ont conçu et finalisé.
that they designed and built.
leur projet.
pour en comprendre les difficultés,
to understand the challenges
fait de pierre volcanique local
made of local volcanic stone
un espace de jeu et d'apprentissage actif.
into a space of play and active learning.
les conditions environnementales
the environmental conditions
qui exploite la lumière du jour
that maximizes daylight
will begin this year.
commencera cette année.
travaillerons main dans la main
are going to work hand-in-hand
pour construire l'école.
their African Design Centre fellowship,
cette façon de construire dans son pays :
of building into his country,
a private practice in Johannesburg.
en pratique privée à Johannesburg.
des femmes de devenir ingénieurs.
for women to become engineers.
l'African Design Centre,
l'écart de genre dans l'ingénierie,
for women in engineering fields,
à toute l'Afrique
this movement across Africa,
la première école polytechnique
à construire avec des matériaux locaux.
using local materials from his country.
to become an architect.
pour devenir architecte.
interrupted his architectural education.
à plusieurs reprises.
sa candidature au African Design Centre,
to join the African Design Centre,
in the background of his interview call.
au cours de son entrevue téléphonique.
pour réunir les communautés.
to bridge communities back together.
nous devrions comprendre que
by this fellow's belief
can make a difference
peut changer les choses
ne peut pas être ignorée.
cannot be ignored.
places on earth.
to make it a reality.
pour que cela devienne réalité.
en vue de la tâche assignée,
for the task ahead,
of African creative leaders,
de leaders créatifs africains,
and streamline that journey.
des solutions spécifiquement africaines,
that are truly African
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Christian Benimana - ArchitectChristian Benimana wants to develop the talent and potential of the next generation of African designers with socially-focused design principles.
Why you should listen
Christian Benimana is co-founder of the African Design Centre, a field-based apprenticeship that is set to be the BAUHAUS of Africa with the mission to empower the leaders who will design a more equitable, just, and sustainable world.
Benimana is currently leading the implementation of the African Design Centre. He dreamed of becoming an architect, but there were no design schools in his home country of Rwanda, so he applied and was accepted to Tongji University in Shanghai, China. Not letting his inability to speak Mandarin stand in his way, he spent a year gaining fluency before pursuing his degree in architecture. Upon returning to Rwanda, he joined MASS Design Group as a Design Fellow in 2010 and today directs the firm's Rwanda Programs and the ADC. He has taught at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology and chairs the Education Boards of the Rwandan Institute of Architects and the East African Institute of Architects. His goal is to develop the talent and potential of the next generation of African designers with socially-focused design principles. He announced the plans for the African Design Centre at the UN Solutions Summit in New York in 2015.
Christian Benimana | Speaker | TED.com