About us

VISION

Our vision is to acknowledge cultural and social values in communities, particularly on the African continent. We express this appreciation in architectural projects by developing adapted, tailored designs and plans. In this way, we promote a decolonial form language that respects local building traditions and available materials.

This appreciation aims to empower communities to express their cultural strengths and integrate them into their everyday built environment. We consider and emphasise historical and contemporary conditions at project sites in the design process. Our vision is therefore expressed in our support of  architectural projects, in which traditional elements arising from social cohabitation are transferred to contemporary planning and construction projects. Lost opportunities due to the colonial past are reintegrated into the cultural context of the location, while at the same time being adapted to the present, leading to decolonial collaboration.

COMMITMENT

Our vision is based on the African Union’s aspirations to achieve the ‘Africa We Want’ through its Agenda 2063. This agenda describes a continent that embraces its own strengths in the spirit of Pan-Africanism: “Our diversity in culture, heritage, languages and religion shall be a cause of strength.” (AU, point 41) Accordingly, we support a strategic concept that reflects the needs and desires of the continent’s populations. Our funded building projects particularly align with the fifth of the seven stated goals: “An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage and shared values and ethics.”

CULTURE-BASED ARCHITECTURE

Architect Amos Rapoport has studied the relationship between culture and the form of the built environment. He poses the following question: “How does culture get translated into form?” (A. Rapoport)

This question remains highly relevant in the context of colonial continuities and forms the basis of our vision for culture-based architecture. In her doctoral thesis, our founder, Kristina Ziadeh, researched the impact of intuitively applied behaviours on architecture, as well as the intertwining of culture and architecture within the design process: “The design, understood as an influenceable variable, becomes the object of interpretation of culturally existing conditions at the project site. Looking back at traditional moments in the built past and gaining insights into culturally anchored habits enables a transformation of existing ideas into a design for the future.” (K. Ziadeh)

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP

The realisation of our vision is based on collaborative partnerships with all involved stakeholders. This approach is rooted in decolonial values and structures and follows the ethical principles of Pan-Africanism. Through this approach, we strengthen African voices, promote self-determination and self-confidence on the continent, and strengthen the cultural identities of people of African descent.

By emphasising the importance of cultural heritage at the project sites, we highlight the knowledge of people who, due to global power relations and colonial continuities, rarely receive attention beyond their social environments. Shaped by social and cultural habits, this knowledge has long determined traditional building methods. However, since industrialisation and the specialisation of architecture, buildings have lost their connection to their originally so important direct surroundings. They are increasingly adapting to a global understanding of materials that no longer do justice to local needs and cultural requirements.

Conversations with Zambian architects and civil engineers also reveal the competitive advantage gained purely through the presence of privileges. As B. Muzeya stated, “the desire for inspiration through travel is strong, but the realities of life often do not allow this”. Our goal is therefore to recognise these limiting realities in order to interact fairly with one another.

FUNDING PHILOSOPHY

We wish for the same level of dedication to partnership-based collaboration from our donors and funding partners. Their contributions are crucial to the success of our projects. We appreciate their commitment and trust in our ability to carry out our intercultural projects. We focus on long-term partnerships and welcome donations from individuals, companies, and foundations.

At the same time, we verify the origins of donations in accordance with our ethical principles. We do not accept donations from the defence industry and reserve the right to return donations from companies or individuals whose actions we cannot ethically justify.

TEAM

TRANSPARENCY

Annual report

As the company was founded in December 2024, no annual report is available at this time. The annual report for 2025 will follow in due course.