- Kéré Architecture coalesces architecture and heritage in the design of the Centre des Cultures et Spiritualités Ewés in Notsè, Togo
- The project, initiated by the Kothor Foundation aims to promote the culture and historical heritage of the Ewé people.
- Project: Centre des Cultures et Spiritualités Ewés
- Location:
- Notsè, Togo
- Architects:
- Kéré Architecture
- Area: 7,000m²
- Typology:
- Cultural Architecture
- Expected completion: February, 2026
- Images © Kéré Architecture
Located in the town of Notsè, The Centre des Cultures et Spiritualités Ewés (CCSE) is a project aimed at transforming the general perceptions of Ewé ancestral rites and traditions. The project has been initiated by the Kothor Foundation to promote the culture and historical heritage of the Ewé people with a multi-faceted site and began construction in 2024.
Notsè was founded by the Ewé people in the seventeenth century, and is about 80km north of the national capital, Lomé. Once the ancient capital of the Ewé Kingdom, the place holds great cultural significance as the origin and point of departure of the Ewé people before their exodus within Togo itself, but also to Benin and Ghana. The city is home to the Agbogbodzi Sanctuary, which houses the Ewé people’s principal divinity, as well as traces of the ancient great Agbogbo wall that encircled the city. The project is the first by Kéré Architecture in Togo.
Since 1956, every first week of September, the Notsè site has transformed into a gathering place for pilgrims of the Ewé people to celebrate the Agbogbozan festival, a festival of togetherness, fraternity, and conviviality.
The masterplan proposed by Kéré Architecture is structured around the remains of the great Agbogbo wall and the Agbogbodzi Sanctuary. The CCSE program includes a sanctuary, temples of secondary divinities, an open-air amphitheater, a reception area, exhibition rooms, a reconstruction of the ancient royal palace of the Ewé Kingdom, an auditorium, a restaurant, and an emblematic gateway to mark the main entrance to the site. The Agbogbodzi Sanctuary, linked to the open-air amphitheater, embraces the heart of traditional festival celebrations.
“I am very happy to contribute to this important project, and to be able to support this initiative of giving a space to express and preserve identity. It is a joy to see how ideas and techniques embedded within my work have now become ‘salonfähig’ and widely accepted by people building on the continent. The centre will demonstrate how architecture can be a catalyst for communities to celebrate their cultures.” – Diébédo Francis Kéré
The museum comprises exhibition rooms and a reconstruction of the ancient Ewé Royal Palace. This unique space dedicated to the history and the preservation of Ewé knowledge serves as a showcase for the history of the Ewé people as well as contemporary works.
A system of natural light shafts set into the ceiling allows the design to create a filtered and ambient lighting effect in the exhibition rooms. The design of the main entrance is inspired by the Ewé Stool, a royal chair that symbolizes power.
The various programs are grouped in fluid, low-rise buildings punctuated by planted patios that wind through the landscape on either side of the wall. This allows for efficient natural ventilation. The primary material used for the building is red laterite brick, which is abundantly available locally and is both durable and well-suited to the climate. The outline of the wall on the ground traces the path of the route and is inspired by traditional Ewé paving, made from pottery shards, which are commonly found in places of worship and sacred sites.
Location: Notsè, Togo
Type of project: Private – Place of worship and Cultural Center Size: 7 000 m2
Design: 2022 – 2024
Construction: 2024 – ongoing
Status: Under construction
Architect: Diébédo Francis Kéré, Kéré Architecture Design Team: Jaime Herraiz Martínez, Andrea Maretto, Léa Sodangbe
Engineering Team: Nataniel Sawadogo, Jean Sawadogo, Moïse Zannou, Lucien Tonde
Kéré Architecture SARL, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Contributors: Jeanne Autran-Edorh, Philippe Chazée, Yonas Tukuabo, Leonne Voegelin, Sika Azamati, Daniel Meléndez, Bagré Annicé, Onadja Augustin
Project Management: Jaime Herraiz Martínez, Nataniel Sawadogo, Alimadjai Boukari
Collaborators: Ingenovatech, Burkina Faso
Client: Fondation Kothor / LA GMA SA
4-Degree Drop from the City: How a Homegrown Forest Can Regulate Microclimate
Archiopteryx designs ’people tree house’ nurturing a coexistence between the humans and non-human inhabitants
Kéré Architecture coalesces architecture and heritage in the design of the Centre des Cultures et Spiritualités Ewés in Notsè, Togo
