Necessary Architecture: Raw Earth Solutions for a Common House in Niger

Niger is sand, light, and heat. Starting from the necessity of the Mission Catholique du Dosso, which has worked in Niger for several years, this book speaks about the Nigerien situation which is characterized by a countrywide spread of poverty.

Along with studying the country’s environmental, geographical conditions, the book discusses raw earth architecture in both vernacular and contemporary contexts. A number of the most common techniques are described. The possibilities for these methods to adapt to the contemporary language of architecture without losing the technical and physical benefits inherent in them are illustrated.

The book embraces some topics that are not common but highly relevant in the Developing World, such as identity through the evolution of architecture and the value of transmitting knowledge related to the vernacular building process.

Nowadays, Niger’s condition is characterized by a lack of resources, both physical and cultural. Earthen technology appears to be a valid solution in this situation for the creation of an environmentally sustainable approach.

The book aims to provide an overview of the possibility of constructing new buildings related to the climate and traditional context, applying vernacular technology and solutions in a contemporary application.

Providing a balance between teaching vernacular knowledge and the contemporary architectural language could help face this out-of-resource situation, aiming to get comfortable and affordable living spaces.

Alisia Tognon is an architect and Postdoc Researcher at Politecnico di Milano (Dastu), where she also holds her doctorate in Architectural and Urban Design (2016). Her research activity focuses on investigate the concept of memory and identity, related with vernacular architecture (case studies: Europe, Africa and India). The research is oriented to understand the role of modification and transformation processes and the strong importance of intangible cultural heritage in the contemporary age. She deepened her research as visiting Ph.D. at University of California - Berkeley (USA, 2013) and Oxford Brookes University (UK, 2014). In 2019 she won a Research and Teaching Fellowship at Cept University (Ahmedabad, India), working on regeneration and valorisation of Indian architectural heritage and historical urban landscape. Currently she is Adjunct Professor at Politecnico di Milano (Dastu), where from 2009 she is working in collaboration with, partaking in contract work, national research projects (PRIN, FARB), workshops and international conferences.

Luca Trabattoni is an architect and an Associate Professor at University of Technology of Opole (PL) at Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, and an Adjunct Professor of Architectural Composition 2 at Politecnico di Milano (Dastu) and University of Pavia, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. He holds his PhD in Architectural Composition at University of Pavia (DICAr), where he is currently collaborating at AML Laboratory (Architecture Maker Lab-DICAr) on the research “Mobile homes for sustainable tourism” concerning outdoor accommodation for sustainable tourism by collaborating with the main companies in the sector and the national federation FAITA FederCamping. He is a freelancer and co-founder of ARCò, architecture and cooperation with which he studies the approach to emergency architecture in relation to the theme of sustainability, designing and building around the world. ARCò's work has been published in several international journals and has received numerous awards.