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AfricaSenegal architects ditch concrete for earth in revival of old techniques
Christophe PerreNellie Peyton
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A worker carries a newly made brick at the Elementerre factory in Mbour, Senegal May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
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Construction is booming in Dakar, where unfinished apartment blocks tower over most streets, their exposed concrete bricks a dull uniform grey.
In one site, however, a building stands out - the bricks the workers are laying are made of raw, red earth.
Concrete is inexpensive and used with abandon in Senegal s capital, but it is poorly suited to the West African heat. On summer days, when temperatures frequently reach 100 degrees fahrenheit (38°C), the buildings become furnaces, cooled only with blasts of air conditioning.