Momentum of Light at the AA in London

Momentum of Light explores the interplay between natural sunlight, vernacular architecture and everyday life in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. The exhibition presents a series of images captured by Dutch photographer Iwan Baan during his travels with Burkinabè architect Francis Kéré through Burkina Faso in March 2020, during which they visited communal compounds in Gando and Pouni, the main mosque in Bobo-Dioulasso and the decorated houses of Tiébélé. Baan’s photographs capture the stark qualities of light in sub-Saharan Africa and how it passes through traditional Burkinabe building typologies, shaping daily routines and ways of life. The images collectively articulate a sensitive study of light, space, place and use whilst emphasising the complex and reciprocal relationships between people, architecture and environmental conditions.

Presented at the AA as part of our residency at Heal’s, Momentum of Light frames the importance of environment in our experience of space. Learning from the innovative forms and variety of textures across the structures and spaces in question, as well as the tectonic qualities of sunlight, this set of photographs encourages us to design light and its effects on space as part of the architectural experience

Source: Momentum of Light  – Architectural Association London