Iwan Baan
  • Photography
  • Books
  • Exhibitions
  • News
  • About
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Western Sahara

2016

In 2015, Iwan Baan collaborated with architect Manuel Herz on the Western Sahara Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, marking the first time a nation in exile was represented at the event. The pavilion reimagined the concept of the national pavilion, offering the Sahrawi people a platform on equal footing with recognized states while prompting reflection on alternative models of nationhood.

The Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony occupied by Morocco since 1975, remains one of the world’s last unresolved colonial territories. Most of its population, the Sahrawis, live in refugee camps in Algeria, yet proclaimed independence in 1976, with limited international recognition.

The pavilion brought visibility to the Sahrawi struggle, using architecture and visual storytelling to explore questions of sovereignty, displacement, and identity within the global architectural discourse.

Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite
Favorite

Tags:

  • Africa,
  • Algeria,
  • Manuel Herz Architects,
  • Morocco,
  • Refugees,
  • Sahrawis,
  • Sahrawis Desert,
  • and Western Sahara

Other projects tagged with Africa, Algeria, Manuel Herz Architects, Morocco, Refugees, Sahrawis, Sahrawis Desert and Western Sahara

The Highline, New York – Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Field Operations

The Highline, New York – Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Field Operations

Termas Geometricas – German del Sol

Termas Geometricas – German del Sol

Makoko Floating School, Lagos, Nigeria – Kunle Adeyemi NLÉ

Makoko Floating School, Lagos, Nigeria – Kunle Adeyemi NLÉ

Aquatic Centre for South American Games, Medellin Columbia – Paisajes Emergentes Architects

Aquatic Centre for South American Games, Medellin Columbia – Paisajes Emergentes Architects

Bridging Teahouse, Jinhua Architecture Park, China – Fernando Romero

Bridging Teahouse, Jinhua Architecture Park, China – Fernando Romero

China Wood Sculpture Museum, Harbin – MAD

China Wood Sculpture Museum, Harbin – MAD

  • Home
  • Portfolio
  • Western Sahara

Iwan Baan Photography, Rozenstraat 145, 1016 NP Amsterdam, The Netherlands, e-mail: studio@iwan.com — all images © Iwan Baan 1996 - 2025