Banjul, The Gambia: From Kingsway to Pierre Goudiaby
As part of the Architecture of the United Africa Project I wanted to visit Banjul to investigate if there was any surviving buildings remaining from the UAC era. There was surprisingly little material in the UAC archive relating to the town and wider country – and we knew that the business focused its efforts elsewhere in West Africa. Despite this – there was a Kingsway Store, Palm Line Offices, and possibly several other European trading companies operating merchant stores, warehousing, wholesaling, and produce export businesses.
Banjul is a compact capital and we were able to quickly locate the old trading spots located around the Albert Market area. Here there are many traders importing fabric and textiles from China and India and it remains a thriving port. The Kingsway Stores and associated wholesaling lockups are still there, along with a series of other colonial period structures. Some of the older trading villas are now complete ruins and urgent documentation is required if rehabilitation isn’t possible.
There are a number of Modern structures that we couldn’t identify, and some experimental architecture amongst the more restrained trading stores. There’s clearly a need for a mapping and documentation project to list and identify the history of these structures.
One of the highlights was the number of banking offices, including a design by Pierre Goudiaby (b 1947), the Senegalise architect responsible for Gambia’s airport, the National Theatre in Dakar, and the gigantic 49m tall African Renaissance Monument, also in Dakar.
Transnational Architecture Group 
For Nigerian contemporary post modern architecture views the Pierre Goudikay bank in Banjul looks very much like the IMB bank Plaza (original name) Victoria Island before it was re-clad and changed hands in the 21st century.
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Goudiaby was also responsible in the 1990s for the design of Bwiam Hospital north of Banjul which I visited during my recent visit. Very strange buildings designed around a central axis with a huge ramp at the rear that patients are living in! Not very suitable for a hospital. I will be putting up some photos on my web-site shortly. Did you see the colonial ministerial building in central Banjul with perforated block screens to the external corridor?
I left a comment but it seems to have disappeared! I visited the Gambia in March and went to see Bwiam Hospital north of Banjul. It was also designed by Pierre Goudiaby and was built sometime in the 1990s. Very strange axial design with a huge ramp at the rear where patients were living. I will be writing a blog about it and putting up some photographs on my web-site shortly. I also went to the colonial ministerial building in central Banjul which was obviously very nice when first built. It has a wide, external access balcony on each floor protected by an open blockwork screen wall.
Nigel Wakeham
http://www.consultant-architect.co.uk