Prayer and meditation pavilion

The pavilion is a pure volume consisting of two staggered and communicating white cubes, protected by a translucent roof made of palm leaf pith. The interiors, characterized by neutral surfaces painted white, contained two ornamental trees that made these places at the same time sacred and profane, by the presence of a natural element in an artificial space. The few vertical openings along the outer walls allow light to enter, creating delicate patterns of shadow.

A large pool surrounds the pavilion, creating a spiritual gap between the hospital’s outer macrocosm (and the rest of the world) and the ventral microcosm intended for prayer. Two walkways traverse the pool on opposite sides, giving access to the two nuclei of the small building. Water drawn from the Nile and then reused for irrigation is an element charged with symbolic values in the sub-Saharan region. Representing purification in religious terms, it is also the source of life, a vision of salvation in the arid desert, evoking the Garden of Eden.