Le Palais de Lomé: Parc d'arts et de culture

• Location: Lomé, Togo

• Lead Renovation Consultants: Sara Consult, Segond Guyon, ARCHIPAT

• Original Builder: Furtkamp (colonial engineer)

“After more than 20 years of abandonment, this once forbidden place, from which power was exercised, has reopened its doors to become the first art and culture centre of the country.” - Franklin Yemeli

“The 26-acre grounds include a sprawling building that recalls the European palaces that once hosted kings and queens. When construction was completed in 1905, the building symbolized colonial power and exclusion under the German empire. Today, however, the building is open to the public. If the former colonizers of Togo saw the Palais de Lomé, the country’s first major art and culture park, they might have found it a “nightmare,” said Sonia Lawson, the center’s founding director.” - Gameli Hamelo