The Banque Nationale pour le Développement Economique (BNDE) is a bank founded and operating in the nation of Senegal on the Western coast of Africa with a primary focus on providing capital for the growth and development of various industries within the country. In 2025, I led a small team on a 3-week study to create a proposal for a new mid-rise tower that would serve as the bank’s new headquarters and as a new local branch in the coastal city of Dakar.

The result seeks to merge a myriad of needs and influences. How to balance a rich cultural and architectural local history with the desire for a forward-looking headquarters? Or to marry the scales of a small local branch with an impressive tower? The structure became a grid around which program and skin could be woven to a need. Borrowing from Sullivan, a tripartite vertical organization allowed form to rise to the varied functions. The client’s program suggested floor plates of different sizes at each floor, allowing for a more dynamic geometry with integrated balconies and overhangs that could host murals by local artists. And local materials and plantings help to create a peaceful environment that is tied to its surroundings.