The Tambacounda Maternity and Pediatric hospital redesign builds upon Le Korsa's 15 years of work with this regional hospital, where we have long supported patient subsidies and brought in much-needed medical supplies. Echoing Josef and Anni Albers’ shared ethos and belief in the use of “minimal means for maximum effect,” this project goes far beyond a single architectural structure, embedding itself within the local community, economy and landscape.

Tambacounda Hospital – the only major hospital in the region – is a vital resource servicing over 40,000 patients per year from the surrounding area. The doctors had previously been working under extremely difficult conditions, with the original design leaving the communal spaces severely overcrowded. Architect Manuel Herz's redesign of the new Maternity and Pediatric Hospital brings a sense of coherence and greatly improves the comfort of patients and their visiting families. The two-story building, in a curvilinear form, unites two clinics – pediatrics and maternity – under the same roof and offers approximately 150 hospital beds. It features several passive climate design innovations to combat the challenges posed by the extremities of the local weather, and to help forgo the need for air conditioning.

Overseen by the construction firm of long-time Le Korsa partner Dr. Magueye Ba, the new units were built with craftsmen and engineers from Tambacounda and the surrounding villages, thereby helping to provide employment and support for the rural economy. During the next phase of the project, the same team will build staff quarters, also designed by Manuel Herz, to help attract more doctors from the city.