Construction is booming in Dakar, where unfinished apartment blocks tower over most streets, their exposed concrete bricks a dull uniform grey.

In one site, however, a building stands out – the bricks the workers are laying are made of raw, red earth.

Concrete is inexpensive and used with abandon in Senegal’s capital, but it is poorly suited to the West African heat. On summer days, when temperatures frequently reach 100 degrees fahrenheit (38°C), the buildings become furnaces, cooled only with blasts of air conditioning.

Earth naturally regulates heat and humidity, say the founders of Worofila, an architecture firm specializing in bioclimatic design.

Since 2016, they have been pushing for the material to make a comeback. They say it could reduce pollution from cement factories and electricity production – and keep people cool.

“Before air conditioning, people paid attention to materials and orientation for the natural regulation of heat,” said Worofila co-founder Nzinga Mboup, while workers laid bricks for the upper floors of what will be a family home with a pool.

“The moment A/C arrived, these considerations went out the window.”

Senegal’s traditional dwellings were made of mud, but that has been abandoned. Dakar’s sidewalks today are littered with piles of sand and stones that are mixed with cement to make cheap building blocks.

Keep reading in the National Post

Check out more news below: