Thomas Sankara Mausoleum

The mausoleum is the resting place of Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary president killed in a coup in 1987, and of the twelve companions who died with him. It was designed by a practice based in Germany whose founder is from the same country, and who met Sankara as a young man.

The plan follows the path of the sun. Thirteen tombs are arranged in a ring around the centre of the building, each beneath its own skylight, so that every hour the sun lights a different tomb and draws visitors around the room. Thirteen columns frame thirteen open spaces, a reminder of the absence left in the lives of the families. Outside, a winding, colourful pavilion leads from the boulevard to the entrance.

A 34-metre dome seals the space and keeps out the heat. Two large louvred gates face the prevailing east-west winds and ventilate the building, while its heavy mass holds the cool. The walls are of laterite and clay bricks from the region, and local communities helped source the clay, continuing Sankara’s own push for building with earth.

The mausoleum is the first stage and ceremonial heart of a 14-hectare memorial park, which will also include an amphitheatre, educational facilities and a tower rising over the site where the killings took place.