The Ritual, The Void, The Repair by Limbo Accra
At OBEL, we are passionate about championing influential ideas and transformative approaches that can spearhead and seed future developments, while advancing architectural discourse and education. One such voice is Limbo Accra. In 2022/2023, we helped enable the expansion of their research across West Africa, which led to their compelling presentation at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 curated by Carlo Ratti.
‘The Ritual, The Void, The Repair’ reimagines the unfinished Ndiouga Kébé Palace in Touba, Senegal, through an immersive, interactive digital experience that creates an intimate encounter with the palace’s ruins. Through a single-channel film—acting as both a portal to the past and a symbolic void—visitors are invited to reflect on incomplete modernity and the exploitation of resources.
A complementary series of archival materials, research, 3D models, drawings, and visualisations explores potential futures for the building and other similar ruins across Africa, encouraging dialogue around the reuse of heritage structures.
Congratulations to Dominique Petit-Frère and Emil Grip!