Cape Coast Ghana
2014
We were approached by a non-profit organization Take Back Our Routes to design a new master plan and marina for the Fosu Lagoon area of Cape Coast, Ghana. The site is currently desolate and will require a significant amount of remediation prior to development.
Take Back Our Routes was created to empower Africa by partnering with Ghana Ocean Racing to develop a new marina and ocean racing center at a location that was once used for slave trade. The site carries tremendous symbolism and by re-appropriating the area with a new program, Take Back Our Routes hopes to rewrite the future of the region.
OTA+ was responsible for the overall master plan design of the Fosu Lagoon and the design of a new Marina and Racing Village for Ghana Ocean Racing. The master plan included the design of multiple mixed-use high-rises, Africa’s tallest building, a hotel district, new residential towers, performing arts and other cultural buildings, and a community market. To tackle the broad scope of the project in a limited amount of time, OTA+ enlisted the design help of award-winning international architectural firms, including IwamotoScott Architecture, P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S, Khoury Levit Fong, Veev Design, Maxi Spina Architects and Murmur.
The Marina was designed to house a number of different programs, including the Volvo Ocean Racing Village, Ghana Ocean Racing Headquarters, a training museum, hotel, shopping, outdoor auditorium and a public plaza and urban park. The public plaza is completely open on the ground floor and folds onto a canopy structure at two locations. The canopy is lifted above the piers below and binds the multiple programs with a network of walkways that are wide enough for people to wander or just sit and relax. The walkways extend toward the ocean, symbolically connecting the city and people to the ocean routes. Between the walkways, a series of louvers shield the piers and public plaza below from intense summer sun. The pattern evokes the traditional multi-colored Kente cloths popular in the region.
