Meet the African architect making ‘Africa great again’ by building cities that cost nothing

A trailblazing Senegalese engineer, architect, and businessman, Atepa has not only influenced the physical architecture of the continent but has also been a strong proponent of sustainable urban development, Africa-centered design, and economic independence.

Born on June 30, 1947, in Ziguinchor, southern Senegal, Pierre Goudiaby Atepa’s story is one of perseverance, talent, and purpose.

Atepa received a scholarship to study in the United States and attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, which he highlighted during an exclusive with Business Insider Africa on the sidelines of the Fii Senegal 2025 investment Forum.

“As far as architecture is concerned, I was fortunate enough to study in one of the greatest architectural schools, which is the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, upstate New York. I graduated back in 1973. I was very lucky,” he stated.

Subsequently, his passion for constructing architectural masterpieces intensified, leading him to immediately undertake the construction of Senegal’s tallest building, the BCEAO Headquarters, in a competition.

However, his frustration with this milestone, he says, is the fact that it remains Senegal’s tallest building over 5 decades later.

“I started out with an international competition that I won, for the Central Bank of West Africa…it was a 22-storey building, at that time, the tallest building in Dubai was 10 stories, but the problem is that, 50 years after that, it’s still the tallest building in Dakar and in Dubai there are now 200-storey buildings… this is what shows you that Africa is regressing,” he stated.

To mitigate this problem, alongside Africa’s nagging architectural setback, Pierre Goudiaby Atepa has opted to take on very ambitious projects, of which he noted that the details would be revealed in due time.

For the Senegalese master architect, Africa’s future will be constructed with vision and cooperation, rather than just steel and cement.

He says his life’s work is to “make Africa great again,” not by copying other countries but by using indigenous creativity and design to solve problems unique to the continent.

“I am passionate about the development of the continent,” he stated

“And one of the things I am trying to do now is beyond architecture, because as you know, an architect is trained to put pieces together, and most of the time people put pieces that don’t have anything to do with each other, but they combine them,” he added.

“This is why today, I portray myself as the architect of the development of Africa, who wants to make Africa great again.”

Among his current initiatives, Atepa disclosed that his firm is constructing entirely new towns across Africa using innovative financial mechanisms that reduce or eliminate the need for significant government spending.

“But of course now, I do new cities; we have developed the concept of creating new cities that don’t cost a penny.”

One of his most ambitious initiatives is Gabon’s new capital city, which he has hailed as a transformative national endeavor.

“We are working and doing the new capital city of Gabon, selected to be this huge project, which would bring a lot of faith from the Gabonese people into their own country.”

Atepa disclosed that similar plans are in the works for “two or three other African countries,” including the new administrative capital city of Sierra Leone.

“We are also doing the new administrative capital city of Sierra Leone, and we are working to replicate this in two or three other African countries.”

He described how a properly run land development project can create wealth and significantly raise property values without the need for outside borrowing.

“If you take one piece of land today, that is maybe worth one dollar per square meter, and you decide that this is where you want to put the new administrative capital, you move from one dollar to ten dollar to 300 dollar per square meter, if you manage that, you have at least $20 billion in 20 years, which is nothing, so we are working on that”

After his return to Senegal, Atepa established Groupe Atepa, an engineering and architectural firm that has since created and provided consulting for important projects all over the continent.

One of his most well-known pieces is the Monument de la Renaissance Africaine in Dakar, a massive 49-meter bronze figure that was unveiled in 2010 and represents the resiliency and regeneration of Africa.

He is also responsible for the Porte du Troisième Millénaire (Door of the Third Millennium), a monument to African resilience and hope that was inaugurated in 2001.

Another outstanding architectural accomplishment by Pierre Goudiaby Atepa that demonstrates his ongoing effect on Africa’s contemporary urban and political landscape is the Centre de Conférences et Villas Présidentielles (Malabo Summit Complex) in Equatorial Guinea.

The ECOWAS headquarters in Lomé, Togo; the Place de la Nation in N’Djamena, Chad; the BCEAO (West African Central Bank) offices in Dakar; and Banjul International Airport in The Gambia are among the other projects that Atepa designed.

These designs demonstrate his dedication to pan-Africanism, an aesthetic and practical vision that places a premium on African heritage and ambition, in addition to his architectural prowess.

The narrative of Pierre Goudiaby Atepa is one of fortitude, vision, and purpose. His work, which ranges from creating Africa’s tallest structures to envisioning whole cities, represents both aspiration and criticism, serving as a reminder of both what Africa has accomplished and what it still needs to aim for.

Atepa’s goal is still to assist Africa in becoming the greatness he believes it can be by helping to construct not only structures but futures.