A few months ago – in July 2021, the 47-year-old Kariakoo Market went up in flames in Dar es Salaam. Designed by Tanzanian architect Beda Amuli, the market is a central landmark – a key part of Dar es Salaam’s commercial hub. Early images of a new Kariakoo Market show a taller structure, with six floors compared to the three in Amuli’s design. Conversations on social media have abounded on the new design, and if a “tower” typology is really the appropriate choice considering the unpopular nature of other similar “tower” market halls in Dar es Salaam.
Although we’re in an age of increased e-commerce and online shopping, more informal traders in African cities such as Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Accra still depend on physical customers to conduct business, with the physical public gathering of buyers and sellers still an essential component of commerce in those cities. As governments across the African continent have sought to construct market halls to make for an easier time between consumer and businessperson, the typology of market halls in sub-Saharan Africa tells interesting stories about the ongoing tussle between tradition and modernity.
