Urban Note
Marche Sandaga
A short note on a market building where commerce, civic identity, and architectural memory overlap.
Julia Amelie Barbour
20 June 2026 · 2 min read
Marche Sandaga was built in Dakar in the 1930s and became one of the city's most recognisable market buildings. Its geometric form and Sahelian references gave everyday trade a strong civic presence.
The building matters because markets are never only places of exchange. They hold routes, habits, informal economies, and public memory. Sandaga shows how architecture can become a landmark through use as much as through form.