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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Eromo Egbejule in Lomé

Restore, destroy or leave to rot? Battle lines drawn over west Africa’s architectural heritage

The abandoned Hotel de la Paix in Lomé
The authorities in Togo are said to have earmarked the abandoned Hotel de la Paix in Lomé, the capital, for demolition but there are increasing calls for it to be restored. Photograph: Eromo Egbejule/The Guardian

Beneath mango trees in the lush garden of the Palais de Lomé, an oceanside estate in the Togolese capital, dozens of students from the African School of Architecture and Urban Planning (EAMAU) were taking sessions on archiving.

Established in 1905, the palace housed German, French and British colonial governors in succession and then the Togolese presidency before falling into disuse in the 1990s. After a five-year restoration project, its doors were opened to the public in 2019.

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