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Stories · August 1, 2026
The Pyramid of Abidjan: history of an architectural masterpiece
A look back at the design and construction of La Pyramide, a landmark of Abidjan's Plateau district.
ReadDiscover the heritage of Côte d'Ivoire
What still stands still speaks
We document, photograph and inventory Ivorian built heritage — from the veranda houses of Grand-Bassam to the earthen mosques of the North. An open archive, kept by an association.
Grand-BassamAbidjan
Views
Grand-Bassam French Quarter — Grand-Bassam, fin XIXᵉ – début XXᵉ
The association
An archive kept by hand, building by building
PAACIV brings together architects, photographers, historians and residents around a single task: surveying, dating and publishing what remains of the national built heritage.
- Records
- 7
- Towns
- 3
- Architects
- 6
- Publications
- 5
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Our work
Documenting before the rain does it for us
A veranda house loses its roof in a single rainy season. Our teams survey façades, photograph ornament, record materials and gather the words of those who live there.
Survey
Plans, sections, materials.
Account
Interviews, family archives.
Why follow us?
An open inventory
Every record is public and downloadable, with no account or subscription.
Rigorous surveys
A shared protocol, dating cross-checked against national archives and families.
A volunteer network
Correspondents in several towns, trained in surveying and photography.
A shared memory
Residents tell the story of their houses; their accounts accompany the images.
Our activities
What we do
Four ongoing programmes, open to members and to the merely curious.
All year round
Photographic inventory
Regular campaigns in Grand-Bassam, Abidjan and Bondoukou. Each building receives a record: dating, materials, condition, successive owners.
BrowseThe territory
Every building in its place
Every published record is geolocated. The map can be browsed by type, programme, district and period.
- Geolocated buildings
- 7
- Towns
- 3
- Districts
- 3
Breakdown by type
- Building3
- Religious building2
- Ensemble / district1
- Engineering structure1
Reasons
Five reasons to look closely at these buildings
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01
A World Heritage Site since 2012. Its colonial town and the N'zima village answer each other street by street.
02
Eight Sudanese-style mosques of northern Côte d'Ivoire joined the list in 2021: raw earth, buttresses, projecting timbers.
03
Not merely colonial decor: its veranda, ventilation and raised floor answer the lagoon climate.
04
The architecture of the 1960s to 1980s already belongs to history and remains very poorly documented.
05
An earthen render is redone every year. Without the craft being passed on, the building vanishes before the memory of it.
Calendar
Upcoming visits
Do you hold plans, photographs, family archives?
Collections
Photographic archive
Journal
What we publish
Receive our surveys
One letter a month: new records, work in progress, visit dates.