Titre : The aestheticisation of public buildings in Yaounde with ceramic tiles: the case of the pediments of the Yaounde-Nsimalen motorway roundabout
Auteur.e.s : TELE DJOSSEU GHISLAIN LANDRY, .
Résumé :
The aestheticisation of public buildings in Yaoundé through the use of ceramic tiles is an artistic and
architectural initiative that combines visual beauty and cultural identity. This irregular reality in the city
accounts for only 2% of the architectural decor, according to the Cameroonian Society for Copyright in
Plastic and Graphic Arts (SOCADAP) in 2022. It thus diminishes the cultural identity of these public
buildings and their urban appeal. The use of ceramic tiles, thanks to their brightness and their graphic and
chromatic diversity, would enhance the aesthetic appeal of public infrastructure, transforming it into true
works of art. The specific case of the pediments of the Yaounde-Nsimalen motorway roundabout
illustrates this consistent approach, which aims to integrate art into urban spaces while promoting local
clay and national heritage. The objectives of this scientific approach are to propose architectural
decorations inspired by local cultural diversity, to beautify the urban landscape, to strengthen cultural
identity, to improve the living environment of citizens and to exploit local raw materials. Following an
anthropological and sociological study of decoration and materials, as well as the characterisation of clay,
it appears that the use of local clay for the decoration of public buildings in ceramic meets the appropriate
properties of the material and its intrinsic cultural values. The installation of eight mosaics at the abovementioned
site
is a demonstration
of
the results
obtained
after
a
long
process
of workshop
production
for
a
well-designed
technical,
aesthetic
and
educational
decoration
of
public
buildings
in Yaoundé.