julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub

julien lanoo wins Créateurs Design Award for photo series

 

Julien Lanoo has been awarded the 2025 Créateurs Design Award for Best Project Photography, recognizing his visual documentation of the Surf Ghana Collective. Lanoo’s monochrome series captures the spirit of the community-driven hub for young surfers along the western coast of Ghana in Busua, a growing surfing hotspot. Designed by architectural studio DeRoché Strohmayer, the adapted single-room structure functions year-round as a gathering place, surf school, and event space, while also offering crucial amenities such as Wi-Fi, equipment storage, and a beach shower — features that had previously been absent in the area.

 

During major surf events, the space can be repurposed into a classroom and dormitory for visiting surfers, while in the off-season, it is rented out to help sustain operational costs. The structure itself has also been well recognized, winning the 2023 Holcim Gold Award for Sustainable Construction.

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
all images by Julien Lanoo

 

 

capturing DeRoché Strohmayer’s surf ghana collective

 

Julien Lanoo’s photo series encapsulates the Surf Ghana Collective’s architectural sensitivity and its social impact. His images particularly focus on material textures and interplay of light and shadow in the landscape, while also spotlighting the human interactions that bring the space to life. For Glenn DeRoché and Juergen Strohmayer, founders of DeRoché Strohmayer studio, the focus too was on inclusivity, and cultural context, and ecological sustainability.

 

In carefully considering materials, craftsmanship, and reducing carbon footprints through adaptive reuse, the design intervention began with enhancing an existing structure. A leaking roof was replaced with a new canopy that extends the usable space both above and below. A ground-floor terrace facing the ocean integrates two preserved Ficus trees, with the addition of a rooftop lounge providing a shaded retreat, complete with hammocks and an elevated vantage point for observing the waves.

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
Julien Lanoo wins Créateurs Design Award

 

 

a climate- and culture-sensitive hub

 

Aligned with the studio’s commitment to ecological sustainability informed by social and cultural contexts, passive cooling strategies, a double-roof system, and cross-ventilation were employed to enhance comfort while minimizing energy consumption. Cement use was reduced by incorporating laterite into the concrete mix, significantly lowering the project’s carbon footprint. Locally sourced raffia was also used in the construction process, ensuring that the material language remains sensitive to regional traditions, reminiscent of structures in Ghana’s Nzulezu stilt village.

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
capturing DeRoché Strohmayer’s Surf Ghana Collective

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
a community-driven hub for young surfers along the western coast of Ghana

surf-ghana-collective-julien-lanoo-designboom-02

the adapted single-room structure functions year-round as a gathering place, surf school, and event space

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
passive cooling strategies, a double-roof system, and cross-ventilation were employed

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
for the architects, the focus too was on inclusivity, and cultural context, and ecological sustainability

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
the photo series encapsulates the Surf Ghana Collective’s architectural sensitivity and its social impact

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
the structure won the 2023 Holcim Gold Award for Sustainable Construction

surf-ghana-collective-julien-lanoo-designboom-01

during the off-season, the space is rented out to help sustain operational costs

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
during major surf events, the space can be repurposed into a classroom and dormitory for visiting surfers

julien lanoo captures adaptive integration of deroché strohmayer's surf ghana collective hub
located in Busua, a growing surfing hotspot

surf-ghana-collective-julien-lanoo-designboom-03
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