Arno Roncada

Untitled (glacier #2)
Darkroom #8 (installation view)
California Dreaming #3
Arno Roncada photographs the development of satellite cities in Africa, the preferred living areas of the new middle class, as an expression of the new African post-socialist ideal.

The building of satellite cities, spurred on by foreign investors and developers is a relatively new concept in Africa. Examples are the Konza Technology City, the Silicon Savannah in Kenya; The Land of Honey in Nigeria, developed on the basis of a work-live-play concept; or Madinaty, near Cairo, a dusty legacy of the regime of Mubarak.

How do architectural structures relate to the operational ideology that underlies them? Can satellite towns fulfil their promise as self-sufficient oases in the desert, with a solid economic foundation, public services and a functional infrastructure?