Tropicalizing a building might seem like the best option for a young architect who lands in the tropics, but this is an approach contrary to sustainability. Claude Laurens, through one of his first projects in Congo, understood that it was better to deal with the place from the start. His project became one of the best examples of tropical modernism. The article attempts to contrast an import approach with a more sustainable one, to deal with the present and future context. The research method adopted for this study was a mixed method approach where data was sourced from literature as secondary source and compared with direct observation of the selected case study (The Sabena Towers). The results are presented as figures which were used to further illustrate findings. The result showed that the architect, with little information, did his utmost to offer Congo a new architecture that fitted with the objectives of sustainable development. The study concluded that the architect chose not to adopt the foreign architecture as a solution for the sustainability issues he encountered in the design, rather he evolved solutions that were Congolese based and therefore responded adequately to the challenges of sustainability in Congo and created an architecture for Congo.

Heritage is generally understood as the legacy from the ancestors to the descendants over time. But when this heritage is part of a colonial city, Kinshasa (Leopoldville), that is the result of the work of Western architects, the question of the story that would carry its heritage becomes crucial. The article first shows, through a few selected case studies - the BCB Bank (1949), the Sabena Towers (1952) and the Saint Antoine Church (1961)- that the modernism that characterizes downtown Kinshasa, carries the DNA of local identity cleverly expressed by the tropical architecture. The aim of this paper is to examine part of this African modern heritage that has to be studied, classified and protected, the sustaina- bility already embedded in that architectural language and its application in the design process analyzing quintessential artifacts in order to adequately tackle the further sustainable steps without losing the fundamental teachings of this next World Heritage.

The tropical region is often considered as a region where the sun shines intensely and the temperature varies at certain times of the year. In the case of Congo, the average weather condition is considered cool, however, there have been cases where the temperature reached up to 43° C. It is therefore imperative for buildings in this region to take into account the temperature variation while considering the comfort of the users. During the design and construction of the Bank of Belgian Congo, the availability of data to assist the architect Maurice Houyoux in meeting the challenge of the region was unavailable. The architect had to be creative in planning and overcoming the challenges posed by the environment. This paper seeks to examine the issues confronted by Maurice Houyoux and the design solutions he provided to ensure that the building was functional and responded to the tropical challenges. In undertaking this study, a historical approach was adopted through the review of relevant literature on the building and designs within the period of the development of the bank. An observation method was also deployed to verify some of the information found in the literature. The findings are presented using pictures and sketches to explain some of the key issues relevant to the design of the bank. The findings showed that despite the reduced number of published data for designing in such a region, the architect was able to examine the existing buildings and discuss with users of other constructions to obtain relevant data. The findings also showed that the building was able to respond to peculiar requirements to be functional. The paper concludes that the local building materials and traditional builders can be used to achieve a contemporary building that fits into the context towards sustainable architecture.