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Lines in the Dust

Discovering Context in East African Architecture

Before a structure rises from the earth, a single line drawn on paper carries the fragile hope that what is imagined might one day become real. But in East Africa, that line had to change. As a young architect trained in Western ideals of progress and precision, Verle Hansen arrived in Tanzania expecting to build efficiently and with clarity. Instead, he found a world where architecture could not be separated from culture, memory, or the slow, patient work of trust. Standing amid tall grass and ancient silence—after an unplanned landing in the Serengeti—he confronted a truth often ignored in global development: every act of building alters what came before. That moment became a turning point in a career shaped by efforts to build responsibly in East Africa. How can we design in fragile environments without erasing the very things that give those places life and meaning? Lines in the Dust explores this question through stories of hospital design, bureaucratic delays, quiet wisdom, and the laughter of children skipping through dust. Part memoir, part inquiry, it is a journey into the ethical tensions of building in landscapes where belonging must matter more than blueprints and where development must learn to listen before it acts.

Genres

Personal MemoirsArchitecture

ISBN

9798898609603

Format

Print / Paperback

Contributor

Verle Hansen

Author

Verle Hansen is an architect and artist whose architecture work has spanned thirteen countries and nine of the United States. In 1980 he left Colorado to design hospitals, schools, and churches in East Africa—an experience that transformed not only his career but his understanding of place, culture, and the human spirit. For Hansen, architecture has always been more than lines on paper; it is a practice of listening and partnership, of shaping spaces that honor both people and land. His time in Tanzania taught him perspective, patience, and the quiet power of adapting to what a place asks of you. After returning to the United States, Hansen continued his architectural practice and after obtaining a PhD in Design and Planning, he held a research position with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, focusing on sustainable design and community planning. Dr. Hansen now lives in northern lower Michigan with his musically talented wife, Cheryl. Together they enjoy living near and on the Great Lakes, where water, wind, and light are constant reminders of the world’s quiet beauty. Lines in the Dust is his first book, a memoir of transformation in an unfamiliar land and the enduring lessons learned in the high savannahs of East Africa.