Olayinka Dosekun-Adjei and Jeffrey Adjei have been motivated to ascertain the Nigerian Studio Contra, their joint follow, in 2016, impressed by a mutual need to create modern structure for African cities. The married couple first met as staff at Sheppard Robson, one of many UK’s most established structure corporations. Dosekun-Adjei, who was raised in Nigeria, and Adjei, a Ghanaian, determined to arrange their very own studio in Lagos. Drawn to its vitality and business dynamism, they noticed the town as the proper platform to impact social change and categorical cultural concepts by design.
At the moment, the 15-member structure, inside and concrete design follow – a part of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Listing 2022 – is within the strategy of executing a spate of cultural commissions in Kwara, a state within the western area of Nigeria. These embrace the Ilorin Museum and Backyard scheme – a contemporary replace of the outdated and dilapidated Kwara Museum of Ilorin. The brand new 35,000 sq ft house will home classical Nigerian sculptures, whereas the derelict colonial constructing is to be redeveloped right into a café and present store.
Studio Contra’s Crimson Clay Villa design
(Picture credit score: press)
West African studios: Studio Contra
In the meantime, a 24,000 sq ft Institute of Modern African Artwork & Movie in Kwara is within the works, with completion anticipated in early 2023. A 3rd undertaking within the area – Sugar Manufacturing unit Movie Studios – will see a decades-old disused sugar manufacturing facility repurposed into movie studios. This scheme exemplifies their strategy to adaptive reuse – a gorgeous proposition for the architects contemplating its decrease carbon strategy to constructing.
‘We’re taking one thing that’s been undervalued, and we’re including worth to it. We’re reworking it and providing it again to the town. I feel it is a extra sustainable strategy,’ Dosekun-Adjei says.
(Picture credit score: press)
A further renovation undertaking in Lagos – a metropolis stuffed with underutilised constructing inventory, based on the pair – entails the redesign of the 9,500 sq ft Centre of Modern Artwork from façade to inside.
The architects are significantly enthusiastic about cultural tasks as a result of affect they depart on society and the cities they occupy. Nevertheless, Adjei explains that these commissions, usually government-funded, will be difficult to navigate for fledgling corporations.
‘It is a very lengthy, drawn-out course of, so you may simply bankrupt your organization if you wish to keep inside that sector alone. We discover that now we have to tackle a wide range of residential tasks to maintain us going and canopy our overheads,’ Adjei explains.
Institute of Modern African Artwork & Movie
(Picture credit score: Studio Contra)
Non-public homes, such because the Quartey Residence in Accra, are being constructed with regionally produced half-fired clay bricks – a course of much less vitality intensive than using generally used concrete. Such tasks have impressed the companions to rent an architect to particularly examine home constructing supplies and craftsmanship that may be integrated into their schemes.
Though the architects say that they’re but to develop a definite design language, their work explores methods of synthesising the calls for of the up to date setting and expressions of modernity with a way of their conventional African tradition and historical past. The arched motifs of their design of the Institute of Modern African Artwork & Movie is proof of this, referencing Islamic constructing traditions which can be typical in central and northern Nigeria. Dosekun-Adjei says that this speaks to their seek for a language for up to date African structure ‘that sits comfortably within the current, but additionally has roots up to now’.
One among Studio Contra’s materials moodboards
(Picture credit score: Studio Contra)
West African studios: the collection
From Senegal to Nigeria, and from Niger to the Ivory Coast, West Africa is huge and brimming with potential. A robust mixture of peoples and cultures, and in some nations, exponential demographic and financial development, makes this a part of the world a locus of change. The outcome? A dynamic new technology of studios that function within the structure realm and push the boundaries of their discipline to a promising future. Architects, spatial designers and builders converge right here to create a novel, wealthy melting pot of contemporary pondering and innovation that can little question reshape the way in which we take into consideration structure globally.
Our collection on West African structure studios continues on Wallpaper.com within the coming days and is featured in January 2023 Wallpaper*.
studio-contra.com (opens in new tab)
A model of this story seems in January 2023 Wallpaper*, The Future Challenge, out there now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple Information +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* at this time (opens in new tab)
Supply: Wallpaper
