2. table of CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
By Tuuli Saarela, Editor of ArchiAfrika Magazine
CHAIRMAN’S CORNER
- All Roads Lead to Lagos via Mumbai and Accra
By Joe Osae-Addo, Chairman of ArchiAfrika Foundation
AFRICA FLOATS TO MILAN
By Nat Nuno-Amarteifio
iNTERVIEW WITH HUGH
MASAKELA
Interview with Hugh Masakela
THE ROAD TO HERITAGE
competition
By Hugh Masakela
GREEN & YELLOW DIVIDES
ADDIS ABABA
By RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholar, Thomas Aquilina
IN SEARCH OF THE ORIGIN
By Jurriaan van Stigt
6
10
18
28
32
CAIRO URBANISM
- trash becomes cash
By Zeina Elcheikh
THE REAL ECONOMY
- informal housing, work and the future
a look at Accra and Lagos
By Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy
BUILDINGS TELL A STORY
- 20th century architecture in Kenya
By Janfrans van der Eerden
MSc Arch Architect MAAK
PRESERVING ACCRA’S
ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
- the need for restoration and preservation
Excerpts from a discussion between Nat Armarteifio, Osei
Agyeman, Senam Okudzeto and Joe Osae-Addo from AiD 13.1
INTERVIEW WITH NIKOS
SALINGAROS
By Zaheer Allam & J. Soopramanien
AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES
LAGOS ‘13
- conference announcement & call for papers
38
54
62
74
84
90
96
4
3. 4 5
Africaisinaneconomicboomperiod,butwhat
are the true effects on the urban environment?
Is African heritage threatened as we construct
gleamingnewskyscrapers?Canwere-establish
the concept of sustainability as a part of our
heritage and identity, rather than an idea that
is a purely Western concept? In this month’s
issue we travel the length and breadth of the
continent to answer some of these questions:
from North Africa (Cairo) to South Africa
(Johannesburg) to the East African hubs of
(Nairobi and Addis Ababa) as well as West
Africa (Dogon, Accra and Lagos).
The contributors in this issue of the
ArchiAfrika Magazine all speak to common
themes of heritage, identity, sustainability and
urban renewal. These will be explored further
in the 2013 issues of our magazine, to prepare
us for a fantastic debate and exchange of ideas
at the sixth African Perspective Conference
taking place at the Golden Tulip Festac Hotel
in Lagos Nigeria from December 5-8, 2013.
Check out the conference announcement and
call for papers. All Roads Lead to Lagos!
In this issue, we will explore our heritage
through the perspective of one of our great
musical heroes, Hugh Masakela. Hugh has
longbeenanactivistfightingforthepromotion
of African heritage who reminds us that our
heritage is something we must preserve,
protect and promote- something that must be
recorded and captured before it is lost under
the deceptive pretense of progress.
Hugh Masakela and ArchiAfrika are pleased
to announce the first Road to Heritage
Competition for African designers, students,
amateurs and professionals to present
creative proposals to create and promote
spaces of heritage. The competition brief
will be announced in July and entries will be
considered by a world-class panel of judges.
We will finally announce the winner in
December at the AP Conference in Lagos.
In this issue we also visit Kenya to discover
how our heritage and our histories are
under threat. In Nairobi, rapid development
threatens the city’s visual history and Janfrans
van der Eerden reminds us that old buildings
have a story to tell, eliciting thoughts on
how we can organize to preserve buildings of
historical and cultural significance.
Must our histories and heritage be necessarily
lost under the tides of economic development?
Can we learn anything from Gilbert Nii-
Okai Addy who draws parallels between
contemporary Accra, Lagos and 19th century
London- cities which all practice slum
clearing, and cities which ultimately fail to
bring about changes in social policy towards
poor people. Interesting thoughts.
EDITORIAL
Tuuli Saarela
Editor of ArchiAfrika Magazine
From Addis Ababa, we hear from RIBA
Norman Foster Travelling Scholar Thomas
Acquilina who discovers the causes and effects
of a new government directive to use green
and yellow iron sheets in demarcation of
building sites. He goes beyond beautification
to discover the informal settlements that were
pushedoutandalsohowtheinformaleconomy
springs up around them.His writings from six
African cities focus on the recycling practices
of Africans.
Some of our peers have begun to question the
value of sustainability beyond a very alluring
moral facade. Is sustainability too expensive
for Africa? What about the uncomfortable
stigma of sustainability as something that
is actually opposed to progress? While
sustainable approaches can help to bring basic
services to areas that need it most, long-term
viability may depend on the capacity of the
solution to generate income. In Cairo, we
learn from Zeina Elcheikh about how Trash
becomes Cash in the informal settlement of
Ezbet Al-Nasr.
Our contributor Zaheer Allam brings us
an exclusive interview with Professor Nikos
Salingaros,thefatheroftheimmenselypopular
theory of urban design and fractals, which
seems to have struck a cord with an African
audience. In the interview, we hear Nikos
thoughts on emergent economies, renewable
energy and sustainable construction.
Finally, we are reminded that collaboration
can bring about genuine development of
craft. It is well known that Europeans have
long visited Africa for inspiration, but it
is clear that they also systematically study,
capture and re-interpret our traditional
designs into European architectural styles.
The experience of Foundation Dogon
Education and its Chairman Jurrian van Stigt
shows us that true collaboration is never one-
sided but an exchange. An enduring love for
the Pays Dogon and a respect for traditional
architecture, have enabled Dutch and Malian
partners to build schools in Dogon and even
imported Malian design into the architectural
heritage of Amsterdam.
Can contemporary designers establish a true
balance between modern design and African
heritage? What does this look like? Can we
redefine sustainability “In Our Own Words”
and reconnect to our sustainable indigenous
pedigree? We hope that you will continue the
discussions as one of our next contributors for
the July 2013 issue. Do get in touch with the
editorial team if you want to contribute to the
discourse!
Regards,
Tuuli Saarela
4. 6 7
CHAIRMAN’S
corner
Nothing symbolized modernity and Accra
living more than the Ambassador Hotel
(now Movenpick Ambassador Hotel—to
which it bears no resemblance at all), with
its extraordinary swimming pool and grand
international style architecture. As a nine year
old, what mattered most were the delicious
scones and Cornish pies! It was these great
pastries, be it the local or western inspired
ones, which made my Accra tick. My thick
waistline emerged all those years ago, and I
blame it entirely on the Ambassador Hotel!
Early 1970’s Accra was a child’s dream.
Afternoon Boys Scouts meetings at the Ridge
Church School, where I attended primary
school and where my dear mother also
happened to be headmistress,to the Children’s
Theater at the Arts Center,to the music lessons
at the National Symphony where my piano
teacher Mr. Vanderpuye worked: this was my
way of life. We would sometimes ride our
‘banana seat bikes’ around the Ridge School
with dear friends, Amand Ayensu, Joseph and
Michael Kinsley Nyinah, Robert Millls, Adjei
Adjetey, with Afua Sutherland Park and
George Padmore Library as our stomping
grounds. Even then I knew that open space
and good architecture mattered- as embodied
by the spaces described and the Ambassador
Hotel. Life was not so bad at all.
Swimming at the Ambassador was the special
treat any child would crave for. The pool as I
remember it had bright blue tiles, which gave
the water the look of the ocean and made it
appear so large that it commanded my respect.
We jumped from the diving boards with gusto
but were mindful not to be a nuisance to the
regular swimmers. One such ‘hip’ gentleman
that seemed to live in the pool (hahahah) was
‘the famous South African’ Hugh Masekela.
Yes,that was how the pool attendant described
him to us at the time. Hugh was a gentle kind
man, and often obliged our Cornish pasty
habits. We knew that this man was in exile in
Ghana and was a very famous musician. We
revered him, even at that age.
These are very sketchy
memories, but I remember
his easy and commanding
smile and certainly his
generosity and that he lived
in the scion of modernism,
the Ambassador Hotel.
IwonderwhathethinksofthenewMovenpick
Ambassador, whose amenities I still enjoy
with my family today. My sons Kwaku and
Juhani often run around the hotel, as if they
owned it, much as we did over 40 years ago.
Certain things never change! It’s a shame that
they will never experience the connection to
heritage that such buildings conjured for us
residents of post-colonial Accra.
I woke up on the 30th floor of the Renaissance
Hotel in Mumbai to a spectacular view of
the lake and the high rises beyond, a far cry
from the intensely chaotic, but seemingly
synchronized traffic of the previous night’s
arrival in the city from Mumbai airport. The
experience of arriving in Mumbai is strangely
familiar to that of arrival in Lagos and to a
lesser extent, Accra. The familiarity of these
experiences is a clear vestige of colonial British
rule.
Deep thoughts abound as I
reflect on what Ghana, and
theothercolonies,couldhave
become and suddenly I find
myself reminiscing about
the Ghana of my childhood
intheearly1970’s.Ghanain
those days appeared idyllic
with exposure to a modern
way of life firmly rooted in
the passionate love for our
traditions, passed on from
our grand parents.
The previous generation of non-Accra folk,
were born and raised in our hometowns and
villages rather than the cities, and therefore
the first generation of us city children would
still visit the village frequently, and truly
looked forward to our monthly trips out to
experience the change of pace. To me as a
precocious child, modernity embodied being
able to straddle modernity and traditionalism
with ease and without conflict.
ALL ROADS
LEAD TO
LAGOS VIA
MUMBAI AND
ACCRA
Joe Osae Addo
Chairman, ArchiAfrika
5. 8 9
As ArchiAfrika and AiD embark on
engaging in the discourse of preservation and
conservation, these old memories come to
mind, and remind us all of the need to engage
and preserve something of the old Ghana and
Africa that we used to know.AiD has selected
the Children’s Library, a design of Max Fry
and Jane Drew,as a case study of how buildings
can be improved through restoration rather
than decimated by directionless renovation.
Now back to Hugh Masakela, who is our
featured personality for this edition of our
Magazine.To me he embodies the aspirations
of a new Africa- proud of its heritage, while
embracing modernity: a redefinition of what
Africa stands for in this global world. He is
the embodiment of the true ‘adventurer in the
diaspora.’ Hugh and his extraordinary wife
Elinam and their children are dear friends of
ours and we are honored that they agreed to
be part of this issue.
With our upcoming theme for 2013 being ‘All
Roads Lead to Lagos’ one cannot ignore the
symbolism of Hugh Masakela being featured
in this issue, as he was very good friends with
another great African activist, Fela Kuti from
Nigeria. Their music is the voice of Africa
and a constant reminder to all us of why our
culture matters.
Hugh Masakela is the kind of advocate for
the cultural and creative renaissance of Africa
that ArchiAfrika wants to be associated
with, and to learn from.Hugh, thank you
for being ‘a shining light’ and a great role
model for creative people engaging in Africa’s
development agenda. AYEKOO!
Regards,
Joe Osae Addo
Chairman, ArchiAfrika Foundation
Above: Sketch by Joe Osae-Addo
7. 12 13
The Milan Design Week hosted designers,
inventors and thinkers from around the world
and enabled them to explore their work and
ideas to their contemporaries. It took place
in April when the city draws in breadth after
the winter and watches the trees break into
the first hopeful buds of spring. Events and
exhibitions were displayed in venues across
the metropolis. This gave participants the
opportunity to explore Milan’s incomparable
architectural heritage as well as enjoy its
remarkable transportation infrastructure. This
includes gaily painted trams that look vaguely
familiar until you notice their similarity to
the trams of San Francisco. Indeed the trams
of Milan furnished the prototype for those
in San Francisco. Another engaging urban
feature of the city is the presence of hundreds
of motorcycles and bicycles parked at different
spots and available to residents for a nominal
fee.
The Afrofuture exposition convened
exports from the continent to consider the
impact on African cities of some of the key
questions from various disciplines including
architecture, politics and technology. Using
images from different cities we illustrated
how these questions and issues are shaped in
our discourse and the solutions that emerge.
Presentations were from Lagos, Accra,
Luanda, Nairobi and Dakar.
One topic that provoked animated discussion
was new designs coming from the continent.
This followed the presentation by Kunlé
Adeyemi, a young Nigerian architect
practicing in Amsterdam and Lagos. He
gave an illustrated talk on a school project
he created for an aquatic village called
Makoko in Lagos. Adeyemi belongs to a
new and stimulating generation of African
architects whose works are shaping the
unfolding narrative of contemporary African
architecture.Other practitioners are Joe Osae-
Addo of Ghana and Francis Kéré of Burkina
Faso. These artists, who have arrived at the
apex of their profession, come equipped with
profound understanding of post-modernist
design concepts. They were also educated
in an era when environmental sustainability
was a serious issue. The combination of these
factors and others such as unfair economic
arrangement of international trade has
given them the confidence to examine the
fundamentsofdesigntheoriesinourtime.They
have drawn valuable lessons from traditional
African architecture including the social
organization of construction. The application
of these insights gives their projects a fresh
neo-Bantu stamp that is remarkably free of
atavistic posturing. Adeyemi’s presentation
was a welcome introduction of promising new
design from the continent.
Above: Kunlé Adeyemi and Nat Nuno-Amertefio in conversation at The Milan Design Week, 2013.
Previous Page: Inset: Makoko Floating School.
Image Courtesy of NLÉ, Shaping the Architecture of Developing Cities
Below: Platform prototype. Image Courtesy of NLÉ, Shaping the Architecture of Developing Cities
8. 14 15
These artists, who have
arrived at the apex of their
profession, come equipped
with profound understanding
of post-modernist design
concepts.They were also
educated in an era when
environmental sustainability
was a serious issue.The
combination of these factors
and others such as unfair
economic arrangement of
international trade has
given them the confidence to
examine the fundaments of
design theories in our time.
They have drawn valuable
lessons from traditional
African architecture including
the social organization of
construction.The application
of these insights gives their
projects a fresh neo-Bantu
stamp that is remarkably free
of atavistic posturing.
Inset: Makoko Floating School
Image Courtesy of NLÉ, Shaping the Architecture of
Developing Cities
9. 16 17
Another submission that was full of assurance
was by Cyrus Kabiru, a designer from
Nairobi. He is a brilliant artist who currently
specializes in creating “concept” eyeglasses.
His pieces are fabricated from discarded
machine parts. They are cheeky for their
originality and breathtaking for the audacity
of his imagination. He is master at combining
familiar items in unfamiliar ways. Imagine
a pair of tooth brushes arranged to serve as
frames for eyeglasses or a pair of handcuffs
similarly reconstructed.His works are quixotic
and even though they are not intended for the
mass market,they demonstrate an astonishing
creativity that promises a lot to African fashion
and design.
It was an exhilarating
weekinMilan.Itisobvious
beyond argument that
ideas already exist that will
massage African design
into the 21st century. What
is yet to be developed is the
academic vehicle to expose
them to our design colleges
and technical schools. One
can only hope that this
magazine will land on a
friendly table.
The Milan Design Week was produced by the
City of Milan. The Afrofuture portion was
curated by Nana Ocran and Big Ben.
Left: Cyrus Kabiru’s Artwork
Image from http://www.ckabiruart.daportfolio.com/
10. 18 19
Hugh Masakela is a world-renowned
flugelhornist, trumpeter, bandleader,
composer, singer and defiant political voice
who remains deeply connected at home,while
his international career sparkles. He was born
in the town of Witbank,South Africa in 1939.
At the age of 14,the deeply respected advocate
of equal rights in South Africa, Father Trevor
Huddleston, provided Masakela with a
trumpet and, soon after, the Huddleston Jazz
Band was formed. Masakela began to hone
his, now signature, Afro-Jazz sound in the
late 1950s during a period of intense creative
collaboration, most notably performing in the
1959 musical King Kong, written by Todd
Matshikiza, and, soon thereafter, as a member
of the now legendary South African group,
the Jazz Epistles (featuring the classic line up
of Kippie Moeketsi, Abdullah Ibrahim and
Jonas Gwangwa).
In 1960, at the age of 21 he left South Africa
to begin what would be 30 years in exile from
the land of his birth.On arrival in NewYork he
enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music.
This coincided with a golden era of jazz music
and the young Masakela immersed himself
in the New York jazz scene where nightly
he watched greats like Miles Davis, John
Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Mingus
and Max Roach. Under the tutelage of Dizzy
Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, Hugh was
encouraged to develop his own unique style,
feeding off African rather than American
influences – his debut album, released in
1963, was entitled Trumpet Africaine.
bioGRAPHY
hugh
MASAKELA
11. 20 21
In the late 1960s Hugh moved to Los Angeles
in the heat of the ‘Summer of Love’, where
he was befriended by hippie icons like David
Crosby, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. In
1967 Hugh performed at the Monterey Pop
Festival alongside Janis Joplin, Otis Redding,
Ravi Shankar,The Who and Jimi Hendrix. In
1968, his instrumental single ‘Grazin’ in the
Grass’went to Number One on the American
pop charts and was a worldwide smash,
elevating Hugh onto the international stage.
His subsequent solo career has spanned 5
decades, during which time he has released
over 40 albums (and been featured on
countless more) and has worked with such
diverse artists as Harry Belafonte, Dizzy
Gillespie,The Byrds, Fela Kuti, Marvin Gaye,
Herb Alpert, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and
the late Miriam Makeba.
In 1990 Hugh returned home, following the
unbanning of the ANC and the release of
Nelson Mandela – an event anticipated in
Hugh’s anti-apartheid anthem ‘Bring Home
Nelson Mandela’ (1986) which had been a
rallying cry around the world.
In 2004 Masakela published his compelling
autobiography, Still Grazing: The Musical
Journey of Hugh Masakela (co-authored
with D. Michael Cheers), which Vanity Fair
described thus:‘…you’ll be in awe of the many
lives packed into one.’
In June 2010 he opened the FIFA Soccer
World Cup Kick-Off Concert to a global
audience and performed at the event’s
Opening Ceremony in Soweto’s Soccer City.
In 2010, President Zuma honoured him with
thehighestorderinSouthAfrica:TheOrderof
Ikhamanga, and 2011 saw Masakela receive a
LifetimeAchievementawardattheWOMEX
World Music Expo in Copenhagen. The US
Virgin Islands proclaimed ‘Hugh Masakela
Day’ in March 2011, not long after Hugh
joined U2 on stage during the Johannesburg
leg of their 360 World Tour. U2 frontman
Bono described meeting and playing with
Hugh as one of the highlights of his career.
Hugh is currently using his global reach to
spread the word about heritage restoration in
Africa – a topic that remains very close to his
heart.
“My biggest obsession is to show Africans
and the world who the people of Africa
really are,” Masakela confides – and it’s this
commitment to his home continent that has
propelled him forward since he first began
playing the trumpet.
Sources/copyright: GRIOT GmbH, Wulf v.
Gaudecker and Hugh Masakela
“The Official Site”
South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela and Nigerian singer Femi Kuti perform during the opening ceremony of the 2010
FIFA World Cup in JOhannesburg. Photo: AFP
12. 22 23
An Interview with
HUGH MASAKELA
poet, philosopher, cultural activist
HowmanyAfricancitieshaveyouvisited?
And what are their common features
(in terms of culture, people, design and
architecture)?
I have visited over 30 cities in Africa.
The majority are overcrowded. In most of
them, the impoverished live with very poor
service delivery in sordid squalor and under
extremely unhealthy conditions. Wealthy
countries in Africa have luxurious upper
class neighborhoods, modern malls and
urban development that match Western
metropolises. The most disturbing factor is
that none of the cities boast African-style
designs. Kigali in Rwanda and Windhoek in
Namibia are outstanding for their cleanliness.
Some cities have vibrant cultural groups,clubs
and concert venues. Many countries suppress
the development of cultural excellence,
merely dismissing it as frivolous as it is likely
to upstage the coveted political limelight.
How do you manage to stay current and
topical with the rapid economic changes
engulfing the continent?
Self-education, intense practice, vigorous
physical exercise, playing with outstanding
young musicians and constantly touring the
world.
What are your views on wealth creation
and the creation of a vibrant educated
population who can contribute to
sustainable development and growth of
the continent. Is it really happening?
Most political establishments in Africa
systematically keep the underclass ignorant
and devoid of crucial information that could
help to improve the quality of life. It seems
that wealth creation is limited to the business
and political establishments. Same old, same
old!
I am pessimistic about the development that
is only addressed in summits, conferences
and talk shops but never trickles down to the
masses, who only seem to be noticed when
they are needed for election votes.
13. 24 25
Discuss the rapid growth and
modernization and your thoughts on the
contemporary African city. Could your
experiences in developing hybrid music
genres be an inspiration to how our built
environments could evolve into something
truly African?
Rapid growth in almost all the cities that
experience it, projects imitations of western
metropolises.There is very little if any African
character in them. Perhaps if business and
government could aggressively promote
heritage restoration in the arts; this could be
an element that would inspire African town
planners, designers and architects to project
indigenous styles into our developmental
initiatives.
How has music influenced contemporary
African creative endeavors including
design? What is the link between music
and design?
It appears to me that most
African contemporary music
strives very intensely to imitate
USA and European styles. At
this rate, it is obviously pointing
design and town planning in a
very Western direction.
Unless there is some sort of semblance of
heritage restored into our lives, all the things
we create will suffer from the neo-colonial
frenzy we so extremely try to emulate. There
is no link that I can identify at this writing,
between music and design. African visual
art is the only element that mostly retains an
indigenous quality on our continent, under-
supported as it is.
14. 26 27
What are your views on contemporary
music , culture and how does Africa fare?
Do you see the need for better collaboration
among creatives to promote Africa
globally?
For African culture to have a visible face,
African society is going to have to collaborate
in forming a Heritage Restoration Society
similar to the World Wildlife Fund; an
institute that will aggressively promote and
protect the massive and diverse content of
ancient indigenous qualities whose erosion
we witness by the hour.
How should Africans respond to often
neglected or suppressed heritage and
culture?IsthererealinterestfromAfricans
(besides UNESCO and foreign funders)
in preserving some of the unique heritage
of our communities (ie. Sophiatown was
recentlyrenamedbacktoitsoriginalname,
how do we preserve and protect places of
heritage? And does this necessarily mean
becoming political?
I have included a heritage proposal which I
emailed separately in an attempt at illustrating
an example of heritage restoration. It cannot
be preached. It has to be presented through
edutainement.Foreign funders will only come
to the party once the African diaspora begins
to lead.The UN and funders would not know
where to begin.
Discuss current politics on the continent
in the context of north Africa, democratic
reforms and revolutions. What does this
mean for the rest of Africa ?
Until African political leadership ceases from
viewing inaugurations as royal coronations,
we are hurtling down a dangerous path of
power grabs, dictatorships, revolutionaries
who turn into brutal autocrats and academics
who discuss African progress on television
specials,in books and election campaigns.We,
the ordinary people, are hopelessly praying
for “The real thing to come along,” that great
“African dream” we have been hearing about
for the past six decades. When are we gonna
wake up and smell the fufu???
For African culture
to have a visible face,
African society is going
to have to collaborate
in forming a Heritage
Restoration Society similar
to the World Wildlife
Fund; an institute that
will aggressively promote
and protect the massive
and diverse content
of ancient indigenous
qualities whose erosion
we witness by the hour.
15. 28 29
WHY HERITAGE MATTERS
Text by Hugh Masakela
More than 80 % of Africa’s peoples come
from indigenous traditional origins. Our
cultural roots are cultivated in customs, oral
history,praise-poetry,art,design,architecture,
artisanship, agriculture, mysticism, song,
dance, couture, cuisine, pageantry, ceremony,
rituals and moral values. Respect, humility
and generosity have always been the crucial
cornerstones of African life.
Africa’s abundance of unfathomable wealth in
raw materials attracted interest among many
foreign communities. Explorers, militias and
traders began to invade North, West and
Central Africa in the 14th century in search
of treasures. Next came religious groups of
missionaries and prophets with determined
resolve to convert the “natives from barbarism”
and away from their customs. Subsequently
armiesandshipsladenwithsuperiorweaponry
overran most of Africa,confiscating land,food
supplies,and livestock,pillaging and intent on
lording over the indigenous peoples.
Centuries of conquest lead to a merciless slave
trade which saw millions loaded into sailing
vessels that carried Africans to the western
world, a time during which families were
forcibly separated, native languages outlawed
and traditions systematically destroyed.
On the continent,the remaining millions were
colonized.Africawaseventuallycarvedupinto
scores of European-created “new” countries.
The native populations were transformed
into legions of cheap-labour armies. Many
converted into Islam and Christianity. Forced
migration to new industrial centres and
farmlands along with minimal education led
to the gradual erosion of traditional heritage.
Hugh Masakela & ArchiAfrica present:
competition
The Road To
Heritage
ThefirstRoadtoHeritageCompetition,organizedbyHughMasakelaincollaborationwithArchiAfrika,
is a ground-breaking design competition in which we seek African designers, students, amateurs and
professionals to present creative and inno-native™ proposals on how Africans can preserve and promote
our heritage. We seek participants to showcase their ideas in our magazine as well as website, compete
for prize money and bring ideas to the attention of a prestigious jury.
16. 30 31
Indigenous customs began to disappear:
African civilization saw the evaporation of
our folklore and indigenous origins, which
were gradually abandoned.
By the 21st Century, most Africans (even
though their customs and beliefs were not
totally erased) began to be convinced that their
own heritage was heathen, pagan, backward,
savage, barbaric and primitive due to the
messages created by religion, advertising,
television, misunderstood foreign education
and urbanization.
Today many urban households in Africa
have abandoned communicating in their
mother-tongue. Some even forbid the use of
any language that are not European. Unless
the restoration of heritage into the lives of
Africans is not promoted, future generations
will not define ourselves in our own terms and
words, perhaps claiming that “we used to be
Africans very, very long ago.” This would be a
major tragedy.
This competition is a small means by which
we can re-introduce elements of heritage
restoration into our communities. We do not
seek to preach to the masses, but wish this
competition to use mostly entertainment and
educational methods.
Thetimehascomeforustoharnessourheritage
and spread it far and wide using modern
technology and all Western civilization has to
offer.
The ideas shared in the competition will
be a most exciting legacy for present and
future generations—not to mention the
foreigners who come to Africa to admire our
geographical sites and wildlife because they
cannot find our people as they are preoccupied
with imitating other cultures.The ancestors of
Africa await this initiative with excited hope
and overwhelming enthusiasm. So does the
rest of humanity. What is now left is to make
it happen!
The competition brief and rules will be published in the
July 2013 issue of the ArchiAfrika Magazine, along with
the members of a prestigious jury and the prize money.The
competitionisopentoAfricandesigners,students,amateurs
and professionals who have ideas on how we can actively
preserve and promote our heritage. The winner of the
competition will be announced at the African Perspectives
Conference in Lagos in December 2013. Winning designs
will be showcased at the conference, as well as on the
ArchiAfrika website and ArchiAfrika Magazine.
For more information, please contact Dahlia Roberts at
dahlia@aaaccra.org.
18. 34 35
Adane Y., taxi driver, inspected his disposable
photographs meticulously, 6x4 copies slightly
spoiled by a coarse grain and overexposure.
Almost all of them showed the same subject:
a construction site fence painted repetitively
in green and yellow vertical stripes. But with
each image Adane described something
else he saw or intended to capture. When I
pressed him on the reappearing fence, he told
me plainly “it is just in the construction.”
One of my field methods is the distribution
of disposable cameras to residents. These
photographs intend to document a kind of
lived experience and construct a narrative of
each city.With Adane, I asked him to shoot a
typical drive through Addis Ababa. Some of
his photographs were framed by the edge of
his taxi window or dashboard (an old Russian
Lada taxi immaculately kept). His journey
was located between old town, Piazza, and
desirable new location,Bole.In both examples
the fence was there,and provided a clue for my
project. The ongoing investigation – Material
Economies – as part of the RIBA Norman
Foster Travelling Scholarship consists of a
movement (or a line) in each city that follows
the life of a particular material, usually
recycled. This allows me to understand its
arrangement and sequence as it is positioned,
changed or renewed. I trace the intersections
and movements of informal economies,which
take different turns and direct me to different
locations. I encounter a complex interplay of
urban relationships, actors and tactics, mostly
informal and diffuse, and many are invisible.
ByfollowingAdane’simpliedmaterial,Ilearnt
that this fence made from corrugated iron
sheeting and always painted with this uniform
colour palette and pattern is a government
regulation in Addis Ababa for every new
building site. A contractor suggested this
directive was a way of “beautifying” the city
before an African Union summit two years
ago. The fence has since become ubiquitous
and shows a city under construction. My
interest, however, is not the aesthetics but
how this canvas is transforming everyday life.
The fencing often encloses large vacant sites
that were once informal settlements. It first
masked a demolished popular neighbourhood,
Filwuha, adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel,
lined with mature palm trees. Residents were
relocated to city-edge condominium plots.
Only a local mafia and handful of surviving
settlers remain. My guide and old Filwuha
neighbour, Biruk G., said it is “just a matter
of time before all old villages are removed
from Addis.” His village will soon be cleared,
and his current stationery business will have
to end. His clients and networks won’t travel
with him and he’s already thinking up a new
occupation as a condominium broker.
A travelling research project on informal recycling practices in six African cities (Cairo, Addis Ababa,
Kampala, Kigali, Lusaka, and Johannesburg).
Inhabitants in these
environments are readily
repositioned, whether they
are compelled to relocate
livelihoods, or engage in a
form of street occupation.
21. 40 41
Since 1980 I have been in love with Mali,
Sudanese architecture, the music of Boubacar,
ToumaniandAliFarkaToure,butinparticular
the architecture, culture and anthropology of
the Dogon. It humbles me to write about
what we,at the Foundation Dogon Education
and architect professor Joop van Stigt, have
been able to build in the last 20 years in Mali.
Our inspiration was shaped in the fifties and
sixties when architect Herman Haan, Aldo
van Eyck and others visited the Dogon and
published their experiences in the famous
Dutch magazine FORUM. The publications
in this magazine had a big impact on the
Dutch architectural style at that time.
At this time, Joop van Stigt worked on the
building site of the Orphanage designed by
Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam. Van Eyck sent
him a postcard with a picture of Djenne- and
on the back was this text and a fast drawing of
his design of the building with small cupolas.
(Picture of front and backside of the postcard,
and translation of the text… will be the first
time ever this is published) Back in the
Netherlands, the building was constructed as
it stands now with a characteristic honeycomb
dome-vaulted structure, which is still famous
and considered part of Dutch heritage. The
orphanage symbolizes a big opportunity
in thinking about scale. It was the start of
thinking in structure:the city as house,a house
as a city, inside and outside, the big scale and
the small scale. In the Orphanage, there is a
realization of a duality in every task: there is
a visible cellular structure, but also freedom.
It is this theme that van Eyck found so
intriguing in the Dogon so many years ago.
The experience described was van Stigt’s first
encounter with Mali and became a motivation
to go there himself. He made his first trip to
Mali in 1972, and has kept going ever since.
After his retirement as professor in Delft
specialized in building constructions, heritage
and renovation, he presented his book Dogon
Architecture, Art and Anthropology and
started the Foundation Dogon Education.
The first aim was not to make “architecture,”
but to create wells, water supplies and school
buildings.Throughouttheyears,theexperiences
grew into much more than simply building;
he learned to work with the Dogon people,
exchange knowledge and experiment with
new techniques. By analyzing the extremely
ingenious adobe construction methods of the
Dogon, it was possible to further develop his
imported methods in order to be able to build
in a sustainable way with locally available
materials. The mantra of building in Dogon
became “pas simple, pas bon” (not simple not
good) and stayed as a theme of van Stigt in
his work in the Netherlands where he became
known for looking for the most economical
solution combined with a clear, simple and
true beauty of the building. It can be argued
that he learned this skill from the Dogon and
Sudanese mud architecture.
Previous Page: Dogon, Bandiagarra Cliffs
Left: FORUM magazine
22. 42 43
“
Everything from mud and some wood!
Wonderful World! We are a bit white -
healthy feeling however. Nowhere have
I laughed so much and making jokes.
Every morning a whole pineapple!
Delicious Mangoes. Niger fish and
chicken. Hot – beautiful birds, women
and towns (will show slides and film).
Tomorrow begins the big hike along the
Dogon gap with intact primeval culture.
Donkeys carry the stuff – It is fine with
my now-no-care-child.
I’m 27 on the construction site, brown,
--- and ready for new steps.
Don’t forget a Santa Claus gift hi hi hi
AvEyck
“
23. 44 45
In 2008 the Fondation started to build with
hydraulic compressed earth blocks,a next step
in the continuation of the traditional adobe
building methods in the Dogon, (see the book
‘beyond construction’). The decision to do so
responded to a need for the architecture to fit
into the landscape and connect to the culture.
Our first buildings using this method were in
Sevaré,and included housing,extension of the
technical school and a small hotel.Everything,
including bearing walls and facades of
half brick (14 centimeter) were built with
earth blocks, even carrying concrete floors
and overstrains of 7 meters. The buildings
are located in the new town which houses
modern Malian housing, architecture, some
old French colonial architecture, all of which
are strongly influenced by the Sudanese style.
Themostimportantobjectiveherewastolearn,
build and show that there is a natural beauty
in building with earth.The information centre
of mud architecture in Mopti built by the Aga
Khan Foundation designed by Francis Kéré
was in this case a great support for changing
the mind set in building methods. Now there
are a lot of new skilled builders in the region
of Mopti Sevaré which will hopefully give a
boost to build, construct and design a truly
sustainable Malian architecture by local
architects and masons.
With the experience of knowledge we gained
in Sevaré, the Fondation started building
more primary schools in the Dogon area
with compressed earth blocks.The villages all
requireadifferentapproachdependingontheir
location along the cliffs of Bandiagarra, the
plain or the plateau. However, every building
the Fondation constructed throughout the
years was realized with the strong support and
contribution of a village who prepared sand,
red earth and water.
In 2012 the first school complex, three
school classrooms, housing for teachers and
sanitation with barrel vaults was completed.
This complex near the village of Balaguina,
on the plateau one hour’s drive from Sevaré,
is almost 100% earth bricks (excluding
the concrete foundation). The bricks were
produced on site by transporting a brick
machine to the location. The buildings rise
literally out of the earth from which they are
made. The village has contributed immensely
to the production of the bricks on the site.
The school is designed with two verandas,
which can be seen as the buttress to the barrel
vaults above the classrooms. Each classroom
is dilated, the roof is constructed with brick
masonry on its side.The final layer of the roof
is finished with 4 centimetres of red earth and
a little (5%) cement.
Previous Page: Postcard from Aldo van Eyck
Inset: Renovation, primary school in Sangha 1907
Next Page: Internship project students of the Technical
School (ETSJ), February 2012
25. 48 49
In 2012 the first school complex, three
school classrooms, housing for teachers and
sanitation with barrel vaults was completed.
This complex near the village of Balaguina,
on the plateau one hour’s drive from Sevaré,
is almost 100% earth bricks (excluding
the concrete foundation). The bricks were
produced on site by transporting a brick
machine to the location. The buildings rise
literally out of the earth from which they are
made. The village has contributed immensely
to the production of the bricks on the site.
The school is designed with two verandas,
which can be seen as the buttress to the barrel
vaults above the classrooms. Each classroom
is dilated, the roof is constructed with brick
masonry on its side.The final layer of the roof
is finished with 4 centimetres of red earth and
a little (5%) cement.
For light and ventilation, we used locally
produced ceramic gargoyles.It gives the school
building it’s architectural recognition. The
porches of the veranda’s are inspired by the
particular way openings and facades are made
in several Sudanese style buildings.The floors
are also made of earth blocks but instead of the
normal 8.5 kilo bricks (90*140*290) we made
them 5 kilo to reduce the use of material and
cement. In every brick, we used 3% cement
mix to make the blocks water resistant and
termite proof.
The houses for the teachers and head master
are positioned along the road and near the
well. The basic houses are each orientated in
a different direction to obtain privacy. This
architecture is more inspired by the plasticity
of the architecture of the granaries, houses
and Ginna’s of the Dogon.
Left: Atelier of the Technical School (ETSJ) in Sévaré
26. 50 51
There are two main issues that had to
be reconciled with building modern
buildings such as schools using
traditional Dogon architecture.
Firstly, in Mali and especially in
the Dogon area, cellular buildings
with small sized spaces are the most
common type architecture and part
of the traditional building method.
Even Mosques are bigger buildings
on the exterior, but on the interior
are still divided into small spaces
with small spans.The second issue
is the position of the schools and
housing for teachers in relation to
the village. The school buildings are
a clearly different size, scale and
structure. In contrast to the Dogon
tradition which says one’s village
is one’s home, the Foundation built
outside the villages. On the one
hand this exclusion from the village
gives freedom to architecture, but
on the other hand it demands re-
establishing a connection to the
genius loci.The first school of the
foundation was built using building
methods already common for
school buildings throughout Mali,
and became very utilitarian.The
challenge in the future is to adapt
these issues and respond to them
more directly.
Inset: House Hogan Arou
27. 52 53
There will be a fenced area around the houses
with hangars for the kitchen. The school
started in October 2012 after a very rainy wet
season, which proved that the construction
without a ‘raincoat’ is sustainable. Also
the interior climate due to the use of the
compressed earth blocks is very pleasing.
The process I have described to the readers
of ArchiAfrika Magazine continues, as there
is still a lot to be learned in the future. We
hope that our buildings inspire and motivate
more and more of the upcoming builders and
architects from Dogon. Architecture is not
about revolution but about evolution.
Jurriaan van Stigt
Chair Foundation Dogon Education
Architect at LEVS architecten
Chief editor FORUM Magazine
Information
www.dogononderwijs.nl
Above: Overview of 15 years of work by the Foundation
Education Dogon Jurriaan van Stigt, “Beyond
Construction,” 2012
The book beyond construction,(plus que construire) can
be ordered through the internet book publisher www.
Pumbo.nl
Above: Traditional method mud block
Below: Ensemble of the primary school in Balaguina
Below: Detail of a saho at Bia, near Niafunké Sergio
Domain, “Architecture Soudanaise,” 1989
28. 54 55
Cairo
urbanism
tra$h becomes ca$h
Zeina Elcheikh
A group of 21 students from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Tunisia and
Germany converged in Basateen district in Cairo in the informal area
of Ezbet Al-Nasr to think about design analysis including basic urban
services, local economic development, land and shelter, governance,
and environment. An exhibition of their proposals in February 2013
selected the initiative of three students: Nahla Makhlouf (Egypt),
Sandy Qarmout (Jordan) and Zeina Elcheikh (Syria) to implement as
a means of addressing the garbage problems in the neighborhood.
29. 56 57
Garbage is almost everywhere in the area.
The huge amount of trash was causing
serious health problems, originating from
the natural degradation of organic waste or
from burning it, which is usually the only
way to get rid of it. Some of the residents
collected and sorted wastes through a
recycling micro industry, including metal,
plastic, cartoons, glass recycling. However,
there was no way of recycling organic wastes.
The people in Ezbet Al-
Nasr represent a low-income
community, and the three
students agreed upon developing
a concept that involves garbage
to solve an environmental
problem but also to provide
additional income.They came up
with the motto:“Trash Becomes
Cash”.
Contacts were made with several NGOs
and individuals interested in recycling and
environmental issues. Getting to know better
about professionals’ work in these fields in
Cairo, helped in framing the work of the
team. The students decided to introduce
biogas to the residents of Ezbet Al-Nasr.
Each biogas unit costs between 180-200$,
an amount not easily affordable by the local
community,and therefore funding was needed
to install the units. Generous support came
from an association (Al-Musbah Al-Mudii)
which offered to fund the first 5 biogas units
at no cost and to financially support interested
peopleintheareaininstallingtheirbiogasunits
in the future. Two technicians also provided
technical support, as they had installed biogas
units in their own homes a few years ago.
30. 58 59
The residents of Ezbet Al-Nasr needed to
rethink their garbage-related habits and
practices, and to consider it as an income
source to be used rather than a leftover
to be thrown away. Such a task was not
easily achieved without approaching the
local community directly through informal
meetings and discussions on the streets.While
installing the first biogas in the area, the team
arranged a session to introduce the idea to the
local residents.This session to raise awareness
about biogas was held under the theme “Let’s
not throw it, let’s make use of it.”
During the exhibition the Trash Becomes
Cash team prepared and distributed manuals
and other printed materials to spread the
idea and established a network between the
community, the funding agency and the
techniciansinvolvedinthisnewmicroindustry.
Although the team achieved satisfactory
results by introducing the residents to a
new sustainable technology, the continuity
of the project depends on the community’s
acceptance of the technology in the long run.
It can be a big step to begin reconsidering
organic waste as a resource that can help save
the residents money, rather than just garbage.
But this initiative may be a first step in the
right direction.
Informal settlements suffer from
many challenges associated with
the built environment. Bridging
academic research to real-
world practice, and technology
with socio-economic needs of
the community was the main
outcome of the intervention.
Above: Illustration of the Biodegradable process from the
organic waste to the Biogas
Left: Garbage in Ezbet Al-Nasr
Below Left: Schematic cross section in the applied
biogas unit (developped by the team based on the site
implementation)
Next Page: Installing the 1st Biogas Unit
Photos courtesy of Zeina Elcheikh
31. 60 61
The project showed that
big hopes in the informal
area can be fulfilled
through seemingly small
initiatives
32. 62 63
the real
Informal Housing, Work and The Future
A look at Accra and Lagos
By Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy
ECONOMY
Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy manages a globetrotting work and lifestyle portfolio as (1) an International
Economist and Management Consultant ; (2) a Critic , Writer and Historian of the Arts, Culture and
Creative Industries and (3) a Classical Guitarist
You may follow him on Twitter at : https://twitter.com/gnaddy
33. 64 65
Economic growth in much of Africa has
defied both expectations and the scourge
of “Afro-pessimism” that was rampant for
so long among both some Africans and the
continent’s detractors. But Africa’s economic
recent growth, impressive as it may be, has
not been accompanied by any significant job
creation and increasing population growth.
Furthermore, urbanization has not been
accompanied by industrialization that would
transform our economies. It has largely been
a phenomenon of “jobless growth.” The
rate or urbanization – the influx of people
from rural areas into towns and cities, has
been unprecedented in human history.
Several countries like Ghana have seen their
populations go from being predominantly
rural to predominantly urban, in just a single
generation.The massive urbanization has seen
the explosive growth of informal settlements
withallkindsofcatchynames–slums,ghettos,
shanty-towns. The lack of formal sector jobs
has led to the relentless growth of the informal
economy and informal jobs.The reality is that
today, most African countries have largely
informal economies with the informal sector
accounting for over 70-80% of the economy.
Much of the economic growth taking place
in Africa is actually in the informal rather
than formal sectors and this trend is likely to
continue over the foreseeable future. There
is also likely to be an unstoppable growth
in poor informal urban settlements whether
the political establishment and the relatively
affluent minority like it or not.
Just about everybody living in African cities
like Accra and Lagos is connected in some
way with the informal economy. Nearly
everybody has bought something from a street
seller. One only has to walk or drive around
Accra or Lagos for a short time to discover
that the vast majority of people work in the
informal (unregistered) economy. More and
more people are moving from the rural areas
into the towns and cities, attracted by the
prospect of work selling various goods and
services beauty salons, tailoring, street selling.
In West Africa the increasing adoption of
the ECOWAS trade liberalization protocols
involving the movement of goods and people
means that more and more of this rural-urban
migration will in fact be of a cross border
nature.
One of the biggest political and economic
tasks facing Ghana is how to recalibrate its
relationship with Nigeria over the coming
years.
This is essentially the
relationship between Accra
and Lagos anyway since
both cities account for over
60% of their national
economies. This year 2013
is in fact a pivotal year in
economictermsforthecityof
Lagos, Nigeria as a country
and West Africa.
Here are just three of the many interesting
and even surprising economic facts about
Lagos and Nigeria:
1. Lagos is projected to overtake Cairo as the
biggest city in Africa.
2. The economy of Lagos is now bigger than
that of all of Kenya.
3.The economy of Nigeria,for all its chaos and
dysfunctionality, at current rate of growth, is
projected to overtake that of South Africa as
the biggest in Africa by 2015.
4. The Greater Ibadan-Lagos-Accra (GILA)
Corridor: This 600-kilometer (373-mile)
transport and economic corridor growing
agglomeration of cities runs through four
countries—Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and
Ghana—and comprises the economic engine
of West Africa.
For most of modern history,Africa’s economic
landscape has been dominated by the North
(North Africa) and the south (mainly south
Africa) and the tropical middle was the
poorest part. In recent years, however, the
centre of gravity has been shifting - or in fact
has shifted already - to its tropical middle.
What has been taking place quietly has been
dubbed by some as the economic rise of
Tropical Africa.
Above:A child sells fried dough to other children. Badia residents were bewildered that their government had apparently
declared open season on them. “They are doing this without regard for the people who live here,” Felix Morka said of the
government-led demolitions. Image Credit: Samuel James for The New York Times.
PreviousPage:LagosSprawl.ImageCredit:KejiZiza-http://www.flickr.com/photos/76902663@N00/1463999464/
35. 68 69
The well publicized “slum clearance”and “city
decongestion” initiatives have not yielded any
measurable or long lasting success. The New
York Times in March 2013 had an interesting
feature article about the bulldozing of a
long-established informal settlement by the
authorities in Lagos and wondered whether
the city’s poor were being made to pay a heavy
price for the city’s “progress”. The article is
accessible at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/02/world/
africa/homeless-pay-the-price-of-progress-in-
lagos-nigeria.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
There is a need for debate on what to do about
slums or,to use the more polite term,informal
settlements. In Africa given the current rates
of urbanisation and population growth which
are unprecedented in human history, slums
are a necessary process of urbanisation. It is
estimated by economists that more than half
the world’s people now live in “slum” areas of
cities and work in the informal economy.
There is a need for debate
on what to do about slums
or , to use the more polite
term, informal settlements,
in Africa given the current
rates of urbanisation and
population growth which
are unprecedented in
human history anywhere in
this world. Slums always
accompany the process
of urbanisation. It is
generally estimated by many
economists that more than
half the world’s people now
live in “slum” areas of cities
and work in the informal
economy.
Above: London Victorian slum - Kensington. Image Credit: Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy
36. 70 71
In Africa these issues are compounded by
the fact that, almost uniquely in economic
history, we have been witnessing urbanisation
on an unprecedented scale without much
industrialisation. This is the main reason for
the economic dominance of the informal
sector in most of urban modern Africa. A
largely informal economy necessarily goes
hand in hand with a largely informal housing
infrastructure.
What is happening in Lagos is happening all
over Africa including South Africa and our
own Ghana. Ever heard of Accra’s Sodom
and Gomorrah and the City Mayor’s almost
weekly attempts to get street traders out of
the city centre? The trouble though is that
slums and slum dwellers never go away. The
politicians and town planners- or village idiots
as some cynically call them- often seem to get
it wrong. They thought they would escape
Lagos by building Abuja in the 1970s and
now Abuja itself is becoming or has become a
majority slum city!
MostofAccraandKumasi,ourtwomainurban
centres, are mostly slums. Even the pockets
of affluence we have are under relentless
pressure from the surrounding slums.If not in
terms of people then certainly in terms of the
now almost permanent water and electricity
crises which are a direct result of the explosive
growth in the city’s population from around
200,000 at independence to over 4 million
today - in just over 50 years.
Much of nineteenth century London was
made up of slums, as anyone who ever read
Charles Dickens would imagine or know.
It was the same with New York and other
American cities. Many Indian cities like
Mumbai and Calcutta are mostly slums,
depending on how one defines a slum and the
numbers and living conditions of the people
living there.
In London for instance the great 19th century
slum clearances like what we are seeing in
Lagos, never really solved the problem. The
slums and slum dwellers just shifted to other
geographical areas like St Giles, and newer
slum areas like Bermondsey, Brixton and
others. In fact the poorer parts of London
today very much have their roots and origins
in the Dickensian slums of the Victorian era.
The political and intellectual lexicon may have
changed with the times, as has the economy
and the provision of social housing, but the
underlying socio-economic dynamics are still
there. There is still a constant debate about
issues like urban regelation,poverty and social
deprivation in places like the East End of
London, Tower Hamlets, Brixton, Peckham
and others. Immigration from non-European
parts of the world since the end of the second
World War have added issues of race and
ethnicity into the equation, but basically the
issues are about human beings trying to make
a living in an urban environment with a highly
unequal access to economic and political
power.
Above: London Victorian slum children. Image Credit: Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy Image Credit: Sean Blaschke
38. 74 75
tell a story
20th Century Architecture in Kenya
By Janfrans van der Eerden
MSc Arch Architect MAAK
BuiLDINGS
Inset: Office building in Thika in a “New Expressionism”
style that reminds us of designs by the Spanish architect
Ricardo Bofill, roughly 2000.
Photographs by Janfrans van der Eerden
39. 76 77
About the Author
Janfrans van der Eerden is an architect from the
Netherlands who has worked for three years in
Kenya, both as a building engineer (in Kisumu),
and an architect (in Lamu). While working
in Lamu, he contributed to the renovation
and protection of the town, which is at present
an acknowledged UNESCO-world heritage
site. Since then he has worked many years in
architects’ offices and now has his own practice
in Amsterdam. In addition, he is a lecturer
in architecture and building technology at the
University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam.He
is a registered architect in Kenya and is affiliated
with African Architecture Matters.
He makes an annual visit to Kenya and works
in collaboration with the National Museum of
Kenyatowardsaprofessionalpolicyonmonument
protectionandtransformation.Healsomaintains
contacts with universities in Kenya in the field of
architectural education. In the years 2007-2011,
he has travelled extensively within the country
and the result of that trip is a focus on Kenya’s
valuable tangible heritage and the need to protect
and integrate it.
Heritage under Siege
Now, in the 21st century, Kenya has a
rapidly expanding economy resulting in a
commensurate boom in the construction
industry.A lot of new buildings are constantly
being erected and even more are needed.
Every few months new images are added to
the public appearance of the city of Nairobi,
and there is a corresponding occurrence in
places like Nakuru, Kisumu and numerous
other cities and towns as well. As plot prices
go up in the centre of towns, the pressure to
redevelop plots with vintage buildings piles
up. Old buildings invariably become soft
targets and demolitions are now going on
at the very places where the only remaining
history of these towns is still visible.
In other parts of the country, even though the
economic development is less, technological
ill-adjustment in terms of service delivery,
undermines the usability of old buildings,
causing them to be either abandoned or left
in a state of great disrepair.
Why Conserve?
To the keen eye, all these buildings are fluent
witnesses of the history, right from the arrival
of the railway to present day. For posterity’s
sake, a selection should be saved for our
children to learn about the history of Kenya’s
entry into the global world. The buildings
with time grow from mere edifices into
valuable representatives that explain what
Kenya is today. And we are not just talking of
buildings, factories and churches.
Cultural landscapes, including large farms
and plantations, public parks and lanes, and
civil engineering works such as bridges and
roads carry with them the ‘placeness’ story of
cultivation and adaptation to human existence
of an era. When destroyed, you remove the
heart and soul that imbues the identity of that
region.
Kenya hosted the oldest of human ancestors. However - unlike
Zimbabwe, Ghana or Ethiopia – it has not been singled out as a country
with the history of an elaborate civilization predating colonization.
Notwithstanding this,there is a lot of tangible heritage of a high quality.
Most of this has been well defined and protected, like the remains of
the Swahili civilization along the coast with international UNESCO
recognition in areas such as Lamu, Malindi and Gedi. Unfortunately,
more recent creations of the twentieth century are often forgotten, even
though that century left behind a remarkable set of artefacts.
40. 78 79
My Vista
Let us look at the conservation of town
planning, landscaping and architecture from
1895 onwards. The year 1895 is not chosen
arbitrarily. Being the year the East African
Protectorate was founded, it becomes the
year before which all tangible artefacts are
automatically protected according to the
National Museums and Heritage Act of
Kenya (2006).
Since my first encounter with Kenya in 1978
I have been impressed by the surprisingly
high quality of architecture. During my
annual trips to Kenya since 2007 I have
photographed buildings with a great passion.
A lecture called “Built Beauty” was written as
an account of this interaction and delivered
to a professional audience in Kenya in 2012.
Many were surprised by the presented
buildings and cultural landscapes.
Largelyinspiredbyavarietyofimportedstyles,
modern and recent constructions also make
a striking impression with their individual
style. Slowly, however, at the present moment
buildings and structures from the first half of
the 20th century are disappearing. This was
the epoch in which Kenya was suddenly - and
with force - pushed into the modern world
and became a part of a global community. In
fact, lots of new structures remind us of this
fascinating (and often frustrating) period.
However, since Kenya is a relatively young
nation, much attention has gone to other
prioritiesratherthantoresearchanddocument
the built past. The enormous increase in
both population and economic growth are
determining the course of development.
Concerned individuals see that this tendency
of uncoordinated demolitions also destroys
the sources from which contemporary
architecture has consistently been drawn.
41. 80 81
Resistance to this pattern of
destruction is in its infancy
but is steadily growing. For
example, small initiatives
have been launched by
individuals or groups with
concerns being raised in the
media.
At a time when Kenya has
been an independent nation
for 50 years, I think the
time is ripe to develop tools
to protect what inspires
us and thus to make use of
what already exists, create
a design continuum and
provide the possibility for
the past with to tell us its
story.
Previous Page: Shops with upper floor dwellings in
Nakuru in an elaborate Art Deco style, roughly 1930,
demolished in 2011.
Right: Hotel building in Thika, possibly designed by
GeorgVamos,in the style of the International Modernism,
roughly 1975.
Photographs by Janfrans van der Eerden
42. 82 83
Conclusion
The available built heritage in Kenya
contains examples that represent all periods
of the global architectural and engineering
development from half the nineteenth century
and onwards. They are therefore a source of
inspiration for all generations of Kenyans,
including architects, landscapers and town
planners. Nobody needs to go overseas to see
the wide achievements which are alive around
us!
This article initially was written for the
magazine of the Architectural Association of
Kenya. By the lecture “Built Beauty” and this
article I hope to make the audience aware of
the quality of the built heritage and inspire an
affinity towards its protection and integration.
With a clear and active policy, we can
showcase such buildings to the public. And
by involving the many stakeholders we can
create a new form of architectural activism in
the region. Alongside this article a selection
of four Kenyan building examples is made to
illustrate the quality in various styles.
Before a policy and understanding of these
issues is successful, guidelines and a scrutiny
is required to recognise quality. May I invite
any professional in Africa to look around
with your experienced eye and see the beauty
surroundingus.Whowantstohelpdeveloping
the recognition of the past among one’s peer
group as well as the general audience?
Left: Restaurant and bar near Njoro in a romantic rural
European style, roughly 1935, now abandoned.
Photographs by Janfrans van der Eerden
43. 84 85
preserving
aCCRA’Sarchitectural heritage
This event featured the Children’s Library as a backdrop to initiate the
dialogue on the need for preservation, restoration and not erasure. This
important iconic building is a powerful symbol of Ghana’s modernist
contextual tradition. However due to neglect, the building is in desperate
need of restoration.
Hosting the event at the Children’s Library initiated much needed
discourse on why and how we can build on our past as we look to the
future in all aspect of our lives. The panelists included Nat Amarteifio
(Architectural historian, Write & former Mayor of Accra), Senam
Okudzeto (Artist, Writer & Scholar) and Osei Agyeman (Former
President of the Ghana Institute of Architects). The discussion was
moderated by Joe Osae-Addo
The event has brought to light the need for heritage policies, as currently
there is a wholesale destruction of historical buildings. The discussion
involved how people can be encouraged to identify heritage buildings
(outside of the typical forts and castles) and adopt policies to protect them.
In light of this discussion on the city and its history, the event will also
marked the opening of an exhibition featuring the photographs of the city
taken by school children from 10 different areas of Accra. This exhibition
provided the perfect backdrop for what proved to be an interesting
discussion about the city, its history, heritage, preservation and restoration.
44. 86 87
Osei Agyeman
“Architecture is part of the beginnings of
civilization, when man sought to have a
home. Having come this far, it is obvious that
architecture is an expression of the people’s
identity and culture. So as a nation, if you
take us back to the 1950s you will realize that
the icons of our development were closely
related to architecture. They translated into
what our visions were as a nation. Take the
black star square, children’s library, national
museum, coco board building, etc. All these
buildings represented various aspects of our
vision; as far as education, as far as finance,
as far as government and they serve to be of
some purpose.
Somehow between the 70’s and early
80’s onwards, we seem to be lost as far as
architecture as the medium of translating
national heritage. And forgive me to say this
but those footprints that you probably see in
the national theatre, in the conference center,
in the jubilee flagstaff house and the most
recent foreign affairs building are done by the
Chinese or the Indians. So you need to ask
yourself using architecture as a medium to
transform nations,where are we.Once you use
once, you use it throughout. And that is why
we seem to have some amount of discourse
in respect of the arts, in respect of fashion,
in respect of food. You see architecture is
the about the best medium to really aid
civilization, because the only functional icon
that survives beyond time.”
Previous Page : Central Library, Accra
Left: Electricity Department Headquarters
Above: The headquarters of the Industrial Development
Corporation (left) and beyond it the newly opened Co-
operative Bank in Accra, 1957
Images Courtesy of the UK National Archives
45. 88 89
Senam Okudzeto
“For the past several years Uncle Nat has been
organizing these wonderful heritage tours of
Accra, and we had architecture students from
all over the world.
Wedothesewonderfultourswhereweactually
take people into Jamestown and actually give
them a sense of how the city built and the
various cultures that informed the capital
as well as then expanding onto the more
modernistbuildings.Whatisreallyremarkable
is that Ghana’s architecture is becoming
more of a focus for architecture students
internationally. Foreign architecture students
know more about Ghanaian architecture than
Ghanaian students themselves; we don’t want
this to happen.
I love the idea of having an action committee
and actually trying to find practical solutions
that suit these spaces. I love the idea of
renovating this space and using it publicly,
it won’t take much. One of the things that
have been driving me mad is looking at this
floor. I live half the year in Switzerland and
people pay money for old floors. They pay a
hundred times the price of new floor, for old
seasoned hard wood like this. I mean it is like
sitting in a gold mine that no one can see and
constantly when visitors come from abroad,
we have the Tate come and they ask me to
organize these tours with Uncle Nat because
they have heard about his heritage tours. We
have this reputation through people like Nat
and Joe Osae-Addo internationally of really
caring about our heritage and architecture
but it is very frustrating because we aren’t
responding fast enough. And thank God the
buildings that students want to see are still
standing. The reason they are still standing is
because often people don’t have the money to
tear them down and that is really a tragedy.
All these buildings are in a state of disrepair,
but you can tell the sort of love that the
architectureandthedesigntheyhavemanaged
to take. These stunning photographs which
kind of manage to capture the elegance of the
form and give you a sense of the beauty that
informs it and somehow the photographs are
a form of renovation in themselves.
We don’t have much work to
do in order to preserve these
buildings. Architecture
responds to a reflection of
our history and our state of
being, and really, we have
to address this malaise. It is
also a form of an ideological
renaissance which is
desperately needed.”
Left (Above): Accra Town and Christiansborg
Left (Below): Central Library, Accra
Images Courtesy of the UK National Archives
46. 90 91
in conversation with
By Zaheer Allam & J. Soopramanien
Prof. Nikos
Salingaros
Emerging countries and emerging
economieshavetheopportunitiestoanalyse
the pros and cons of developed states such
as Europe and the USA. According to your
experience, would coal be the right choice
for a developing economy in relation with
the energy sector?
NS. No. Coal is a short-term solution with a
large number of inherent problems. We have
the example of China, which has severely
damaged herself by basing its economic and
industrial base on coal-generated energy. Not
only is the air now unbreathable, but also the
model itself is wrong in a geopolitical sense.
China’s economy has been aligned to consume,
and there is not enough energy in the Earth to
sustain that. The energy generated from coal
is spent in producing unsustainable urban
construction, high rises and glass skyscrapers,
a gasoline-guzzling vehicular economy, and
the destruction of a millennial sustainable
way of life. Tragically, the newly-generated
energy has been used to destroy what was a
perfectly sustainable low-energy civilization.
Of course, both politicians and powerful
commercial interests have driven this change,
and many individuals have made personal
fortunes out of it. Well-meaning politicians
have realized their goal of catching up with
the West: but the West was on the wrong road
to begin with.Catching up means making the
same disastrous mistakes.
Prof. Nikos Salingaros is a professor of Mathematics, Physics and Architecture at the University of
Texas San Antonio and is ranked 11th among the “Top 100 Urban Thinkers of all times” and ranked
among the“50 visionaries that are changing your world”.This highly eminent personality has graciously
agreed to share his views on the Mauritian energy model in order to achieve a truly sustainable system.
47. 92 93
Renewable energy is the trend but yet so
expensiveinpractice.Howcanweexpecta
coal and oil free energy sector for emerging
economies if implementing renewable
assets are unaffordable?
NS. Perhaps you are looking at the wrong
perspective, which gives a skewed balance for
the costs.If you continue to conceive of energy
as centrally-controlled, and requiring massive
capital investment, then yes, alternative
sources are too expensive today. But I’m
recommending instead local alternative
energy sources that can be implemented using
a peer-to-peer model.
The capital outlays are significantly less. More
important, the technology is not dependent
upon any monopoly and foreign control of
know-how and materials.
So, please be extremely cautious with top-
down solutions, whether they are for coal
generation or renewable energy sources, and
instead dig deeper in the self-help category of
energy innovations. Those are to be found if
one looks for them.
Time is going by and the population
of the world is on a swift increasing
trend. What is your analysis on the pace
of implementing the renewable energy
sector? Are we lagging behind?
NS.Those parts of the world whose population
outgrows resources are in for serious problems.
I’m hoping that increased education will level
off population growth, as we have seen in
many parts of the world. Now the renewable
energy sector is progressing slowly, partly due
to inertia of the current energy industry to
innovate, and a misunderstanding of what
energy is for. We know of energy companies
sabotaging new sources of energy because
those compete with what they are now selling.
An even greater problem is that the present-
day energy sector demands centralized
control,and is fighting against any innovation
that promises to produce energy with local
resources that go around centralized control.
Yet this is precisely where the sustainable
solution for humanity lies. Keeping the same
top-down control of energy and merely
substituting giant centralized solar power
plants for coal-burning plants will make only
a marginal improvement, but will not change
the real source of the problem in the long
term.
Electricity being now a basic necessity for
the modern world, will renewable energy
beabletomeetupwiththedemandaround
the globe?
NS. I hope so, although I cannot guarantee
it. There will of course have to be a transition
period where all sorts of different energy
sources will coexist for a while. What should
not be done is to take a unilateral decision
on energy sources straight away, and invest
vast amounts into one single source. Or to
commit a country to a single technology, in
case something much better comes along in
a few years. The energy sector must maintain
adaptability, variability, and flexibility on the
shortest possible turnaround cycle. This is of
course the opposite of efficiency. Efficiency
in energy production requires streamlining,
hence introduces an inherent instability and
lack of resilience to unexpected change. All of
usexpectmajorchangesintheenergyequation,
sooner or later, so it’s essential to build in
resilience into the system and sacrifice short-
term efficiency. Here, we can learn from other
disciplines such as the constant innovation
of the computer industry (although there
are negative lessons of outdated standards
and giant corporations blocking progress for
years).
Will the world be ready in the next five
decades for petrol-free economies and our
economic activity at large?
NS. I doubt it. And this will probably mark
the beginning of the long catastrophe. But at
least forward-looking countries can minimize
the future damage to their economies and
population by preparing now for a range of
distinct eventualities. Nothing is certain,
so we have to plan for alternatives, and be
extremely flexible. Small countries that are
taking energy decisions today can jump
ahead of those countries that have invested
in antiquated technologies but are now stuck
with them.
48. 94 95
Do you share the popular view that coal
ash is more radioactive than nuclear
waste?
NS. Being a scientist, I would defer comment
on this question to other experts. I have not
researchedit,soIhavenoopinion.Itishowever
very easy to measure the radioactivity of coal
ash to either verify or dispute this claim.
You are for Biourbanism. Please explain
what is this term.
NS. Biourbanism uses human physiological
and psychological responses to design the built
environment.Everything we build must make
us healthy and not damage our physiology.
The earth’s biosystem has priorities for
biological life; our activities (which include
all our construction, energy generation, and
use) should respect human sensibilities as
long as those don’t damage the ecosystem;
and only lastly prioritize our technology and
its physical manifestations. During the past
several decades, those priorities have been
reversed to promote industrial consumption
instead of biourbanism. A living city should
allow the maximum number of people to lead
healthy lives. The image and geometry of this
healthy city designed by my friends is very
traditional, and it definitely does not consist
of glass skyscrapers amid superhighways:
that is an unsustainable model that leads
directly to ecological and societal disaster. A
sustainable society builds innovation out of
its own heritage and traditions, local evolved
solutions and practices, etc. It does not throw
away everything to replace it with an external
model just because other countries are doing
this.
You support a sustainable future. How
does a coal-powered plant fit in a small
island like Mauritius?
NS. It doesn’t fit at all. Mauritius is a tourist
destination and you don’t want to ruin that
industry by generating smoke like we see
today in Chinese cities. Sure, you can clean
the smoke by using technology, but that isn’t
cheap, and then you become dependent upon
imported high technology. Neither is coal
energy sustainable. Where do you mine it?
How expensive is transport to the island? Do
you have guaranteed sources at an affordable
price for the next several decades? Suppose
China doesn’t have enough coal for its own
power plants… can you compete on price
with China? Will your source sell coal to you
or to China? Questions that are embarrassing,
because they reveal an underlying uncertainty
and fundamental unsustainability. The
militarily powerful countries can afford to
support this extremely expensive city model,
but it damages the lives of ordinary human
beings.Developing countries cannot maintain
it, simply because the stronger countries will
grab the fossil energy sources when those
eventually become scarce. Note that the
scarcity will be determined by political and
military might, and will occur not as the fossil
fuel runs out,but when it seems certain that it
will.Weak countries will be thrown out of the
game altogether. Here is a chance for a small
country to be more advanced than larger ones,
by re-defining what “modernity” really means
within the context of sustainability, and not
tied to catastrophic consumerism.
Previous Page: Image Courtesy of Prof. Ron Eglash
50. 98 99
Theme 2 : Housing Cultures
Above: Opera Village, Laongo, Burkina Faso Photo: Kéré Architecture
Theme 3 : African Cities and Mass Housing
Above:Nairobi showing Kenyatta International
Conference Centre, Times Tower and Nairobi
City Hall Photo: Wikipedia
Since the emergence of Timbuktu,Benin,and
Zimbabwe and other urban centres in Africa,
the notion of population hubs in Africa
where trade, education or pilgrimage have
taken place has been embedded history. More
recently Africa is on course to have at least
three cities with populations in excess of 10
million before the end of the current decade.
Compounded with this are the socio-political
forces which have rendered urban areas as
either survivors of war, religious ‘cleansing’,
‘famine’ or conversely intense economic
activity.
From the Harlem Renaissance to the Black
Arts Movement, and across the Atlantic to
the Osogbo Movement,the Mbari Group and
FESTAC’77, black culture has a history of
celebrating its collaborative interdisciplinary
art. Today’s contribution to this tradition
is magnified and expanded by the ease of
intercontinental connections, which has seen
a more fluid movement of art, and artists
across the Atlantic and other geographic
and continental divides. This thematic forum
explores what this movement has meant in
the new reconstruction and reconstitution of
urban culture across Africa and in its Diaspora.
It is also charged to debate and explore the
sources of today’s artistic movements as
filtered through the productions of previous
decades.
Left: Poster of the documentary, Soul to Soul.
Photo: Wikipedia
Conference
announcement
The Lagos Dialogues 2013 will take place at the Golden Tulip Hotel Lagos, from 5th – 8th December
2013.We invite you to attend this ground breaking international conference and dialogue on buildings,
culture, and the built environment in Africa. Hosted by the organisation ArchiAfrika, based in Ghana,
with support from organisations and institutions throughout Africa, and across the world. Its main
aim is to provide a venue and forum for discussion, debate and academic discourse on emerging themes
related to the African City and the built environment on the continent.
The event is unique in gathering together both scholars and creative people from Africa to provide
a forum to share and debate their ideas on the key themes which are shaping Africa’s buildings and
urban environment, through a number of cultural and social lenses, including literature, art, and the
traditional built environment disciplines.
There are five thematic areas that will be covered:
Theme 1 :The African Diaspora - Culture and the Inter-disciplinary Arts.
Shedding the outdated definitions of
culture and imagining new rubrics beyond
the established Western paradigms of the
Museum, Theatre or Opera House in which
‘culture’ has traditionally been housed and
viewed. What are the new definitions of the
culture house? This theme will deal with the
exploration of specific 21st Century African
typologies of performance, exhibition and
entertainment culture, which demand a re-
think of the dated paradigms.
51. 100 101
Theme 4 :The physical and virtual worlds of Africa:
Above: A public gathering in the Konso village of Gaho. The unique governance and community
structures of the Konso Cultural Landscape were recognized by UNESCO. Photo: Yonas Beyene
Howdowenowliveworkandplayinourcities?
How do we engage with the urban,sub-urban
and peri-urban. Can we successfully use these
models of cityscape within the informalities
and different ordering that characterizes most
African cities. What defines and projects city
culture today? What distinctiveness does
Dakar have from Johannesburg? Or Cairo
from Nairobi?
This theme invites its participants to explore
the African from various perspectives; the
cultural-whatisandwhatdrivescontemporary
city culture in Africa, the economic - how can
our cities compete economically with the rest
of the global world through different flows,
economic, technological and so on. Also,
importantly how do we construct and build
our cities to project their uniqueness and
also signify their participation in global city
discourses.
Sub Theme:The Mass Housing
This sub-theme encourages participants
to engage with the ever current discourses
related to debates on how we ‘do’ housing in
the 20th century. Particularly in the ‘South’,
where statistics suggest the majority of our
city residents live in ‘slum’ conditions. What
constitutes adequate mass housing and what
specificities define its delivery in African
cities. Where does the discourse end and the
practice begin. What are the real economic
costs of delivering mass accessible housing
to the masses, what financing, materials and
technologies do we have to have to do this.
Literary space, Filmic space, Mass Media and
Public Space
Africa has rarely been away from the media
- from the damning Casement Report on
‘goings on’ in the Belgian Congo, to the early
filming of the African jungle in ‘Tarzan,’ to
its portrayal as the hungry continent of war
and famine. Recently the exoticification of
Africa has continued at pace, from the East
African Safari tourism to our 21st century
preoccupation with slum and aid tourism.
What is Africa? Do we view it as a place
as a concept and most importantly as a
commodification in today’s media? What
and how are today’s African spaces inhabited,
and who mediates its presentation and
objectification in the global arena? Arguably
our built environment plays a crucial role in
this process as the film District 9 blockbuster
based in JHB, with Nigerians portrayed as
criminals, used the Johannesburg streets to
portrayadeptly.Inliterature,Achebe,Ekwensi,
Abrahams and others have all written with
more care and narration about the city - as a
backdrop to their seminal novels.How can our
newly found and appreciated urban cultures
and backdrops work more successfully in
redefining or critically re-interpreting the
African city?
How is freedom defined in spatial terms?
Literary terms? Filmic terms? Have there
been any historical shifts? How is public
space defined? Spaces of gathering, debate,
discussion, participation, spectacle, action,
domain of common concern, sites of
inclusivity and exclusivity. How is public
space transformed, how it is defined?
Sub-theme: Africa in Print
Of all the mediums, print remains the most
enduring and ubiquitous format, of media
engagement and portrayal of Africa only
recently being challenged in position by the
Internet. The historic print media on Africa,
from the Red Book of West Africa, through
to the Drum, Lagos Weekend, to more
contemporary publications such as Glendora,
the Weekly Mail and Guardian in the mass
media, to the special interest publications
such as Building Lagos.More recently we find
collections on Africa such as the Documenta
Platform 9 collection,Sandbank City Africans
and their afficionadoes have been publishing
on and in Africa for decades.
How does this manifest itself in our
understanding of our urban identity and our
interpretation of urban life today? What will
the future of print media in Africa specifically
be as we all retreat to our digital devices?
What will this mean to the city and how will
it adapt? This forum is a cross over between
the main forum’s focus on all forms of media
and the final forum’s sub theme on new forms
of technology in Africa.
Sponsored By:
52. 102 103
Call
for papers & proposals
We invite you to send in 300-word abstract proposals for academic papers related to these thematic
areas. The African Perspectives Scientific Committee will review all abstracts before selecting papers
to be presented at the conference. Also invited are proposals for projects, cultural interventions, and
other presentation media, associated with these themes, these will also be reviewed before selection.
We particularly invite graduate student proposals on themes of interest, which will help us develop a
student workshop, which will run in parallel to the event.
We expect all proposals to be submitted digitally, by email. For presentation and performance proposals,
please send a description of your proposal, with images where available that can be photographed or
recorded, digitally so they can be sent online. Emails should only be sent to the address given below. A
website for upload of material is being created which will be linked to the email.
Your proposal must be received online by the deadline date 15 June 2013. You will be informed by 15
July 2013,whether we have accepted your proposal.If your proposal is accepted,you will then be asked to
revise this according to the guidelines set out by the reviewers and in the given conference format. If you
intend to go ahead with a full presentation, we expect you to send the conference office confirmation that
you intend to produce a full submission, to the conference on or before 15 August 2013.This confirmation
should include your revised abstract or proposal, taking into account the scientific reviewers comments.
Drafts of papers, artwork, videos and ‘works in progress’ of conference material, should be sent in for
final review on or before 15 September 2013. Only work that has been reviewed at this stage will be
eligible for final submission.
All final conference submissions; papers, artwork, etc, must take place by 5 November 2013. Please note
that work that has not been reviewed in September cannot be submitted in November.
The Lagos 2013 Conference programme will be published prior to the conference, and include abstract
information about all selected submissions; academic papers, artwork etc. After the conference the
scientific committee intends to select the best papers presented to produce an academic online publication.
Above: The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa designed by Peter Rich Architects.
Photo : Iwan Baan
Since the 1992 Rio Protocol, Africans and
others in the world have had to come to terms
with the high cost of energy and the need to
source and develop reliable and inexpensive
methods of generating energy. For urban
life, this also has meant exploring alternative
cooking fuels and building materials that are
locallysourced,lesspolluting,andmeetwiththe
expected contemporary efficiency standards,
to meet with international sustainability
standards. Also with the introduction of new
communication technologies, such as “BIM”
in the contract process, as well as internet
telephony etc, African cities and their built
environment can be connected with the world.
This thematic panel explores and engages
in debate about what ‘going green’ and new
associated technologies will mean for the built
environment in 21st century African cities.
Are new renewable energy technologies cost
effectiveforpowergenerationforurbanAfrica?
Are the sustainable ‘low-tech’ materials fit
for purpose in contemporary buildings, what
non fixed-line, communications technologies
are most effective for file-sharing as well as
communications? In the particular case of
Nigeria, Angola and other petro-economies,
what happens when the fuel runs dry?
Theme 5 :The Green Imperative & New Technologies for Urban Africa
53. 104 105
Submission Requirements
Please send your proposal (300 words maximum in length) in ‘rtf ’ or ‘doc’ format indicating:
- Title of proposal/abstract
- your name
- your institution
- address
- phone number
- email address
Unfortunately there are no funds available through the organization of African Perspectives 2013
to support any entry. However should your proposal be successfully reviewed we would be happy to
provide letters of support to agencies you may ask to support the funding of your trip.
Registration & Costs
You will be informed when registration begins for the conference. Suggestions will be offered for
accommodation arrangements and logistics. Participation fees are as follows:
Regular fee: $400
International delegates fee: $600
Early bird fee (before 1 August 2013): $300
International early bird fee: $600
Students Fee: $100
International Students Fee: $150
Presenters Fee: $200
International Presenters Fee: $400
Day Fee: $200 per day
International Day Fee: $300 per day
Payment details will follow, but can take place online or by bank transfer?
Important Dates
15.06.2013 Deadline for submission of all proposals
15.07.2013 Deadline for information of selected proposals by scientific committee and/or review
requirements.
15.08.2013 Deadline for resubmission formatted and revised proposals and confirmation of intention
to submit full proposal
15.09.2013 Deadline for submission of full draft proposals
15.10.2013 Deadline for review of all submissions by scientific committee
05.11.2013 Deadline for submission of final submissions
25.11.2013 Publication of abstracts of all submissions on the website
05.12.2013 Start of African Perspectives 2013
Scientific Committee
Chaired by Dr Ola Uduku (University of Edinburgh) and Joe Osae-Addo (ArchiAfrika)
Theme 1 - African Diaspora Culture and Interdisciplinary Arts
Anna Abengowe, Mabel Smith
Theme 2 - Housing Cultures
Hannah Le Roux, Cordelia Osasanya
Theme 3 - African Cities and Mass housing
Karel Bakker, Moumen, Jean Tall, Laurence Esho, Paul Jenkins
Theme 4 - Physical and Virtual Worlds of Africa (including print and film)
Ola + PhD student, Okey Nduka
Theme 5- Green Imperative
Ola Uduku , Mark Olweny
Student Organiser/reviewer
Thomas Aquilina
Art and Media Proposals
Berend
All Submissions to be addressed to:
Dahlia Roberts
dahlia@aaaccra.org (please use email in the first instance)
Tel +233 (0) 301522248
Cell+233 (0) 544322266
African Perspectives Lagos Dialogues 2013 Conference Office & Information
ArchiAfrika Accra
A&C Square, Store #M31
Jungle Road, East Legon, Accra Ghana
We look forward to seeing you in Lagos this December!
54. CONTENTS
Contributors
Hugh Masakela
Nat Nuno-Amarteifio
Thomas Aquilina
Jurriaan van Stigt
Zeina Elcheikh
Gilbert Nii-Okai Addy
Janfrans van der Eerden
Zaheer Allam
J. Soopramanien
Joe Osae-Addo
Editor
Tuuli Saarela
Dahlia Roberts
Art Director & Design
Constructs r+d
Joe Osae-Addo
Pallavi Kumar
Dahlia Roberts
Translation
Fabrice Aboussa
