Recession Architecture: Proposed Lagos Car Park and Event Centre

 

There is no better discipline equipped for responding to these essential changes than 21^st century architecture, and this unique opportunity allows us to delve deep into our local nuances and mythologies, to come up with not only novel narrative themes for formal compositions and responses.

But also allows us to look at construction materials and methodologies differently: imported steel costs more in prohibitively very expensive dollar costs, hence for the first time in a long while it may be cheaper to consider doing a lot more in a hitherto more expensive material, reinforced concrete. This may start to also herald the research into non-biodegradable bamboos for the reinforcing of the concrete.

And also start to suggest other various ways of binding and curing using plastic resins and other chemically derived agents to solve our diverse architectural and accommodation questions.

In the scheme presented here, an ultra-modern form is used in the design of a public car park and event centre for a tight urbane central Lagos site. The regional theme is reinforced by not only the normal airflow and window/ wall protection overhangs, but also the introduction of African traditional motifs as a unifying architectural theme around the creation. The event centre boasts a floating roof also construed as a self-supporting concrete shell, providing shade and an outdoor enclosure for the large event centre terrace. This contemporary architectural thinking can be carried across to more situations and scenarios where indigenous responses need to be delivered, unapologetically and without compromise, to solidify our base as a self-sufficient, self-sustaining 21^st century nation state.