Archinect - News

In Lagos the poorest are paying the price of progress

2013-03-05T14:00:00-05:00

The Lagos state commissioner for housing, Adedeji Olatubosun Jeje, provided a different version of events. “It’s a regeneration of a slum,” he said. “We gave enough notification. The government intends to develop 1,008 housing units. What we removed was just shanties.

Adam Nossiter covers recent slum clearance efforts led by the governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola. As Lagos aims to become a premier business center, the city’s poor and homeless are becoming the government’s enemy. Last week, parts of Badia East (with perhaps 10,000 residents) were demolished while last summer the floating neighborhood of Makoko (which was home to perhaps 30,000). In total activists estimate upwards of a million people have been forcibly ejected from their homes over the last 15 years.

"Beyond Entropy Angola" Documentary

2013-02-27T18:40:00-05:00

Documentary of the making of the first Angolan National Pavilion at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale. Shot over the Summer of 2012, it goes to show how one simple (and brilliant) idea may very well change the future sustainability of developing countries. And maybe the rest of the world as well.

Assembly Hall for the 2014 Summit of the African Union by WORKac

2012-11-07T21:01:00-05:00

The proposal "L'Assemblée Radieuse" by NYC's WORK Architecture Company has recently been named winner in the international competition to design a new Assembly Hall in Libreville, Gabon for the 2014 Summit of the African Union.

Regional Holcim Awards 2011 for Africa Middle East

2011-10-14T14:34:04-04:00

In the last few days, we've published the winners of the Regional Holcim Awards 2011 for Latin America, as well as Europe. Here are now also the winning projects of the competition for sustainable construction projects and visions from Africa Middle East which had been announced recently at a ceremony in Casablanca, Morocco.

Kenya loses Sh1.4 billion ($15.5m) on collapsed buildings

2011-07-26T19:12:43-04:00

Chairman Gideon Mulyungi said 24 buildings have collapsed in the country since 1996. “Forty-one lives have been lost and 47 people injured over the same period,” Mr Mulyungi said in an interview.

UT architecture students design school in Africa

2011-06-15T15:08:48-04:00

In a collaborative effort, the University’s School of Architecture and the nonprofit organization Africa’s Promise Village are working together to build a school for the Maasai people in the Serengeti plains of Tanzania. After a trip to East Africa in September, Donna Gunn, executive director of the nonprofit, said she was moved by the plight of the many children who live in poverty.