Traditional/Vernacular Architecture tour for a school assignment was an interesting time.
In my group, we went to this village in Imo state.
Peaceful and quiet and we saw this building.
My first encounter with real-life, one-storey, mud house.
I was too scared to go in.
It had not been in use for a while.
What if it caves in under our weight?
I peacefully took the building pictures without the need to tempt the gods.
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In helping with building sustainability and minimizing climate crisis, we need to go back to using our local building materials.
Clay is accessible and creates a better indoor climate for our interiors.
A research institute was conducting tests on clay bricks somewhere in Awka and it was abandoned. Probably due to funds but I can as well assume that other reasons would hover around disinterest in using local materials.
Timber is within reach. I saw the neatly made rafia bed floor.
We don’t expect a complete overhaul back to local materials but start with the walls. Instead of floor tiles for finishes, use timber or rafia mats.
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You’re probably thinking that this girl is going nuts, talking about us going back to what our fathers abandoned to embrace the kerosene lantern, but have you seen what the modern whites are doing with our local products in their homes?
They use the rafia mat as rug and they are celebrating it like its gold. The way they write about it on CNN, if I wasn’t in Africa, I would be more than thrilled.
Their terrace swing chairs are made of rafia materials imported from where?
You tell me.
The challenge is will you be open to me designing such for you.
Your tourist architect.
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