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African Architecture and Design

April 26, 2008
8:53
Lagos Energy City
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

Lagos Energy City is a 763 hectare project that will enhance the role of Nigeria and West Africa to be a leading player in the energy industry specifically in the oil and gas markets. Positioned to be the regions first integrated hub, it will be divided into 2 zones, zone 1 is aimed to be the regions leading convention and tourist destination; zone 2 or the Energy City Zone will provide a world class business and residential environment that will cater to the entire energy industry and all companies in its value chain. Strategically located in Badagry Town of Lagos it is in close proximity with the entire ECOWAS market.

Photos courtesy of Lagos Energy City website.
April 19, 2008
20:25
Pinconsult Associates Ltd
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

According to their websitePINCONSULT ASSOCIATES "..was established in 1985 to provide highly competent professional consultancy services in the fields of civil engineering, structural engineering, and building management. This practice became a limited liability company PINCONSULT ASSOCIATES LIMITED in 1993 for a wider coverage of engineering activities and a better corporate image.

The collective experiences of the partners embrace a wide variety of engineering problems and, therefore, are able to make an important contribution to the success of every project for which the Practice is commissioned.

PINCONSULT ASSOCIATES LIMITED is based in Lagos, Nigeria, to serve clients throughout Nigeria, but is able to establish sub-practice bases throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

All assignments are carried out to internationally recognize standard bye-laws in the respective fields of engineering and the resultant construction management.
Since 1990, the Practice has been engaged in the Oil and Gas Sector of the Nigerian economy. It provided consultancy services for Tankages, pipeline, aviation facilities substructures for platforms, and procurement.

In 1994, the Practice set up a Project Management team to meet the challenges of the emerging construction industry in Nigeria. The emphasis of this team was to alleviate the problems that relate to Schedule, Performance and Cost.

In the year 2000, the Practice commenced preliminary research on Pipeline Integrity Services to provide adequate support for the Pipeline sector of the Oil Industry in terms of quality control and assurance. The Practice now offers a full complement of the Pipeline Integrity Services (PIS)..."

Photo courtesy of PINCONSULT ASSOCIATES
April 16, 2008
4:56
Bamboo Revolution
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

In an article in Newsweek magazine titled "Stronger than Steel" , Lily Hunag writes about how "bamboo may be the most useful raw material ever to be overlooked.The talks about the bicycle built by Nick Frey a junior at Princeton out of Bamboo.

"...Although a common building material in many tropical countries, it's considered "the poor man's timber," and in the West it's mainly decorative. As the world goes green, however, bamboo's essential qualities are beginning to win converts. Environmental organizations are promoting its use as a building material, architects are putting it into green homes, and makers of flooring, furniture and now bikes are quietly setting up their industries for a bamboo revolution.

Despite its lowly reputation, bamboo may be the strongest stuff on the planet. It has greater tensile strength (or resistance to being pulled apart) than steel, and it withstands compression better than concrete. Both qualities are essential to keeping the plant, which grows to nearly 60 meters but is only as wide at the base as the very top, from falling over. It needs the compression strength to hold up its own weight and tensile strength to bend in the wind without breaking..."

Other interesting attributes associated to bamboo include:

1.It has the ability to be formed be formed into Plywood."..."Our concept of strength is, it doesn't move, it doesn't break," says Dan Smith, who owns Smith & Fong, the largest manufacturer of bamboo plywood in the United States. "The Chinese concept is, you've got to bend with things. If you don't bend, you break. Bamboo's strength is in its ability to bend, and that's the miracle."

2. Some species grow very fast which makes it a very sustainable material."...The Western mind is also opening to bamboo's environmental qualities. In both temperate and tropical climates, it grows as quickly and abundantly as a weed. Though most often used as an alternative to timber, bamboo, with its underground rhizome root system that continually regenerates the plant when the stalks are cut, is technically a type of grass. In fact, it grows faster than any other grass—in some conditions well over a meter a day..."

3. Its structural strength,affordability,versatility has made it attractive to Eco-Architects and builders."...Designers are getting more creative as they embrace bamboo as an alternative to lumber. Environmentalist architect Michael McDonough has incorporated bamboo in his two working prototypes for sustainable housing, e-House and ArcHouse. E-House has all-bamboo floors and cabinetry. A stalk of bamboo becomes a finer version of plywood once it's split from the top and milled into smooth strips. ArcHouse, a modular home, has an exterior made from double panels of bamboo oriented strandboard—bamboo strips compressed and cross-positioned for strength— and insulated with foam made from the oil of orange peels. The panels seal tighter than conventional insulation, and McDonough is the first to replace wood strandboard with bamboo. "It's dinosaur grass," he says, yet it's pushing the engineering curve..."

Bamboo is still a niche material in the United States, but it's catching on. Smith & Fong first cracked the markets in 1989 with flooring and, later, a laminated bamboo sheet called "plyboo." Sales grew at an average of 26 percent a year until 2003, then accelerated to nearly 40 percent three years ago. The company now has 30 types of flooring and 60 options in plyboo, and has begun engineering gymnasium floors and bamboo structural beams. Bambu, a U.S. maker of housewares that are distributed by Whole Foods, has begun to draw attention at its plant and showroom in Shanghai.

Some excerpts and photo's in this article are taken form Newsweek and the Smith & Fong website.
March 16, 2008
18:04
Affordable prefab from South Africa
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

Inhabitat says "..ABŌD™ is a prototype prefab created by BSB Design for use as affordable housing in South Africa.The simple design uses a strong, natural shape as the core. It’s durable, lightweight and can be easily shipped in a compact box for quick on-site assembly. Perhaps it’s the shape or the vibrant colors of the corrugated paneling, but this design brings a cheerful presence to a very serious issue: addressing the need for high-quality, low-cost solutions to South Africa’s housing shortage..."

Photos courtesy of Inhabitat
March 11, 2008
10:12
West African Commercial Architecture
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

Commercial architecture within West Africa from Banjul to Yaounde is coming into its own style.SkyscraperCity profiles some of these projects from the conceptual to on site construction stage which are remarkable in their style and form.
A lot of these buildings are featured in the West African section of Skyscraper City.However I believe it would be a great idea to see some inherited forms from Traditional African Architecture being incorporated, to form a fusion with the Neoclassical,Victorian, and modern building technology widely adopted today in Africa.
Photos courtesy of SkycraperCity-West Africa
February 22, 2008
21:20
Centre d'Art Applique
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

Centre d'Art Applique could be described as the first African industrial design centre that specializes in Product,furniture,packaging, corporate and ceramic design. Their goal is to provide a fusion world class contemporary design with a African flavour and theme.Centre d'Art is probably leading the way to produce the continents first
Creative consultants like Frog Design etc.
20:41
CobHouse
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

Cobhouse is an environmentally sustainable project by Simric Yarrow to build alternative buildings out of Cob, sustainable timber,straw and clay in South Africa. The aim is really to build a house out of recycled building materials like cardboard, as well as sustainable ones.

Photo courtesy of Cobhouse blog.
December 31, 1969
18:00
2006-04-14 ...
» ‎ Read entry @ African Architecture and Design

2006-04-14 12:38:00

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