Afritecture » Africa

M’Afrique

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:50:14 +0000

Designed by African-American designer Stephen Burks and presented by Italian furniture maker Moroso at the 2009 Milan Design Week, the M'Afrique exhibition aims to use furniture as the vehicle to showcase the aesthetic influences and diversity of the continent with the creativity of a few of the great artists and exponents of contemporary African culture.

Using works by visual artists, photographers, interior designers, industrial designers, poets, and architects, the exhibition was the first to compile multiple disciplines in creation a complete and stunning collection.

Brian Vermeulen on Great Zimbabwe

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:08:52 +0000

Brian Vermeulen, of the architecture firm of Cottrell and Vermeulen in London, England, describes how the African Site of Great Zimbabwe, a major trading center until the 15th century, has influenced his work.

Butabu

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:19:39 +0000

James Morris, a photographer, and Suzanne Preston Blier, professor of Afro-American studies at Harvard authored Butabu: Adobe Architecture of West Africa. This a well-researched and beautifully presented study of the sculptural mud architecture of West Africa is stunning. These often beautiful buildings were designed and built by architects for kings and emperors, making the best of local materials and know-how.

In Mali, and in Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Benin, mud is not just used for making pots. It has been used for hundreds of years to build sensational structures -houses, mosques, palaces, temples, entire communities - which are repaired and remoulded every year during engagingly splashy mud festivals. And the very viscosity of this most malleable material has produced some highly inventive forms that seem to encompass ancient cultures, the spirits of the Sahara and even a touch of Surrealism.

AIST-Abuja Campus

admin — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:13:57 +0000

Situated in Abuja, Nigeria, the African Institute of Science and Technology is a master planned campus designed to mimick the geographic patch work of the area, taking inspiration from traditional and cultural values.