Chioma Wogu-Ogbonna: COVID-19 AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES: FUTURE DESIGN TRENDS IN THE NIGERIAN AEC INDUSTRY

Chioma Wogu-Ogbonna FNIA writes in from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Also a qualified estate surveyor, she is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects where she currently serves a second term as its National Chair, Public Relations Committee.

In this blog's inaugural guest post, she shares her thoughts on a broad spectrum of changes one can expect in the Nigerian built environment industry post Covid-19.

Photocredit: Author

The Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 was devastating leaving in its trails millions of death and a severely depressed economy worldwide. 102 years after that bad experience is the corona virus (code named COVID – 19) pandemic, presently ravaging lives and economies the world over with Nigeria’s first index case reported on 27^th of February 2020.

According to medical researchers, contamination has been ascribed to bodily contact with infected persons (symptomatic or asymptomatic) as well as the touching of infected surfaces which includes money.

QUOTES CAPTURING THE TRUE ESSENCE OF ARCHITECTURE

Architecture is erroneously thought to concern only buildings but in its truest and purest sense, it is an experiential science that shapes the built environment. It has been posited that all human activity can be orchestrated by architecture and I tend to wholeheartedly concur
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There are many quotes from architects the world over but here are a curated few that hit at the core of what the true value and meaning of architecture is to the larger society.

MUCH ADO ABOUT THE NIGERIAN KIT FOR RUSSIA 2018

Long after the outcome of the match on Sunday 15 July 2018 that determines the winner of the FIFA World Cup Final at the 80000 seater Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, fashion would be the one thing that would linger long in the minds of spectators and millions of football lovers the world over. What has fashion got to do with football you ask?  Well for the uninitiated, it's now official, fashion and football have officially become twins if the buzz about the official kits of some of the national teams is anything to go by, particularly that of Nigeria.  

MOTHER'S DAY 2018 - THE NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE

So, the last of the Mother's Day celebrations for 2018 was observed on May 13, 2018 .Earlier in March, on the 11th to be precise, Mother's Day was celebrated in different parts of the world such as the United Kingdom and Nigeria. The general consensus is that there can never be too many celebrations to honour motherhood in all its ramifications.

The celebration of mother's Day was somewhat different here. How you ask? Well for one, I think we took the celebration and made it our 'own', injecting a healthy dose of Nigerian flavour to the world-wide celebrations. The result? The pride that comes from taking your narrative to the world. A leading Lagos based advertising agency SO & U whose blue-chip clientele includes Glo, Access Bank, Unilever, Indomie Noodles and Diageo came out with a viral Mother's Day campaign with a different perspective.

NIGERIAN PRIVATE SCHOOLS, DESIGN AND THE REST OF US

A private school in Nigeria

“I no blame dem”, I muttered under my breath in annoyance. “Wetin concern me with dem before?" I asked no one in particular as I gunned the engine of the car and zoomed off to my next destination. I was at my wits end. “Who be the ‘dem" you ask?  Well, ‘dem’ happened to be some private elementary schools visited in the course of my search for a suitable school for my ward, a search I had grossly underestimated. Going by their signboards, there is an ‘international’ private school in every neighbourhood; in fact my residence is situated adjacent to one.

GHOSTS OF OLYMPICS CEREMONIES PAST

 

 

It’s the Olympics, baby!

I cannot recall where I heard or got that phrase from, but like my ‘bottom box’ (special occasion) clothes which I seldom use, this phrase pops into my head without fail every Olympic year!

Hours from now, the world’s spotlight will beam on the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the opening of what is unarguably the greatest sporting spectacle on earth, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The opening ceremonies are always highly anticipated and it has been said that since Los Angeles 84, each host country has sought to surpass its predecessor by staging a bigger and more spectacular show. 
 

Back in the 80s, there were only two television stations in the whole of what was then Bendel State -  National Television Authority (NTA) and Bendel Television (BTV). BTV later metamorphosed to Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS) with the split of Bendel State into Edo and Delta States respectively. Both stations ensured that viewers were kept fully updated with on-going events at the Olympics by dedicating one or more hours daily for the highlights. But these days, without an active cable television subscription, OYO (On Your Own) is your case!

                     

TOO CREATIVE TO EAT.

Brace yourself passengers on board! Up! Up! Up and Away!

Cakes are scrumptious treats to be devoured, right? Wrong! Certain cakes fall into the category of being too creative to eat. Call them works of art if you will. With the painstaking attention to details and life like resemblance to cartoon characters or creatures, it would seem a great injustice if these marvels 'disguised' as cakes were to serve their real purpose- for consumption! See if you agree.

ZAHA HADID - HOPE FOR HER PRESENCE AT EKO ATLANTIC CITY EVAPORATES?

When I sighted him at the Eko Atlantic City Sales Office Showroom, my heart skipped a couple of beats. The first fluttering of hope stirred in my soul. Dare I conceive the idea? Time would certainly tell I thought to myself.

You see, ‘him’ happened to be Paolo Zilli of Zaha Hadid Architects who was one of the keynote speakers at the May 2015 edition of the Lagos Architects Forum LAF, the flagship seminar of the Nigerian Institute of Architects Lagos State Chapter. The local architectural community was agog to have Zaha Hadid in our midst, albeit in the form of a representative. On my part, I hoped that perhaps some of the Zaha Hadid magic design ‘twinkle-dust’ would rub off on me! 

 

During the course of the seminar, I had enquired about his views on the Chinese government’s tough stance on the halting of what it had termed ‘weird architecture’. Surely that classification of their major projects in China was a source of worry for Zaha Hadid Architects. This was apparently a non- issue as it had been casually brushed aside as mere propaganda and grandstanding by the Chinese authorities.

Fast forward to Thursday 31^th March, 2016 when the local and international architectural design community was greeted with the shocking news of the untimely demise of famous Iraqi born British architect, Zaha Hadid from a sudden heart attack at the age of 65.

Now, to the uninitiated, Zaha Hadid is to world of architecture what Steve Jobs is to the information technology world- a revolutionary. Aside from being one of the most brilliant contemporary architects with her avant-garde and award winning designs, she was a prolific interior and product designer lending her famous design skills to a seemingly endless array of jewellery, furniture, automobiles, household accessories, footwear. Some of her product designs were showcased as recently as April 2016 at this year’s Milan Design Week and included a metal and crystal table centrepiece for famous crystal brand Swarovski for its debut home ware range.

WEARABLE ARCHITECTURE

 

3D printing has become a useful tool in solving both complex and everyday design issues as evidenced in this shoe design from United Nude, a popular Dutch footwear brand that has carved a niche for itself with its ultra unique footwear.

One of its latest shoes named the ICE shoe comprises of a detachable upper leather strap and a white eight inch 3D printed sole made of plastic PLA filament. The white platform sole has been designed as though hewn from a block of ice. Talk about wearable architecture even if not for the faint hearted!