Tower of clay
Sustainable Habitation for an African city I Lagos, Nigeria
This thesis project is conceived out of the need to use local material and approach in Eko Atlantic city of Lagos, in radical response to the ongoing new city developments in Africa. The ongoing new city developments in Africa have come under heavy criticism on sustainability, particularly Eko Atlantic city of Lagos Nigeria. The development was conceived out of a need to prevent ocean encroachment, prevent flooding and create an economically driven new city. But lacks the core basis of environmental sustainability, contributing to the city pollution, neglecting the waterfront communities, and does not include the low- and medium-income class of Lagos population. The habitation was a radical project to the ongoing copycat high-rise buildings trying to provide solutions or alternatives in response to the critiques. That could seamlessly connect with the neighboring community and the immediate part of the city.
Tower of clay: Interlocking model.
By green spaces, forest parks with bamboo trees, green boulevards, bicycle paths, and bicycle parks, from the city all leading to the habitation within which the residential tower is located surrounded by green public parks. The residential tower uses compressed earth bricks for non-structural walls, bamboo for balconies railings, and a floor finished with broken tiles. The city-scale intervention involves a green layering of green spaces, green boulevards, and forest parks, leading to the habitation layout. The habitation layout of the neighborhood system with commercial spaces on the periphery and public spaces around the central core residential tower. The residential apartments are adapted for cross ventilation and utilizing the given spaces for 10% central service core spaces to allow for more rentable living spaces. And interlocking of different units to accommodate users of medium income class. Overall, with the neighborhood provision of different income class residences in the habitation layout.