I am on a journey to discover self and use it to make a difference to the world. I have been on this quest for a number of decades and I am yet to become the Architect, Artist, Thinker, and Craftsman I set out to be. Thus far, I worked for a number of UK architecture practices before moving back to Lagos Nigeria in 2007, to set up patrickwaheed design consultancy (PWDC) as its creative director. Our dual interest in contemporary art 2008 saw us set up Artistic Licence, a gallery and us artists Alex Nwokolo, Lemi Ghariokwu, Adewale Alimi were able to journey a road less travelled. My expertise extends to the 'making' of our architecture. The building craftsmanship and our investigative language of material application has lead me to be part of the New Culture Movement championed by the Sage Demas Nwoko. We are currently in the process of setting up a New Culture School of Design with other like-minded individual
Biola Kevin Olorunmola
The architect as shaman. Much like the witches and wizards of mythology and legend, we consciously engage in the invocation of spirits. Spirits that depict culture, place and utility are made manifest in our spatial constructs. The truly magical occurs when these works are able to transcend time, in effect bestow upon us immortality. Hence, driven by a passion for excellence and out of the box thinking, I envision an architecture with a strong focus on context and essence in unique solution provision. Society benefits from good, sustainable and well thought out design. This is my motivation. My interests include Art, design, literature, philosophy history and music. Passion; coming up with ideas for good use in society.
Goke Osibodu – Treasurer
He is a Venture Architect. He graduated from the University of Lagos. With over 25 years experience in Design, Corporate Identity and Branding, his specific area of interest is DESIGN for improving the bottom- line. He has to his credit a proprietary tool called Identity Asset Mapping, which helps businesses differentiate and position themselves to gain market leadership. Goke is an inventor and the co-founder of Attita Sudio. He has a patent to his name for an Interactive Multi-player game platform called SIMPLE YES OR NO. The aim of which is to imbue in frequent participants the ability to think differently. He is passionate about Design Education which inspires the mind, to imagine that which is yet to exist.
Koku Konu – Secretary
He studied Architecture in the UK in the early 80’s and returned to Nigeria brimming with ideals in the early 90’s to contribute what he saw as his quota to Nigeria’s development. After a decade of providing specialist lighting consultancy services to the leading architectural practices, Koku returned to architecture, mooted the CIA in 1999 and in 2000 joined the fray of design and build practitioners focused on meeting the demand for bank branches following deregulation. This finance sector expansion programme took Koku to major cities in Nigeria and between 2005 - 2008 to The Gambia & Sierra Leone as Nigerian banks sough to get a foothold in the burgeoning trans West African trade. Settled in Nigeria since 2009 Koku has continued to design and build buildings of choice, formulate creative policy, run informal learning programmes and champion creativity in the visual and performance arts.
Ola-Dele Kuku & L-ARN
L-ARN (Laboratorium - Academic Research Network) is a non-profit organization founded in Brussels, Belgium by Ola-Dele Kuku (architect – artist) in 1999. The principal objective of the Brussels based network is to focus on collective academic research, investigating modern alternatives in the integration of creative arts and culture as tools to formulate, regenerate and activate synthesis for a progressive socio-cultural development. Since it's inception, ‘L-ARN has worked in collaboration primarily with CIA - Lagos (Cultural Intellectual Association), on the proposed ‘Cultural Mapping Programme’ for developing countries which was presented in 2002 to instigate the awareness of progressive culture in African cities. The networks collaborators include academic institutions and international organisations in Europe and Africa.
Baba Oladeji
He is an architect. In 2015, he started Design Party, an alternative, architecture-led political agency; intervening in the politics of the day via varied modes of architectural production and creating speculative and built projects such as Fela Memorial Force HQ Obalende (2016), Stomach Infrastructure Bank (2017) and Plot 30, Ibadan (2019). In 2018, he was recognised by the Conde Nast-published Baku Magazine as one of “5 Nigerian Architects you should know” and by January 2019 was appointed Artistic Director of Revolving Art Incubator (RAI) to direct its city-facing Extroversion project experimenting with aesthetics of, and absorbing the ecologies of impermanence and informality through projects such as Peoples’ Parliament.
Deola Bammeke
Trained Architect from the University of Lagos Nigeria, also attended the Architectural Association in London and participated in a full-time challenging programme of building design. Along side his architecture practice he is also a Product & Furniture Designer, and a Visual Art Illustrator. His passion for design is directed towards creating and solving problems in order to make the world a better place for us all.
James Inedu-George
He is an African Architect, thinker, teacher and painter with global ambitions. He runs the design company HTL Africa. An advocate for a new city, he believes that the future should be generated from a study of Africa’s past. He pursues a complex design agenda on an international level, hoping to create through Manifesto writing, a platform for a new Architecture movement hinges on creating work that enhances city performance. He is against all traditional matrixes with which architecture is measured, and believes that for the survival of the profession we need new definitions and indices based on our reality today. His favourite quote is “Mr Genius, what does your building do?”
Seun Oduwole
Armed with an appetite for innovation and an idealistic approach, Seun Oduwole is always looking to push the boundaries of architectural interaction and perception. A graduate of the University of Nottingham, Seun’s career was shaped by experience at Sir Michael Hopkins & Partners, Benoy and Sheppard Robson. He is currently the creative driving force behind SI.SA. Seun believes the purpose of architecture is to improve the quality of our natural and built environment through a thoughtful approach, constant interrogation, an immersive user experience but also using architecture as a vehicle for social responsibility & urban renewal. He belongs to a number of think tanks that push a theoretical discourse about the role of creatives in society. Design projects are seen as a medium to explore these ideas either through reinventing typologies or creating positive urban interventions in Lagos and on the continent.
Theo Lawson - President
He is an Architect; works in Lagos, Nigeria. He studied architecture at the Architectural Association School, London between 1978 and 1985, where he experimented with both traditional African and High-tech design styles. Back in Nigeria he studied earth construction techniques culminating in him being invited to design and build the Bauchi State Museum in 1987. In 1990, he set up Total Consult, a design and build practice, and worked on many commercial and residential projects. The firm also grew to become the leader in stage and set design in the 80’s and 90’s and executed many cutting edge product launches and concert sets. In 1999, Theo Lawson teamed up with other designers to form the “CIA” (Creative Intelligence Agency) a collaborative to spearhead ideas for Lagos in the Millennium. This led to his conception and the realisation of Freedom Park Lagos, now Lagos’s most engaging Arts space.
