Lagos, Nigeria 2003–2005
The experience of living and working in Lagos, Nigeria–one of the world’s most inequitable societies–profoundly shifted my perspective. My initial curiosity for Lagos stemmed from Rem Koolhaas’ case study as part of his book, Mutations – Harvard Project on the City (2000).
A case study of informal planning on steroids, with a lot of hustle and interdependence between families and tribal systems somehow life endures in arguably the world’s most chaotic megacity. The population in Lagos has been growing exponentially for well over twenty years, estimated in 2005 to have been 15 million residents, in 2023 it is estimated to be 24 million.
My commercially driven remit was to significantly expand Guinness’ market in Sub-Saharan Africa. In so doing grew a personal appreciation and love of African cultures, plus the understanding of and respect for people who channel hope, even when marginalised by systemic inequity and injustice.
In 2005 the residents celebrated the arrival of 20 new ambulances. Prior to this there were a hand full of old hearses–think Ghostbusters–servicing the entire city. Following the fanfare it was revealed the brand new Mercedes ambulances, featuring working emergency lights and sirens were in fact empty. It was widely known the monies allocated for the medical equipment had been funnelled into an elected officer’s offshore account #panamapapers
Adaptive Settlements
Interdependent Thinking
Gondwana Link rewilding_Australia
Sadhana Forest rewilding_India + Kenya
White Gum Valley development_Australia
Self-building Technologies