Studio Contra, Nigeria: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios. Today, we announce Nigeria's Studio Contra joining our list
The newest addition to the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022, our annual list of exciting emerging practices from across the globe, is Nigeria's Studio Contra. Propelled to global fame by winning the commission for the Institute of Contemporary African Art & Film in the country’s Ilorin, Kwara State, the young practice also has a number of residential designs in its creative arsenal.
Who: Studio Contra
Studio Contra co-founders, Olayinka Dosekun-Adjei and Jeffrey Adjei, are an emerging force in the Nigerian – and global – architecture scene. The husband-and-wife team established their joint practice in Lagos in 2016 and were propelled to global prominence by winning the commission for the Institute of Contemporary African Art & Film in the country’s Ilorin, Kwara State. The project, low and sculptural, anchored to its site but also intricate and intriguing, is currently in construction. Not only is it the studio’s very first cultural build of this scale, it’s also Nigeria’s first purpose-built museum of visual and cinematic arts.
Dosekun-Adjei and Adjei, however, are no one-trick ponies. Their growing portfolio includes pretty much every typology, from retail and cultural spaces to leisure and hospitality work, as well as a wealth of private house schemes, which are currently in design or under construction. Red Clay Villa (pictured) exemplifies their approach, which is about blending global influences with local identity, working to define contemporary Nigerian architecture.
What: Red Clay Villa
This design, created for a local housing association and a new residential community in the Lekki peninsula of Lagos, stands out for its clear, geometric forms and pink colour. Created as a monolithic composition, broken down into sections and smaller volumes in a sculptural whole, the house was conceived to work in its setting’s tropical climate. Environmental comfort was at the forefront of the design development, ensuring, for example, that doorways and glazing are set back into the façade to protect users from the sun. Vertical slats provide further shade where needed, and an internal courtyard not only brings light deep into the heart of the structure, but also ensures natural ventilation does its magic in passively cooling down the interiors (this is aided by clerestory windows and strategically planned openings and clearings within the house).
The home’s distinctive salmon hue comes from a mix of concrete with red clay and other pigments, as its sustainably manufactured clay bricks are rendered with pozzolana lime and red oxide. Internal surfaces are treated with a mixture of shea butter and ash for water resistance. Planting adds a further dimension to the villa, by seamlessly blending nature with architecture. Spanning 500 sq m and including four bedrooms, this family house draws on local vernacular forms and climatic conditions, while maintaining a distinct modern feel – a Studio Contra speciality.
Why: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2022
Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 22nd edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – twenty young studios from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
JW Anderson and Pleasing design a balloon-inspired collection of nail polishes and more
JW Anderson and Pleasing launch an uplifting new capsule collection featuring balloon-inspired metallic nail polishes and a take on the viral rainbow cardigan
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Bottega Veneta drafts Venetian artisans for its unique ‘Bottega for Bottegas’ project, a gift list of local craft
Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta has sought out six craftspeople from in and around Venice to create precious objects – from playing cards to jigsaw puzzles – which arrive just in time for festive gift-giving
By Jack Moss Published
-
Agnès Varda, Luca Guadagnino and Wim Wenders: why Aesop’s love affair with cinema is more than skin-deep
Aesop’s new 2024 Christmas campaign celebrates its long love affair with cinema. Laura Havlin speaks with the brand’s head of global store design Marianne Lardilleux to discover why film is inherent to its DNA
By Laura Havlin Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalism
From modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Extraordinary escapes: where would you like to be?
Peruse and lose yourself in these extraordinary escapes; there's nothing better to get the creative juices flowing than a healthy dose of daydreaming
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Year in review: top 10 houses of 2022, selected by Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie Stathaki
Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki reveals her top 10 houses of 2022 – from modernist reinventions to urban extensions and idyllic retreats
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Roz Barr’s terrace house extension is a minimalist reimagining
Terrace house extension by Roz Barr Architects transforms Victorian London home through pared-down elegance
By Nick Compton Published
-
Tree View House blends warm modernism and nature
North London's Tree View House by Neil Dusheiko Architects draws on Delhi and California living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Maison de Verre: a dramatic glass house in France by Studio Odile Decq
Maison de Verre in Carantec is a glass box with a difference, housing a calming interior with a science fiction edge
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Modernist Coromandel farmhouse refreshed by Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
An iconic Coromandel farmhouse is being reimagined by the South African architectural collaborative of Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
By Nick Compton Last updated