City Tour: A new and reclaimed island in Lagos

City Tour: A new and reclaimed island in Lagos

 

Take a tour of a Gracefield island in the city of Lagos.

Gracefield Island, being reclaimed land in the middle of the lagoon, provides both fantastic opportunity and challenge at once, in terms of horticulture and garden creation. The purpose built island sitting on 60 hectares of land space in its early phase, with the prospect of expanding to a bigger size within its designated zone on the Lekki Masterplan of Lagos State Government. Join us as we explore and discuss the impact that new and reclaimed islands have on architecture and placemaking in Africa.

 

Visite de la ville : Une île nouvelle et reconquise à Lagos

Visitez l’île de Gracefield dans la ville de Lagos. Il s’agit d’une île construite à cet effet, située sur 60 hectares de terrain, dans sa phase initiale, avec la perspective de s’étendre à une plus grande taille dans sa zone désignée sur le plan directeur de Lekki du gouvernement de l’État de Lagos. Nous explorons et discutons de l’impact que les îles nouvelles et récupérées ont sur l’architecture et la création de lieux en Afrique.

 

Host: Open House Lagos

Olufemi Babalola

Vice Chairman, Chief Executive, Gracefield Island

Ozoemezina Nwafor

Urban Planner, Gracefield Island

Stefanie Adisa Theuretzbacher

Architect / Director / Edge Expert, Elements Architecture

Aduke Gomez

Chair, Steering Committee of Art4Life, Lagos State Ministry of Health

Chuka Ihonor

Principal, Ci Studio & Chairman, Board of Trustees, Open House Lagos

Session Summary

The panelists from the Gracefield Island project pitched their plan for a development in the Gracefield Island area of Lagos with great excitement. Taking inspiration from Canary Wharf in London and Century City in Cape Town, the panelists described their vision for Gracefield Island as a safe and upmarket area. They note that the way that Lagos has developed has been chaotic, and that this project will represent orderly development. The Gracefield Island developers hold the vision of the area as a destination for wealth creation. However, the vision for this opulent project does little to address the poverty and inequality in Lagos. Furthermore, the Gracefield Island developers showed resistance to the idea of public engagement and involvement in their project.