Bruuda: Changing the face of Nigeria?
Of the plethora of architectural firms that have sprung around the country in the last decade, one, in particular, has been consistently agitating against the wave of modernism that has seized the country’s architectural landscape.
Established in the early 2000’s by John Godwin’s protégé Edozie, Bruuda architects have gained some notoriety in recent times by being at the vanguard of what has been tentatively called ‘the Post-Afromodernists’; an umbrella term for the African modernism dissenters.
In the wake of Independence, African nations embarked on grand, expensive building projects to showcase a newfound identity to the world. Half a century later and in the midst of a worsening economic crunch, the wisdom of such ambitious architecture can be safely questioned. However, although Africa moved on from the identity architecture, the modernist trappings stuck ergo impractical applications like the modern flat roof which proved to be unsuitable for tropical climates.
However, since its establishment, it has set out to specifically tackle the problem of applying modern techniques but with impracticalities ironed out. In CEO Yem Edozie’s words, “What we do is complex on so many fronts, it’s not exactly modernist, it’s not exactly Brutalist, it’s a fusion of modern ideals synthesized with our own. We like to think we approach from an angle most either don’t see or dismiss as not viable with their prevalent values of aesthetics.” Last week marked the completion of the parking lot at Eagles square in Abuja, a project which was developed to mimic the convergence of the geological fault lines that run beneath the city.
Hotspot, Maryland.
“I like to think we are setting a precedent, especially for the more puritan architects out there whose genuinely brilliant works are being seriously affected in terms of visibility, in the wake of the ‘Afro-centric’, or ‘Afro-modern’ architecture that is so common these days” says Joe Oghenekoweba, one of its lead architects. “it’s part of what drew me here in the first place, the freedom to actually experiment with unusual architecture”.
In the murky waters of Nigerian architectural bureaucracy however, it remains to see whether it’s the ambitious dream of “building upon the malignant” can ever truly be achieved.