Where is Igbo-Ukwu?

Cultural systems and identity of a people, expressed in their material and immaterial activities shape how they view and relate both with each other and their spaces. Cultural systems that are socially and environmentally positive deserve to be relevantly preserved through a reasonable interaction with other systems outside it.

‘Where is Igbo-ukwu?’ analyses the community and building tradition of Igbo people, and how it can be used to retrace her culture. Located in Ibagwa Nike community, Enugu State, Nigeria, the project Propagates the gentle traditional transition from public to private spaces, as boundaries are marked with natural and open elements like trees, in contrast to the contemporary high fence walls that model isolation. Following a wave of city growth typified by deforestation, I integrated the trees at the heart of the community into the project and introduced new and organic pedestrian paths connecting old and new spaces, for direct and indirect communication across the community. The new buildings interact seamlessly with the existing dynamic system of settlement to create bubbles of shared spaces, for a good sense of community living. I designed a series of strategic programmes for community building, including a primary school for Ibagwa Nike community. The interaction would help the younger generation to appreciate their culture and environment in a more profound way than just through teaching history. It also includes a community college providing spaces for learning and performing various cultural activities, inspiring a re-connection to their common cultural ideas and ideals. The buildings will be built with traditional materials in a contemporary way, to achieve high performance with low resource use; rammed earth walls, with good thermal mass capacity and natural humidity regulation mechanism, a straw-bale roof for easy maintenance, protected from rain by another layer of metal sheets. Both layers separated by an open air space to avoid condensation and heat transfer. The metal sheets hosting solar panels for clean and constant energy supply. The design gives the community the opportunity to practice the building techniques periodically, enabling them to learn how it was done in the past and how it can be done better in the future. I initiated the project after some dialogue with some members of the community and their king. It is a project that will be constructed by the people for the people.