Crisscrossing bamboo poles combine with woven raffia mats to form this pavilion built by architecture studio HTL Africa in Lagos, Nigeria.
Site Office was installed at the Ecobank Pan African Centre on Victoria Island for the inaugural Ecobank Design and Build Expo back in November, but will now serve as a community reading room.
HTL Africa – a studio with offices in Lagos and Dubai – designed the structure to highlight the greater potential of a common material in Nigerian construction.
Bamboo scaffolding is typically used on small-scale construction projects in the country, particularly in rural areas, but often discarded after use.
The studio’s ambition was to reimagine bamboo, “the unsung hero of African construction”, as a “sustainable and innovative architectural element”.
“We wanted to highlight bamboo scaffolding’s quiet yet vital contribution to modern architecture,” said architect James Inedu-George, founder and head of design at HTL Africa.
The pavilion suggests how bamboo could be used to create structures that are built to last rather than disposed of.
Bamboo rods were pinned and tied together to create an imposing three-dimensional lattice.
Plywood boards provide an entrance portal, a matching first-floor mezzanine, the staircase leading up to it, and a bench seat built into the interior.
Circular raffia mats hang down in the grid gaps, providing both shade and decoration, while larger woven discs form custom-made lighting fixtures.
Inedu-George hoped to change perceptions of bamboo to be “both a historical artefact and a symbol of sustainable innovation”, creating a space that felt “both ancient and futuristic”.
It follows other examples of Nigerian architects and designers exploring new uses for bamboo, from Nifemi Marcus-Bello’s Waf Kiosk to Kunlé Adeyemi’s Floating School.
“This project aims to inspire reflection on how traditional materials can inform contemporary practices, making a case for sustainability in architecture that is both functional and beautiful,” said Inedu-George.
During the Ecobank Design and Build Expo, which ran from November 27 to December 1, Site Office hosted an exhibition of HTL Africa’s work titled Generations.
Instead of dismantling the bamboo scaffolding after the exhibition, the pavilion will now serve as an outdoor reading room for the local community.
Other projects featuring bamboo on Dezeen include a sculptural community centre by Kengo Kuma and a renovated school in India.
The photography is by Olajide Ayeni.
