Cast-in-situ terrazzo flooringextends throughout the space,which features a living andkitchen area (this picture) witha west-facing balcony at oneend and three bedrooms atthe other (below) Omotayo delivered the carefully considered simplicity of a pitched roof and rectangular form. The space is accessed through a south-facing entrance, leading to a studio set between twin courtyards. The living and kitchen areas feature double height ceilings, which add to their expansive feel, and these open out onto a west-facing balcony that frames the daily sunset. On the opposite side of the rectangular structure are three bedrooms, with the main bedroom enjoying east-facing views of the rising sun. A southfacing, pierced brick wall extends along the main hallway, connecting the entrance to the bedrooms, and allowing natural ventilation and controlled light to enter the space. Similar walls serve the same function for the north-facing façade lining each courtyard, while also providing a decorative screen. ‘When you’re in the space, you can look from one end to the other through the garden spaces, and that brings the outside inside,’ says Omotayo.
‘You are constantly reminded that you are on this farm and that you have all these beautiful views of the landscape.’ The walls of each room are finished with laterite plaster to create a natural smooth finish, while the screen walls and hallways retain their exposed clay brick. Around 256 sq m of cast-in-situ terrazzo flooring extends throughout the space, in a mix of white cement and recycled natural stone and marbles, with delicate flecks of browns and greys set in a soft white base. The ceiling reflects the barn house feel, with exposed timber rafters supporting a longspan aluminium roof clad in timber. Solar panels installed across the roof, together with a waste-to-biogas system, will generate half the power required in the first five years, with a move to 100 per cent off-grid use beyond this period. The structure was built with a double skin of laterite, using about 40,000 handmade earth bricks reinforced with small quantities of cement. These take on an array of tones, from a warm reddish-brown hue in the shade to gold bathed in the sun’s rays and a cool orange on softly lit surfaces. Laterite – which forms in tropical and subtropical regions Left, a south-facing, pierced brick wall along the main hallway connects the entrance to the bedrooms, allowing natural ventilation and light to enter the space.
was an obvious choice, according toOmotayo: ‘On the way to the farm,everywhere is red earth. You go past lateritedeposit after laterite deposit, so lateritemade absolute sense.’Building with the material was practisedaround the world for centuries and wastraditionally used in pre-colonial Nigeria.The material ‘breathes’, regulating internaltemperature through its resistance to heat.As no firing process is required for the brick,harmful emissions are eliminated from theconstruction process. Furthermore, itsabundance in the region allowed Shonibareto source a sustainable material. BothShonibare and Omotayo were keen toShonibare and Omotayowere keen to createa building that did notfeel ‘overmanufactured’create a building that did not feel ‘overmanufactured’. Omotayo also consideredit important to employ local workers tomanually construct the barn house.
‘Westarted to think about how to take verylocalised elements of our cultural heritage,materials and processes and apply them toa bigger scale with architecture,’ he says.With the aim of creating a ‘new localisedAfrican modernism’, Omotayo’s practicehas increasingly incorporated vernaculararchitecture, while moving away from theculture of importing materials for domesticprojects. ‘Ninety per cent of everything thatgoes into building in Nigeria is imported,’ hesays. ‘We were thinking about how to revertback to artisanal and locally made materials.’The use of local artisans and materialswas also important to Temitayo Shonibare,Yinka’s niece, who oversaw the project’sinterior design. This is her first project underthe banner of her newly formed studio, EntryPoint. Taking inspiration from Mexican,Brazilian and Sri Lankan interiors, she lookedto vintage pieces, particularly from the 1960s,keeping furniture intentionally low to allowthe architecture of the building to shine.She worked closely with local artisans to selectthe wood for key pieces and 90 per centof the furniture was locally made or sourced.Yinka Shonibare’s goal is that EcologyGreen Farm will become a self-sustainingventure with practical value, one that playsa role in strengthening food security in thecountry. The structure is surrounded by sixwalled gardens, four of which will be used asleisure spaces, while two will serve asallotments to grow food for visiting artists.
Meanwhile, acres of nearby farmland that arepart of the residency campus have beencultivated to produce an abundance of fruits,roots and vegetables in the open fields andwithin greenhouses to be sold commercially.Yinka Shonibare describes the projectas a platform for research and learning,where people around the world can visitto get to know the country: ‘They can reallyexperience Nigeria, meet people and alsounderstand the culture, and possibly learnfrom creatives on the ground.’ ∂moeaa.com, guestartistsspace.com,
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