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1. Part of the oldShitta Motque.

2. Old TinubuSquare with fh#former SupremeCourt in th*foreground.

3. Former CarterBridge.

[courtesy: Boyles Bar)

^ ^ ^ ^ _ ^ ^ J succeeding material isby no means quaint, despite thetime of its composition. It wasoriginally intended foi presentationbefore a distinguished and learnedgathering of surveyors and builders(Royal Institute of Surveyors) whomet in Lagos in August 1994 tohobnob on emergent trends in theirwork at the Sheraton Hotels andTowers, Ikeja; these without theleast shred of doubt were theplanners and builders of Lagos andNigeria.

Their theme centred around 'Change andContinuity' in the building industry and thekey speaker's choice of subject was veryuseful in setting the tone and the mood aswell as sharpening the focus for theassembly's onward exchanges.

The concern of the speaker, David Aradeon,his depth, clarity of tone and closefamiliarity with his subject (specifically theold, and in most cases now extinct,buildings of Lagos) should be little surprisingonce we are reminded of his resume:foremost Nigerian architect and scholar;indeed describable in his own language asone of 'the children of the city'. Any surprisethen that the story of the emergence, gloryand widespread demolition (somevoluntarily went down in flames) of vitalhistorical buildings and violation of publicspaces, parks and gardens for private use isretold with nostalgia and in parts, restrainedoutburst ? Some of the more memorablebeing the old Supreme Court building onTinubu Square which yielded its space alongwith other buildings (including the OrangeHouse owned by the Hon Otunba Payneand the residence of Henry Carr designedby Herbert Macaulay) to the now famousTinubu fountain; the old race course,formerly a stretch of empty space andgreenery in the city's heartland, reserved forhorse racing and schools' National Dayparades (which the author partook in as achild) that has also been swallowed up bythe pressnt massive cordons of shopping

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of Tradition5 « m * s «• ! * I I is

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complexes.

The extinction of old Lagos and its oralhistory articulated through concrete structuresand impressive Brazilian masonry is nownearly complete. In a sense, whilst we hopewith the professionals and members of theinformed community that awareness amongadministrators and decision makers in thecountry would help to preserve whatever isleft or simply stem the tide of 'the unmakingof tradition', this publication is contrivedchiefly to pay a tribute to 'fallen Lagos' andits landmark structures that now remain onlyin the minds of those who grew up to knowthem.

The mission of awareness is by no meanssecondary. For as Professor Aradeonobserves in one of our many recentdiscussions, the tide of waterfront violation(through sandfilling) again for privatehouses, is taking over where that of historicalstructures and public spaces left off. As aresult of this, sections of the Lagos Island(particularly the Victoria Island) becamewaterlogged late last year. But work hassince re- intensified at sandfilling sites on the' famous1 Osborne Road

and lately also, at the Takwa Bay, amongcountless others, drawing much protest fromconcerned professional unions.

Fortunately, concern over the preservation ofhistorical sites and buildings is attractingmore international attention. From March11,1996, over a period of five days, theUnited Nations agent for developmentUNDP spearheaded a conference inBamako, Mali, during which the problemwas given a closer consideration by Africanscholars and builders Predictably, ProfessorAradeon was in attendance, but his focuslens this time fell on the historical centres oflle-lfe.

He recommends to the Bamako conferenceas he does here that solution to the problemis double-edged: increased awarenessamong legislative and administrative bodiesas well as a revision of the schools'curricular to inclose more cultural education.So is a shift of emphasis in professionaltraining and orientation to restorativearchitecture.

The Editor.

DavidAradeon

1he financial burden imposed on usin the last IS years has had a

devastating impact on our lives. Itwas time we insisted on our lights as

citizens to be consulted at every levelof governance before a long,

especially a contractor financedproject loan, is negotiated.

MR. SAM EMIOWELE, Q.S, requested injust that I speak at this conference,eduled for September, I had less than anth to put my ideas together. I accepted outespect for an old friend to whom I am

ebted.

Fortunately, the conference had to be postponed; even

though the political climate for which the postponement wasmade remains largely uncertain, I have had the opportunity torework my ideas

Sam and I collaborated on a number of projects for whichwe were never paid: the Linear Park, the Lagos State, State HouseonJoelOgunnaike, GRA, Ikeja, and the Faculty of EnvironmentalDesign, University of Lagos just to mention some of the mostexciting.

A number of weeks ago, the Governor of Lagos went tocourt over the sharing of public land by the Federal Government.Even though the controversy appears to centre on the conflicts ofrights of ownership of land between the State and the Centre, alarger and even more fundamental issue is at stake.

As the Osborne Road land is the site of the Linear Parkwhich we designed in 1 985, this case promises to raise a wholeseries of questions, the most important of which is the issue ofpublic versus private interest; the role of public officials especiallythose in locus' charged with the responsibility of protecting oursystem of public parks and public spaces against usurpation andappropriation by public action for private interest.

Our commitment to the environment appears to be alifetime commitment to issues of public interest The currentpolitical, econopnic and social climate has brought the issuesmore clearly to all of us.

Also, as an Adjunct Lecturer for the years 1980-1984when I was Dean of the Faculty and, 1 984-1 986 when I wasDepartment Head, Sam taught Building Economics to generationsof our students. He was never fully paid his stipulated honorariumfor many of those years by the University. So as a teacher andinspite of indications to the contrary, he shares the hopelessoptimism of the teacher and the environmental poverty of oureducation system. My presence here today will in no way be arequital of my debts to Mr. Emiowele, if at all, this opportunity tobe present here increases my personal debt I wish to thank theRoyal Institution of Surveyors for your formal invitation, theprivilege to meet and make new friends as well as renew oldacquaintances.

As surveyors either of the (1) form giving landscape, or (2)of the genre for cost control or (3) of the disposition that nurturesthe building for environmental value added, my knowledge ofyour work is at best perfunctory. Therefore I will not even attemptto articulate your specializations in this presentation. Rather, inseeking a common ground, I would like to speak to you aboutwhat you already know, partly from your professional work andpartly from your everyday process of living and moving aroundin your part of this country.

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Governor's residence on the Marino, the old race course's green open fields peeping in from the north. The treesand shrubs are gone

Today, I would like to share with you some of myobservations and concerns as an average citizen, whose work ispart of a larger process that shapes and whose life in turn isshaped by the built environment of this city of Lagos.

The City: A Corporate Entity -Compounding Functional Problems

I am certain that the real estate surveyors and valuers musthave noticed a front page publication in the Financial Times ofthe week, of August 30th. The chairman of the Lagos Island LocalGovernment Council announced that construction would soonbegin on a N300,000,000 'Multi-storey car park' structure onthe Marina. The announcement associated Messrs BouyguesConstruction with this project, possibly as a turnkey contractor.

As citizens and end users, I would like to ask you to detachyourself from your professional interests for a moment and thinkabout this project from the interest of the average tax payers.

This must be one of those development projects designedto correct some of the problems created by the last one. In a 1 977paper, I had decried as environmentally unsightly, the concreteencasement of the Island in a continuous ribbon of elevatedringroad. I suggested as I had done in a Daily Times publicationof 1973, that when a city gets to be as large as Lagos, we haveto embark upon a mass transit system rather than continue to

structure the transportation system on the private motor car.

The current crisis over the 'correct pricing' of fuel illustratesso succinctly the economic impact on the average workers'income. For those on a monthly income of a thousand naira orless, it would make better economic sense to work near the homefor less income. In a 1 988 paper, I further observed that on theMarina, the use of the long strip of land from the State House tothe UTC for car parking constitutes an eyesore as well as aninexcusable waste of prime urban land.

Overloading the Debt BurdenIn addition to these observations, I would now like to raise

a number of questions on this proposed N300,000,000 (phaseI) elevated car park structure on this site.

First, considering the current cost of the motor car today,how viable is this project as an investment on public transportation?Is there not a viable alternative? The mass transportation systemstill remains the most attractive.

Second, the 4,500 cars projected for parking appeardubious. Based on the current 1,500 on existing site, 4,500 isassumed for three floors without consideration for access, rampsand structure. Be that as it may, at what price per car per day,and how long would it take for this project to pay for itself?

Third, has an environmental impact study of this project

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been carried out and what are the results?

Fourth, how is this project going to be financed? If by loanand whatever the source, we should initiate a process of publicreferendum to enable us, the taxpayers and public, decidewhether we ere willing to accept the responsibility for thisfinancial burden.

Finally, this project like any public project will have aphysical impact on the landscape and a financial implication forthe citizens of Lagos Island; judging by the performance of thelast 15 years, we should no longer accept any debt burden forourselves let alone for future generations without a wider publicconsultation. By subjecting this project to the Lagos State PublicPlanning Review Board concerned citizens will have theopportunity to examine and criticize it while the promoters willalso have the opportunity to present and defend it.

The financial burden imposed on us in the last 15 yearshas had a devastating impact on our lives. It was time we insistedon our rights ascitizens to beconsulted at everylevel of

g o v e r n a n c ebefore a long,especially ac o n t r a c t o rfinanced projectloan, isnegotiated.

The City andits Children

This city,like any old city, isa tradition. Ascitizens, and endusers, we are allpart of thistradition.

As aprimary schoolpupil in this city, Inever missed theMay 24th EmpireDay celebrationsin the race course.We marched tothe music from theschool band,watched ourathletes competein the primaryschool sports. Onthat race course,we also watchedthe soldiers andpolice parade in

Above: Typical Brazilian fownhouse.Below: Senhor Laxaro Borges da Si/va's Yoyo Araromi house situated atthe junction of Tokunbo and Oshodi Streets, went down in flames in 1979.(Courtesy: Nigeria Magazine}.

their smartly ironed khakis. They would come marching from theirbarracks at Ikoyi and Obalende. On that same race course wewould watch the grown ups as the horses raced; on thoseoccasions, Africans and Europeans were always so elegantlyand colourfully dressed, milling around and, as I understoodmuch later, placing bets; still that race course, was polo grounds,and several cricket pitches; also, soccer teams of all age groupsplayed on the course.

Every day the city kids went to the race course to play andon the site of the Independence Building the less formal groupsplayed; they also threw sticks at the almond fruits. The daring kidswould always climb the almond trees; the almonds on the treesat the Simpson Street end of the race course were larger Thesetrees were tall and Simpson Street was shaded and stayed coolall year round. The green in the openness on the race coursestayed green all year round and everybody had a use of their partof the race course. Each evening as I walked home to Onikanfrom the Ferry Terminal, that last Governor General, Sir Robertson

and I would wave at eachother, he, on his eveningwalk on the course and Ion my way home acrossthe course

The ConcreteJungle in the Park

Then all of asudden and in the flush ofthe oil glut, the newgovernors had a betterand brilliant idea. Theycovered part of mychildhood experienceswith concrete; life wassnuffed out of the expanseof green grass; theopenness was enclosedand walled off; the treesand their fruits and theirshade were killed; andthe children of the citycould no longer play orrun on their race course.We had just discoveredthe shopping centre; theboutiques and

the substantial traderstook over and that part ofcity died for its growingchildren for ever.

The Governors andour Development

The new governorssaid it was developmentof another kind -the placefor the October 1 st ArmedForces march past. It was

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like commemorating our independence only it was namedTafawa Balewa Square. In my attempt to learn about this kind ofdevelopment, I found out about the Red Square and the Black StarSquare where just about once a year also, the citizens get workfree day to watch the soldiers parade But our Tafowa BalewaSquare was to visually link to the Marina, for naval exercise, andthe skies for the airforce formations in flight. Fortunately, theproposed movement to Abu ja halted the dream of the governors

Unlike the former governors, most of the new ones knewwhat to do with petitions; you could discuss with them, but youhad to find out how to get through. They were really so selfassured; they knew what was good for all of us. It was developmentand they always knew what type. As citizens, the choice, typeand scale of deve-lopment had become the prerogative of thegovernors at every level of govern-ance except at the communitylevel. The proliferation of iron grille gates on the public street isat one level a manifestation of the spirit of community participation.

The City's Buildings: codes and symbols

To the individual, the city's spaces convey meanings to thecodes and symbols of the building and its architecture. At timesit nurtures an imaginative flight to fancy about the future; at othertimes it evokes memories of the past linking space and time. Inurban cultures, not only does the duality of space and time coexistbut in old cities like Lagos, the duality of tradition and modernityalsocoexist. The built form is an index; a statement of our evolvingtechnology; the articulation of our artistry and craftsmanship.

As a mirror reflection of our lifestyles, it is largely throughthe others that we can better appreciate the impact of ourattitudes on the environment. Just observe the way the next car isbeing driven; reversing on the expressway; driving on the wrongside of the street have become part of our driving habits. Thepedestrian citizen is used to being pushed off the side walkespecially by danfo and taxi drivers. Strangely, police officersappear unconcerned these days.

Special Development Pattern:Change and noncontinuity

I would like to argue that the physical changes we haveembarked upon in the last forty years have had the unfortunateimpact of the unmaking of tradition.

The residence of Sir Kitoyi Ajasa was one of the mostimportant landmarks displaced by the House of Representativesin 1955, and the National Hall, 1960, (Public Works Dept). In1973, almost two decades later, the monumental concreteGrandstand on Tafawa Balewa Square by Robin Atkinson wastodestroythe setting and scale of the House of Representatives.The Statuette of Queen Elizabeth II by the famous NigerianSculptor, Ben Enwonwu, was completely overwhelmed by thesheer scab of the new structure

The loss of the open recreational race course with its greentexture was deplorable enough, but even more deplorable wasthe total change of scale of the buildings whose volumes definethis important colonial historical centre. North West of the racecourse, the 25 Storey Independence Building, 1 960, (Fry, Drewand the Public Works Department); the 19 Storey Western

House, 1960. (Nickson & Borys) and the 31 Storey NecomHouse, 1979, (Nickson & Borys) have all compromised theprivacy and security of the three storey State House, Marina bylocational proximity.

Tinubu Square:The Meeting Place of Cultures

According to Vaughan-Richards, Tinubu Square, was by1 890 the heart of Lagos It was the location of the first Court ofJustice. During the decade, a bell tower was added to the oldTinubu Methodist Church. The Orange House, the residence ofthe Hon J.A Otunba Payne was one of the landmarks of TinubuSquare during this period. In 1918a new Supreme Court wasbuilt on the Square and the present fountain donated by theLebanese Community in 1960 replaced the 1918 SupremeCourt The residence of Henry Carr designed by Herbert Macaulayon Tinubu Square had to give way to the Mosaics House in 1958.

Tinubu Square where several streets converge was animportant midtown terminal for the Red Municapal Bus service byMessrs J. N. Zarpas. As I observed in an earlier paper on Lagos,this landmark Square where the British Colonial, Indigenous andExpatriate Lagos meet, has grown without any physical evidenceof the layering of its history. Indeed, the growth of the Square hasso transformed this historical landmark space to the extent that thearchitectural styles of each preceding epoch is completelyobliterated. In the introduction to the opening of an exhibition ofwater colour drawings on Brazilian Architecture in 1 990, byAbiola Fashina, I observed that the Fernandez house on the northwest corner of the Square, an Afro Brazilian historical landmarkin the last decade of the 1 9th century must have stood in elegantcontrast to the old Court of Justice and the Methodist Church. ThatPhysically, has survived the context of 'development.' TodayFernandez House can only be recognised by the visual literatepublic and the architectural historical literate as an echo of a past;a pait that is still very much part of the present; indeed a livinghistory!

Architecture:Expansion and Continuity

Where buildings of historical importance have survived,and there have been many until the current phase of rebuildingand refenestration, the integrity of the buildings have beenlargely compromised. The 1 967 west extension to the da RochaWater House changed the scale and proportion of the mainhouse. The space between the apse end of the Christ ChurchCathedral and the Bishops Court had been cluttered by acollection of disparate buildings. Even though these buildingsbelong to a more recent period, there as no attempt at stylisticreference to, or acknowledgement of the language of the Gothicarchitectural style of the cathedral.

Also the apse end of the Roman Catholic Cathedralappears crowded-in by the distracting styles ofthe new additions.The competing scale ofthe Dumez towers on Oil Mill Street acrossthe west portal entry of the church is an unfortunate distraction.

The 1960 south wing addition to the Oba's Palace in IsaleEko neither acknowledged visual continuity with, nor achieved

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stylistic relationship to the 1 890 north wing. Also, the richinternal courtyard/spatial texture of the palace was hardlyreflected in the extension.

Architectural Styles in Lagos

In the second half of the 19th century, fourcontemporary external architectural influences convergedin Lagos. Church architecture expressed in Gothic revivalstyle: The Breadfruit Church, 1880; the Christ ChurchCathedral, 1925 by Bagan Benjamin and the RomanCatholic Cathedral, 1936, by Fr. Simon. Second, Colonialpublic buildings such as the Secretariat on Marina; theGovernment Printer on Broad Street, and the old GeneralPost Office (circa 1910) whose style is colonial classicalbased on the English revival of the classical orders. Third,,elegant town house for the educated elite and the merchantclass in the Saro-English style. The residence of Dr. Maja onGerber square, both designed by Herbert Macaulay andthe residence of the Hon. Samuel H. Pearce

on Olowogbowo are some of the most interesting examples;unfortunately the last two have been demolished.

The fourth and most wide-spread is the Afro-Brazilianstyle which found its expression in private houses. This stylecreated a new building type; the southern mosque whichwas derived and developed from colonial Brazilian churcharchitecture: the Shitta BeyMosque, 1882, on MartinsStreet, by Jaoa Baptista/Sanusi Aka, and the CentralMosque on Nnamdi AzikiwebyJaoaBaptista/SanusiAka.Of the residences, theVaughan house and theWaterhouse both on KakawaStreet, Elias da Silva house onElias and Odufege Street andFernandez house on TinubuSquare remain some of themost outstanding examples.

A casual study of thesemid 19th century buildingsreveal a number of sharedstylistic similarities.

The composite,Corinthian column with thefloral capitals articulating theaccess to the Secretariat alsooccurs as engaged andframing columns in theWaterhouse and the Vaughanhouse where the floral capitalsare greatly transformed. Wealso note the rusticatedmasonry style of the engagedcolumn in the Secretariat aswell as its towers, the oldGeneral Post Office; t h e

Above; Residence of A. W. Thomas on Odunfa Street, the mostbaroque of the Afro-Brazilians, covered with the most ornateplasterwork.Below: The Vaunghan House, an Afro-Brizilian type, onKakawa Street, (Courtesy Nigeria Magazine!

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Pearse's house, the north facade of the Waterhouse and thesouth facade of the Lazaro Borges da Silva house.

The pediment concealing the gable end of the pitch roof onthe secretariat also occurs on the State House, Marina. In the oldGeneral Post office, unfortunately no longer in existence, singlelength Ionic columns connect two stories. The only knownexample of its genrejn Lagos, it was a throw back to the Italian

Renaissance period when Michelangelo created the magnificentgiant orders in the renovation of theCapital, in Rome.

The Pointed Arch of Islamicarchitectural origins which became aGothic ecclesiastical idiom, wastransformed by Brazilian craftsmanshipinto sensitive window glass panesframed by marvellous curved timberlines. Lazaro Borges house, no longerin existence, provides one of the mostfascinating examples. In the Elias dasilva house, the wrought iron balconieswith exquisite fleur de motif details isone of the most important and enduringheritage of the Brazilian styles.

The Brazilian Builder and hisDiscrete Influence

The deep pitch roof withprotruding and accenting garrets thatopens onto attic spaces,'baskethandle' arch openings, the portal entryas well as the robust baluster, theItalian Renaissance creation are someof the shared stylistic elements.

The Brazilian craftsmen, themaster builders of this period had sodiscretely diffused these styles in theirwork to the extent that the stylisticelements had by the third decades ofthe 20th century become part of this

View of the Waterhouse from the DevodeBranco House. The Waterhouse was ownedby the Da Roc ha family. View shows finewrought iron worked balcony. {Courtesy PieneVerger)

vocabulary in domestic architecture from Lagos to Porto Novcand beyond.

Development and Tradition:Mutually exclusive phenomena

'Development' has taken a toll of the fine examples of thetown houses in this city Among the Saro styled houses the Caxtonhouse on Marina; Ijeun house on Wesley and Joseph Street,

(Bagan Benjamin) demolished in 1 989for the Eleganza Towers. 1990;Wilberforce house, demolished.Elephant House ci rca, 1913,demolished and replaced by the 20storey Elephant House 1981, (Modulorgroup). The more common Brazilianhouses with the street facadeexpression, highly art iculatedfenestration with mouldings renderedin contrasting pastel colours have faredeven worse. The exuberant Baroquestyle old Central Mosque, 1 890, withtwo rear bell towers by Jaoa Baptistada Costa/and Sanusi Aka wasdemolished in 1 984 and replaced bythe present four minaret 1 4th centuryOttoman model in 1988 (Mogaji).

The Branco house on KakawaStreet circa 1900, was pulled downin 1955. On its site was built th-3Immigration building by the PublicWorks Department

National Monuments:Official neglect

The vocabulary of the Brazilian craftsmen and those that continued in thetradition

In the period preceding the1977 Festac in Lagos, the NationalAntiquities C o m m i s s i o n ,

which had declared the following buildings asnational monuments was under pressure bythe heirs for f inancial compensationFernandez house and Elias da Silva house onElias and Odufega Streets both stood ageingand continued to show the strains of neglect.The house of Lazaro Borges da Silva on thesouth east corner of Oshodi and TokunboStreets (circa 1900) eventually went down inflames in 1979.

In 1985, the Committee on thePreservation of Historical Buildings andMonuments of Lagos State enpanelled byGovernor Mudashiru published a compendiumof Buildings and Monuments of Lagos State Itwas during this period that the Ritz Hotel onAbibu Oki Street went down in flames. TheCommittee was in the process of preparing

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plans for the renovation of A.W.U. Thomas' Ebun house onOdunfa Street for an Art Gallery, when this mostexuberant Baroque style in the city went down in flames like apack of cards

Documentation:19th century architectural landmarks

Unfortunately, documentation on the turn of the 19thcentury architectural and-mark is scanty butthe following samplesreflect observers attention to details andform: The Wilberforce building wasdescribed as 'the most stately house on theIsland' (Vaughan-Richards; 1977: 19-20)A.W.U. Thomas Ebun house wasnicknamed by Lagos people as 'lieAwosifila' (Aradeon, 1 977 ; 1 9-20)and 'Petesi Anduru' Folami, 1982, 13). Itwas also described by an observer as apalatial home that towers so loftily abovethe Lagos House; it 'testifies eloquently tothe success that the Hon. A.W.U. Thomashas achieved (MACMILLAN; 1968: -104);'The Fernandez house is probably one ofoldest and most interesting house in Lagos'(M. Jacks; 1955:110). The Elephanthouse, the house of Hon. Samuel HerbertPearse, F.R.G.S., on Pearse Square wasdescribed as 'a handsome and palatialresidence. It is a home of good foundations,of large and elegantly furnished, rooms, ahouse beautiful with its roof garden and itsdelightful turret chamber, where, to themind attuned to ideals high above mundane

Above left: Old Elephant House, Broad Street, was one ofthe largest of the Brazilian houses, now replaced by 20-storey Elephant House (1981).

Above right: The Maja House on Garber square, used tobe one of the better preserved houses.

Below: Shitta Mosque, financed by Mohammed ShittaBey one of the muslim notabilities of the 19th century,designed by Senhor Joao Baptist da Costa and completedby Sanusi Aka. Pulled down and replaced by a newCentral Mosque (1988). (Courtesy: Boyles Bar).

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things, a perspective may be visioned greater than that of thebusy Nigerian port with its emerald Islands and its shimmeringlagoon' (Macmillan; 1968: 97, 8). This house was demolishedin 1979.

Problem of PreservationIt would appear that in the very nature of the personal

achievements of the past 'captains of industry' to borrow acurrent misnomer, lies one of the problems that militate againstthe protection of buildings of historical importance as well as thepreservation of this most enduring and visible achievement of thefamily patriach.

Within the context of colonial economy, men like Hon. A.W.U. Thomas and Hon. Herbert Pearse made their fortunes incommerce; they built elegant residences and invested on landedproperties rather than in manufacturing. Investment on rentalproperties remained the most assured and only viable areas ofinvestment open to them. Today, it is still the only investment thatcan be totally individually owned. Even where, as in DevodeBranco's will, he stipulated that the house he had lived in onKakawa Street should never be sold. (Cunha, 1 987; 1 82); thepressure of the governors, the lure of financial compensationand the rights of heirs to survival are often too strong to resist.

As a consequence, our pattern of urban development

even destroys the best examples of the personal achievement offamily patriarchs, distorts the character of the built environmentas well as their historical context. New buildings are located with

almost no attention to contextual relevance and historicalassociation as regards stylistic elements, volume play and streettexture

Cultural EducationThis evident lack of appreciation of historical antecedents

in our built environment reflects a fundamental flaw in oureducation system If our universities are to educate rather thancontinue to produce manpower we have to address this deficiency.For example we need to reorganise our undergraduate curriculumto include courses on creative and performing arts

In addition to creating know-ledgeable practitioners andculture clientele, we have to" actively begin to search for effectiveand functional ways to foster the culture of awareness amongdecision makers, administrators and the wider public whichinsists on shaping its own environment.

1985-1993 RenaissanceThis period beginning in 1 986 through 1 990 will probably

go down in history as one of the periods of high profile privateinvestment in the built environment.

Public Parks & spaces:private Vs Public Interest.

With Park View Estate III now fully built, all of old IkoyiPark, a public park, has finally been brought under privateoccupation; Victoria Island and especially, Victoria IslandExtension has been overbuilt; old Ikoyi is being intensely filled in.Reclothed and refurbished, even old houses on Victoria Island,

Awolowo Road, and AdeniranOgunsanya appear to beundergoing eclectic renaissance.In discussing this period, I am usingthe term renaissance in as wide acontext as possible In so far as thecurrent movement liberates thecreative spirit from the doctrinaireinterpretation of the internationalstyles of the 1950-1 960 decades,it is a Renaissance of sorts; it is livelyand enriching, if vulgar in someplaces. However, unlike its 16thcentury antecedent, this renaissancedoes not restore old and ageingbuildings to their original style. Itsimply erases memories. The currentfad, in keeping faith with the trend,obliterates all the traces of theor ig inal style. It repackageshistorical facades with collage ofstyles with apparentmisunderstanding of their symbolicmeanings, cultural and contextualrelevance, as well as architectoniccoherence.

Flexible & Mutable Zoninglaws and Building Codes

Since Governor Jakande

Left: An illustration withdetails on the front view ofthe Branco House, pulleddown in I955.

Below left: Illustration on theWaterhouse. It got its namefrom a sweet water well inthe compound.

Below: An illustration on theWaterhouse.

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encouraged code violations bystipulating financial sanctions and,Governor Akhigbe reconfirmedviolations, by increasing the

penalty, some landlords have beenbuilding shops on setbacks; localgovernments have also beenbuilding shops on the street setbacks and verges. On VictoriaIsland, service industries - banks,finance houses, restaurants, shops,fast food places, bureau dechangeand car sales depots - with accessto SFEM induced fallout funds, arepromoting building code andzoning law violations.

Real Property Values:Nigerian Practice

Ikoyi, is an early 19thCentury low density suburbia. Theneighbourhood is a living historicalcollection of oldcolonial housetypes. Each houseis located on abouta one acre lot.Since 1976, theneighbourhoodhas been

subjected toincreased landsubdivision fora d d i t i o n a lbuildings in orderto correct theseeming 'waste ofland.' In the lastfive years, it hasbeen undergoingwhat must besevere labour

pains, expanding and bloating the fifteen storey apartments

located in the middle of one storey houses.

Victoria Island, our low density layout, 1955/58, isanything now but low density residence; continualsubdivision has spread access, the current building andrebuilding activities has finally brought the city to this highincome, low density dream of the 1960 decade. VictoriaIsland has finally been transformed into an overbuiltphysical slum; an incoherent juxtaposition of buildingvolumes and mixed use; a functional chaos, and a motoristdaytime nightmare.

A substantial number of the 1960 residences havebeen renovated to house new banks. Their facades ofsleazy mirror glass are adorned behind mannered andbloated classical colonnaded portico which appear to

Above: Colonialresidential house typein Ikoyi, Lagos-

Left: Christ Cathedralin the 1960s, muchaltered now.

Below: Anothercolonial type withsweeping pitch roof.

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invokft the confidence of discreet banking reliability. To facilitateaccess, pedestrian sidewalks, setbacks and verges are coveredwith bituminous materials and cordoned off for, customers' carparking.

If the jousting taking place on Victoria Island is a 'renaissanceof sorts', then the Victoria Island extension is a postmodernconvulsion. As we all know, the prerogative of the averageNigerian client to be witnessed can induce devastating results.The Victoria Island Extension is the most expensive disorder inLagos.

Elsewhere in Metropolitan Lagos, the picture is as bleak.In Festac Town, the concept of comprehensive masterplan andhousing designed in 1975 by Doxiadis Associates, has finallybeen abandoned with finality. It is being replaced with the ad hocpattern of development that emphasizes individual plot allocationand the pre-eminence of the administrator as the chief planner.In Festac Town, not only are huge and expensive private housesbeing built, the open spaces, the heart of the Doxiadis Communitystructure are being'sold by the Federal Housing Authority forprivate houses. Beyond court injunctions which went unheeded,unfortunately, the communities themselves appear to lack thecapacity or courage to bring 'political' pressure to articulate thisgross environmental abuse by the very Authority charged with theresponsibility for protecting the public spaces.

The collapse of the housing programme of the 1975-1 9803rd Plan in 1 978 has already been noted as a reflection of ourincapacity to create a sustainable housing programme.

However if Jakande's Amuwo Odofin housing project isindicative of our potential to build and deliver subsidized housingto the middle income groups at the state level, Festac Townreflects our most glaring failure to manage public housingprogramme at the Federal level.

In a 1 988 paper, I suggested the preparation of Land UseDesign Reference Guide for Metropolitan Lagos. This Guide willprovide information base for physical changes, service line andproperty tax, as well as an effective administrative tool forphysical control. In addition the process of updating the guidebook on periodic basis by aerial or satelite photography willprovide an irrefutable check on the work of the physical controlfield inspectors.

One of the reasons for our inability to sustain the strictseperation of residential from business neighbourhood is due toour culture and the structure of our economy. To the extent thatthe average government allocation for housing is by and largeexploited for its investment potential, and treated as a 'commercial'development, two houses on an average plot has come to typifymost government layouts. As we are all painfully aware, thischanges density configuration, and continually places undueemphasis on the potential investment value of land as one singlemajor source of assured income from rental space.

Heirs & Patriachs and ExpectationsUnlike investment in industries where the quality of goods

manufactured is likely to ensure continuity of the market,commercial buying and selling based mostly on imports, depends

on personal linkages. Most of the great and flourishing merchanthouses of the past have not survived the passing of their familypatriachs. With the expectation of the heirs, their diverse andcompeting interests, even the historical houses as the most visibleachievement of the founding patriarch can only retain itsimportance as a source of income.

In the absence of filial commitments to preservation weshould explore legislation in the cause of preservation. Thehistorical building constitutes one single national patrimony thatwill keep alive memories of the family patriachs who inspired thebest in builders of their time. Men such asjoao Baptista da Costaand Balthazar dos Reis; Herbert Macaulay, the Surveyor, CivilEngineer and Architect and Bagan Benjamin, the Civil Engineerand Architect were master builders, some of whose individualwork became buildings of timeless beauty

As a teacher and student of architecture, the builtenvironment constitutes the living laboratory for our learning andteaching process. To have had the opportunity of meeting JoaoBaptista da Costa, the master builder of Shitta Bey Mosque andthe old Central Mosque, would have been a rare and an enviableprivilege; but to be able to visit the Shitta Bey Mosque is toexperience the power and subtleties of the creative powers ofJoao Baptista, and to confront the aristocracy of his work. Toachieve that quintessential level of excellence as he did in theShitta Bey Mosque, is a single minded pursuit of a lifetime studyand devotion; part self discipline and part self discovery.

In twenty years of teaching, what has struck me as one ofour national failings is that we have so unstructured the system ofspecialization of skill and labour to the extent that, the averagecitizen has to be the proverbial jack of all trades and master ofnone, to survive in this culture.

Cultural Tourism

We Nigerians have reputation as travellers. If you belongto the generation that graduated professionally in the early 1 960decade, you were, in all probability, educated abroad. If youhave visited or lived in London, you must have passed throughTrafalgar Square, by that monument to Lord Nelson, whichcommemorates one shining moment in English history.

You are also probably familiar with the Hyde Park, thatexpanse of greenery in the heart of the city. A friend onceremarked that if Nigerians as a group predominate in the Englishsociety, that sort of park could not survive. It would be allocatedand built upon. Well, this phenomenon, is happening to theneighbourhood parks at Festac town and Agbara Estate. It alsohappened to Ikoyi Park; Park View Estate I under GovernorJohnson and Estate II under Governor Jakande. The BiologicalGarden which was designed under the administration of GovernorMudashiru, was also predictably shared for housing underGovernor Rasaki. With the publication in the Guardian ofNovember 2nd 1993 of legal action instituted by GovernorOtedola against the Federal Government and others, the parksite at Osborne Road appears to have been shared out to privatehousing.

In Agraa, India, the Taj Mahal (1630-1 653) is consideredto be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. To walk its

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Vol.11 NO 3 • LBMDOKA ravtaw

grounds is to experience its ethereal quality and the ambience of1he majestic solitude of this mausoleum. The Mogul Emperor ShahJehan, had it built to the memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz-i-Mahal. Built with translucent marble, the Taj 'as generations ofvisitors attest, is blue at dawn, white at noon and the yellow ofthe sky at sunset.' (Hoag, 1977; I 84)

To walk the St. Peters Piazza in Rome is to step back inspace and time to the 16th through the 17th century; the'intentionof Pope Julius II' and the work of generations of masterbuildersfrom Bramante (1506) peaking to Michael Angelo (1546) andculminating in the noble entrance by Bernini (1956-67). Yetinspite of the span of time and the various ideas, St. Peters andits setting is remarkably focused around a central idea.

In this country, we espouse tourism. The last StateCommissioner for Trade and Tourism under the Akhigbe-Rasakiadministratiorfs commissioned a number of monuments: One ofHerbert Macaulayin two locations and the three white cap chiefsin white marble at the toll gate are some of the bright ideas thathave emerged on the landscape. However the locations andsetting are most insensitive. I have often wondered about our builtenvironment, the children growing up in the city, and the valueswe expect them to imbibe from the buildings around them. Whatvalues do we teach them about our heritage? Which buildings ofthe past do we point out as landmarks? Which values makeheroes of the past in our professions? What are the measures oftheir achievement? When we invite our foreign friends, especiallyour professional friends from abroad, which places, public parksand buildings do we take them to see? Which of these buildingsdo we tell them expresses our worthiest and most remarkableachievements?

The search for excellence, the preservation of examples ofthat excellence, the acknowledgement of our professionalpredecessors, some of whose buildings truly represent the best oftheir times are the monuments of all times; this is the context withinwhich I wish to espouse the cause of preservation. The lessons of

uninspiring building as well as the inspirational impact of thework of excellence transcends the time-space continuum.

It is this that is so remarkable about historical monumentsand places. Let us join forces to protect our public buildings, ourcity parks and private buildings of historical importance. Withoutthe past, the future can really have no meaning, and that is thesignificance of tradition. GR

Footnotes

). The public Planning Review Board was instituted by the Government

of Lagos State during the tenure of Governor Mudasniru, it was part of the

recommendation made by the Judicial Panel on the Lagoon City project.

2. The location of the Portuguese and Saro towns were buffer as well as

transition zones between indigenous Lagos to the north, north and north

west and the British Colonial institutional areas which stretched south

West to the old Niger House on Broad Street and Marina, and through

Onikan to Ikoyi Island on the north east skirting the Hausa constabulary

in Obalande.

3. Elephanthouse in reference is notto be confused with Elephant house,

1973, on Ikorodu Road, or the Elephant house 199 1 (Fola Alade) in

Agidingbi for the cement manufacturers. On its location now stands the

20 storey Elephant House 1983 (Modulor Group}.

4. Within the last two decades, three historical buildings have been

known to have been preserved for new use.

i. Art's Place 1978; residence of Gbemi Alade Circa 1930 on City

Way, Yaba. Renovation Architect, David Aradeon 1978,

ii. Offices... 1985 residence of Circa 25, Igbosere Road, Lagos

Island designed by Herbert Macaulay, Renovation Architect / 985.

Hi. Office for the Leventis Foundation; Residence of Dr. Lump KinCirca

1880, at 8/1 OAbibu Oki Street, Lagos Island. Renovation Architect, John

Godwin.

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Afrumn Quarterlyen the ArtsVU1/N03

The Idumotaelotk tower,

and warmemorial

SOJAIDUMOTA' tothe left in thebackground

IndependentCelebration atTinubu Square,note the towerof theMethodistChurch, whichhas since beenremoved.

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