Lagos 2050 charrette guidelines
A gallery grid in the Tosin Oshinowo article will showcase participants’ charrette design concepts. Each participant may submit one slide, which may include a link or attachment to a multi-page PDF with additional elements.
Single item: One high-resolution image with accompanying project summary and captions.
Multiple items: If you have several sketches, diagrams, or elevations, please compile them into a single multi-panel composite board (landscape orientation, JPEG/PNG), or submit a primary representative image along with a link/attachment to a multi-page PDF to show multiple sketches or other text and visual elements.
IMPORTANT: The charrette is not limited to architectural design. Participants who are not architects can submit their own variations of the elements shown in the diagrams.
Gallery presentation of the submissions
The curated submissions will be shown in a gallery grid in the mid-section of the “How Africa can lead into the 21st century/Tosin Oshinowo and Lagos, the city of the future” article.
Visitors will click on boxes in the gallery grid to view the submissions.
Recommended reading, perusing and viewing
Videos & Talks
"Why Inclusive Design is the Future of Architecture" by Tosin Oshinowo (TED Talk / Design Indaba): Explores Afro-minimalism, context-specific urbanism, and designing for the human experience in fast-growing African metropolises.
"Lagos: How a Sinking Megacity is Designing for Climate Resilience" (Architectural Digest / Earthrise): Visual case studies of vernacular architecture, floating structures, and grassroots innovation in Lagos.
"African Modernism and the Cities of Tomorrow" (BBC / YouTube Documentary Series): Examines historical modernist architecture across West Africa and how contemporary designers reinterpret vernacular forms.
Essays
"Afro-Minimalism: Designing with Cultural Context and Climate in Mind" by Tosin Oshinowo: Discusses balancing modern geometric aesthetics with indigenous passive cooling and local materials.
"Learning from Lagos: Global Urbanism and Grassroots Infrastructure" by Rem Koolhaas / Harvard Project on the City: Foundational analysis of self-organizing systems, market mobility, and adaptive reuse in Lagos.
"Decolonizing Architecture: Sustainable Vernacular Methods in West Africa" (Architectural Review / The Architectural League): Focuses on earth construction, bamboo, natural ventilation, and sustainable materials suited to tropical climates.
Books
African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence by Manuel Herz, Ingrid Schröder, Hans Focketyn, and Julia Jamrozik: Documentation of post-colonial architecture that provides vital precedent for contemporary African urban identity.
Lagos: A Cultural and Literary History by Kaye Whiteman: Discussion of the layered urban geography, history, and civic vitality of Lagos.
Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism by Julia Watson: A visual manual of indigenous, nature-based technologies that inform modern ecological urbanism.
News media
Brazilian mother and daughter design glowing home out of recycled bottles. TIMES OF INDIA.COM / Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Articles and video cited in the “How Africa can lead into the 21st century” article
(I’ll insert links from that article into this space)
Photos of Brazilian bottle house via the Times of India educational fair use