Design Week Lagos 2024 Highlights: Our writer shares his experience

Nothing describes Lagos in October better than chaos. It’s not that the city isn’t always full of turbulence, but there’s something peculiar about October. The hustle and bustle of everything and everyone reaches a fever pitch in the last quarter of the year. As Nigerians, it is in our blood to make the best of everything.

Traffic is usually more problematic. It’s the kind of traffic jam where you’re stuck in one spot for 40 minutes because someone is too big and rebellious to obey the traffic rules at a T-junction. The weather is also very dramatic – always too extreme: when it’s sunny it’s scorching hot and when it rains it floods everywhere, and we all know what that means for a coastal city with poor drainage structures. Then there are unjustified police checks, where officers look out for young people they can harass or extort. Regardless of their claims, police brutality is still alive and well, despite the #EndSARS protest in 2020.

A view of the Lagos city tower — A view of Lagos City Tower, opposite the 1004 apartment on Victoria Island

And yet there are also good things about Lagos in October. It’s time for building networks thanks to various events that unite creatives from many sectors. Design Week Lagos is one of them. This year was the fifth edition of the fair (23 to 27 October 2024), with the theme ‘The role of design in economic evolution’, and was again held in the Livespot Entertarium.

Design Week Lagos is much more than a fair; it is a catalyst that pushes African design onto the world map. It doesn’t matter that it only lasts a few days, its impact is much longer. The fair does not just focus on Lagos or Nigeria, but brings together numerous architectural and design scenes from across West Africa.

hut on the beach — A relaxation spot on a beach

Over five days we saw architects, designers, industrialists, artisans and enthusiasts learning together about the West African design center through the DWL panels in a large auditorium in the same building. From building structures to immersive experiences to new product and lighting collections and collaborations, the exhibition stands were filled with enchanting experiences.

This year again saw notable debuts, especially from furniture designers from the NDIC section, with exciting designs and more innovative and experimental materials, complete with stories about their inspirations. Seven designers identified ancestral inspiration as the source of their designs, proving that homegrown culture is a heartwarmingly rich seam for the next generation shaping our present and our future.

Highlights of Design Week Lagos 2024

‘Oji Banks’ by Myles Igwe

'Oji Banks' by Myles Igwe

‘Oji Banks’ by Myles Igwe

(Image credit: Lekan)

Myles Igwe has been a designer for most of his childhood and one thing that keeps him inspired is his Igbo culture. In the past he has created furniture pieces inspired by cultural moments such as the Aba women’s riots of 1929 or the significance of trade in Nteje, his hometown. His inspiration for a set of cozy sofas comes from ‘Oji’, the Igbo name for kola nut, a sacred fruit used in various rituals in the Igbo tradition. The shapes of the furniture are derived from the shape of the kola nut, dissected and reconfigured to create perfectly constructed sofas, each with a different shape. Igwe describes the ‘Oji’ benches as a spiritual embodiment of community and tradition.

‘Eledere’ by Tunde Owolabi

'Eledere' by Tunde Owolabi

‘Eledere’ by Tunde Owolabi

(Image credit: Lekan)

How do you immortalize a workforce that is heavily looked down upon and yet very beneficial to the people of Lagos? This was the question Tunde Owolabi sought to explore in his presentation at Design Week Lagos 2024. His furniture project ‘Eledere’ put street vendors in the spotlight – a source of great support (however often overlooked) when considering traffic density in Lagos. The table features a special carving of a woman’s face, suggesting that the objects you place on the table become her burden. The collection also includes a chair beautifully patterned with rich Yoruba symbols in a range of vibrant colours. Owolabi describes the design as a tribute to female street vendors who, despite not being appreciated enough, are able to earn a living in difficult circumstances.

‘The Eko Calendar’ by Oladela Agboola

'The Eko Calendar' by Oladela Agboola

‘The Eko Calendar’ by Oladela Agboola

(Image credit: Lekan)

This familiar structure is part of the city’s architectural buzz, but seeing it reimagined as a clock was an unexpected discovery. The ‘Eko’ calendar is inspired by the Lekki-Ikoyi link road, a project that was commissioned in 2013 and consists of dozens of cable strands to hold the 1.36-kilometre-long bridge in place. The bridge is not just a road, it is an intersection that connects old money (Ikoyi) with new money (Lekki phase one) and that influential meaning plays an important role in describing social class. Oladela Agboola has built a miniature design of the symbolic structure using plexiglass alongside a 3D printed silhouette in ABS (plastic) to allow for customization and waste reduction.

‘Zero-weld steel dining set’ by Oluwa Kayinsade

'Zero-wield steel dining set' by Oluwa Kayinsade

‘Zero-wield steel dining set’ by Oluwa Kayinsade

(Image credit: Lekan)

We often talk about how we can integrate AI into design for more effective and productive output, especially as a country in the Global South. It was therefore no surprise that designers addressed the topic here. Architect Oluwa Kayinsade’s ‘zero-weld steel dining set’ was one of the highlights of the week. It is a combination of laser-printed steel dinnerware, surrounding a steel and glass table. The designer describes it as “a modern look created to address the challenges of Nigeria’s limited skilled workforce and production resources,” but the real story lies in its artistic quality. Impressive for a product without traces of welding by human hands, yet with durability and soul.

‘Homenka’ collaboration by Zoe Chinonso Ene and Tayo Adenaike

'Homenka' collaboration by Zoe Chinonso Ene and Tayo Adenaike

‘Homenka’ collaboration by Zoe Chinonso Ene and Tayo Adenaike

(Image credit: Lekan)

120 years ago, a secret society indigenous to the Igbo culture of southeastern Nigeria developed a writing system. They were the Ekpe secret society and called this writing system ‘Nsibidi’. Now, in 2024, it has re-emerged as one of the major highlights of design week in a rendition of three media: painting; textile; and steel furniture. The project is a collaboration between Zoe Chinonso Ene and Tayo Adenaike, titled ‘Homenka’. Chinonso’s steel stool is shaped like an hourglass and is inspired by the ‘oji’, the Igbo kola nut, incorporating elements from the sacred fruit to create small detailed carvings. Nsibidi is the system used by Igbo people to document their cultural heritage, including celestial bodies such as the sun and stars. Tayo Adenaike uses the Igbo ritual object ‘uli’ to create these illustrative Nsibidi paintings. Adenaike’s painting and Chinonso’s textiles both depict symbols derived from the ‘oji’.

‘Akpoti’ by Tosin Oshinowo

'Akpoti' by Tosin Oshinowo

‘Akpoti’ by Tosin Oshinowo

(Image credit: Lekan)

Tosin Oshinowo has an in-depth knowledge of design references, which shape her practice as an architect and designer. This year she exhibited a set of stools inspired by West African street furniture. The project is called ‘Akpoti’ and is a tribute to indigenous, anonymously designed stools. The ‘Akpoti’ is made from local materials and celebrates their uses across the country, especially their function in crafts and indoors. ‘I wanted to celebrate scarcity and the opportunity to do more with less. It reminds us what beauty can happen when we think and work differently within the boundaries of our environment,” said Oshinowo.

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