Lagos Legacy

Lagos is constantly growing and renewing itself, and teetering on the edge of a possible crisis. Lagos is shaped by incredible contrasts. Lagos is ambiguous, vibrant and demanding. Among the most pressing issues are the lack of space and transportation: There seems to be no escape from a fate of (often dysfunctional) urbanity. Against this backdrop, invited by Lagos-based Legacy 1995*, and informed by its agenda and location, namely, its dedication to the built heritage of Lagos and its base in the Nigerian Railways compound in Ebute-Metta, Lagos Legacy has been conceptualized as a joint lab, with a speculative and artistic approach. The intention was to identify the potentials of the railway compound as a kind of enchanted terrain with intriguing, abandoned structures in the middle of Mainland Lagos. Legacy’s Running Shed has thereby been the “node” of interest from which the lab was started in a playful, transdisciplinary manner. Navigating between field research, spatial articulations and artistic interventions, questions of urbanity, space, history, identity, and agency were addressed.

As a conceptual starting point, the lab centered around three topics: Heritage, Scale, and Terrain Vague (as coined by Ignasi de Solà-Morales, 1995). Based on these notions, participants were asked to map the fragility, beauty, and potential of the given site. An interdisciplinary team of architecture and art students, young architects, and Lagos-based artists collaborated on adhoc projects that were realized in digital and physical forms, and shown to the public at the end of two-week onsite lab. Working on spatial and ephemeral interventions served as a kind of trial arrangement for uses of the abandoned Ebutte-Metta Running Shed. It was possible to experience the pure scale of the given space, and its potential for future programming. The space was envisioned as a recreational, creative, and shared space for diverse user groups, beyond commercially driven or exclusive interests.

The onsite lab was structured in four stages: 

Perception: The team explored the given terrain through walks, maps, talks, documents, and narrations, followed by further individual encounters, whereby what was perceived was documented through the medium of photography or video (camera, smartphone), sketches, or text.

Conception: Based on the previously identified (spatial) intensities, atmospheres, and facts, each participant worked on a concept for an investigation – either individually, or in collaboration.

Translation: The proposed concept was translated into pieces of work which were then developed individually, or as team projects. The medium of expression was defined according to the respective topic.

(Re)Presentation: The projects – or works in progress – were shown and shared with a wider audience.  A publication was produced in order to collect and archive the works, embedded in a wider discourse, and document the lab and the public event which took place on February 25th, 2017, in and around the Running Shed.