Limbo Accra and Nmbello Studio’s sustainable design competition encourages students to create Africa’s utopian future
Limbo Accra and Nmbello Studio have joined forces for Africa – A Designer’s Utopia, a competition aimed at supporting students from Ghana and Nigeria to think imaginatively about sustainable design with a contextual approach. The project came out of joint research taken up by the two studios investigating the impact of indigenous design thinking and localised problem solving within global design discussions. This academic venture gave further insight into the ‘African utopia’ that design can bring about, and the competition is a way of putting impetus behind this important vision.
“Nmbello comes from a product driven and industrial background and we have an urban planning and architectural approach, and so with our respective expertise, we are able to support the next generation of design talents,” says Dominique Petit-Frère, co-founder (with Emil Grip) of Limbo Accra. “We have excellent judges and a fantastic programme for 2022 where we hope to see the ideas of future African designers be brought into fruition.”
Petit-Frère began exploring the future potential of West African cities while studying International Development in the US. “I found that the teachings of how to help, heal and fix countries in the developing South were all examined and managed through a euro-centric and westernised framework. So, I started trying to engage with these spaces in a contemporary way through creative outputs. What interested me most about the urban fabric in Accra is that there are concrete skeletons and empty buildings littered across the city.”
Phantom Urbanism exists in many African cities and refers to when buildings are left unoccupied and incomplete due to various societal, political and economic failures. Limbo Accra’s interdisciplinary and experimental approach gives such spaces a renewed aesthetic and cultural significance. The studio uses architectural production, installation art and creative design to invest these structures and their surrounding communities with renewed life. “These concrete skeletons have the power to hold the future within them,” continues Petit-Frère.
Alongside other accolades, she was recently awarded the inaugural #BlackDesignVisionaries grant, established by Instagram’s @design account in partnership with the Brooklyn Museum, which invests in emerging Black designers and Black-led design businesses. And front and centre for her studio right now is being architectural lead for Surf Ghana’s Freedom Skatepark. A collaboration with Alaska Alaska, Space Accra and Wonders Around the World, construction has begun on Ghana’s first-ever recreational skate park that is using urban greening and recycled materials to create an open, inclusive and environmentally conscious space.
“Africa is a breeding ground for creative solutions. I am interested to see what areas of life students are targeting”
“Limbo’s work is cross border and uniquely informed by their own identities and experiences,” she says of this major project. “There is a great transparency with our intentions and processes which allow for a meaningful collaboration. We find that the diversity of our positions and practices globally has encouraged a great exchange and basis for a more nuanced project.”
Nifemi Marcus-Bello, founder of Nmbello Studio in Lagos, believes in letting process dictate the design, creating an empathetic and even spiritual approach to solution making. In 2021 he won the Wallpaper* Design Award for Life-Enhancer of the Year for coming up with a portable, modular hand washing station that could be made by local artisans. It was a response to the first wave of the pandemic and met the needs of local medical professionals who were struggling with keep their hands clean in over-burdened health facilities.
Marcus-Bello is clear on what he’s looking for from entrants to Africa – A Designer’s Utopia. “I am hoping that the students who apply dive into their surroundings and ask themselves a lot of questions about what true innovation is. Most importantly, they should find some time to get off computer screens and get inspired by what is around them and to find time to interact with potential stakeholders that will bring their ideas to life.”
The competition asks its entrants to delve into problem solving from a local point of departure and to think about collaborating with craftspeople to create economically viable and long-lasting products, whether for the home or the public realm. Students should submit a design proposal with a concept for a final product that will speak to readily available manufacturing and production techniques.
“The innovation and resilience of everyday life in Lagos and Accra is inspiring in itself,” Marcus-Bello explains. “Look at the Okrika Market stalls used to sell bootleg t-shirts and second-hand clothing in Lagos. These stalls are similar to those you’ll see in London or New York but have a little more depth, character and architecture to them as a lot of the materials used are upcycled.” Therefore, it’s not about coming up with something new and flashy for the sake of it, or to prove how clever you are as a designer. It’s about developing a truly revolutionary product that serves the place it stems from and encourages a homegrown supply chain.
“Africa is a breeding ground for creative solutions,” Petit-Frère adds. “I am interested to see what areas of life students are targeting and what issues people are highlighting as potential areas of improvement. We are at ground zero and we can build the future of the city. It is up to the youth to be change makers.”
Africa – A Designer’s Utopia is open for entries until 18 January 2022. Apply here.
Winners will be announced in February 2022 and a group exhibition of final work will take place in Accra, Ghana in 2022.