needed to be shift context and still embrace all the other contexts that shaped me. I could be in Ghana and still engage the West, but this time on my own terms, or so I thought.... YOU ARE AN INFLUENT ACTOR OF THE GHANEEN ARCHITECTURAL SCENE. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN YOUR COUNTRY AND IN AFRICA? Nobody knows what I do for a living and frankly this is great for me. I do not even know sometimes (laugh) Setting up a traditional practice has been difficult because there is only a burgeoning architectural scene in Ghana. There is a huge developing BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, but there is a difference. Note I said Architectural scene. I have found much more support creating a forum for discourse on creativity and development. Along with friends, we set up the ADVENTURERS IN THE DIASPORA (Editor’s note: for more information see http://adventurersinthediaspora.visualsociety. com/) which has grown and for 2012, will focus on REVIVING OUR NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ART. This is what excites me about ghana!
ROOTS. The old guard must recognise this and nurture and support them to think afresh. We need to lead by example by being part of Africa’s development by using our skills to understand humanity and its NEEDS and most importantly become economic engines for growth ourselves. We must create wealth both materially and of the mind. That to me symbolises the new African Architect. YOU WHERE JURY MEMBER OF «THE BLUEPRINTS OF PARADISE», A COMPETITION ABOUT FUTUR VISIONS OF BUILT ENVIRONEMENT IN AFRICA CAN YOU GIVE US YOUR IDEA ABOUT THIS COMPETITION? The difficulty was for the paticipants to really try to understand the africa that african lives, to understand the african space and dynamique. I wanted them to
The next generation of architects/designers are our future.They have all the tools to engage via technology and a growing awareness of
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