Material Culture: Why What We Build With Matters As Much As What We Build

Every material carries meaning. Concrete speaks of permanence and industrial progress. Timber evokes warmth and craft. Laterite connects a building to the earth it sits upon.

In Nigeria, the dominant construction material is concrete block with cement render. It is affordable, available, and familiar. But familiarity can breed indifference, and too many buildings in our cities are wrapped in the same featureless grey envelopes.