ZERO CARBON COMMUNITY, Lagos, Nigeria
Principal in Charge with HMC
Led by a young humanitarian developer, the first modern zero-carbon community in Africa will occupy 400 acres of land on the Lekki Peninsula, between the Atlantic coast and the Lagos Lagoon and include a diverse mix of residential, commercial, retail, and cultural uses with extensive affordable housing. The concept evolved around the intricate relationships between climate change and public health. Climate shock undermines biodiversity, paving the way for novel viruses such as COVID-19 to spread. Cities of the future must become more resilient by facilitating flexible uses, continuous functionality, and safe distancing practices. Moreover, since the built environment accounts for nearly half of annual carbon emissions, it arguably contributes directly to the spread of viruses by exacerbating climate change. Low-carbon cities are safer cities. The project explores a new model to address these challenges, offering clean, reliable, self-sufficient infrastructure to a wide range of income groups. Energy consumption is designed to be only 25-30% that of comparable buildings in the west, and through abundant onsite renewables the project will produce twice the energy it needs. Within a decade, this additional energy will effectively nullify the impact of having built the project—a truly zero-carbon development.
PRESS: New York Times
“A model city for healthy urban living.” —New York Times