- …builds Afro-Utopian ‘Spatial Justice for All’
One year after announcing the build of Freedom Skatepark in East Legon, Accra, the fresh thinking architectural studio Limbo Accra are on track for the important milestone of delivering their first permanent cultural centre for Ghana. The roster of collaborators includes heavyweights Virgil Abloh’s, Alaska Alaska design studio as well as specialist production partners, Space Accra and Wonders Around the World (WAW).
This project cements Limbo Accra’s vision of an urban ecosystem in harmony with its local youth population. A sustainable design strategy incorporates evolving urban greening initiatives, water management, recycled construction materials and pollution prevention. Jobs, training and stewardship of the site are entrusted in perpetuity to locals historically excluded from development in the capital.
For the architects at Limbo, it was important for the design of the space to be visually open and inclusive as an anti-thesis to contemporary public spaces in Accra which lacks urban green spaces. In response, Limbo Accra has developed a scheme which blurs programmatic boundaries and encourages dialogue between the diverse green landscape and the users of the space.
Given the temporality of the space, Limbo Accra was very conscious of their impact and explored modular and natural building systems which could be re-appropriated by the Ghanaian youth.
At its core, Limbo Accra seeks to engage with a global community of young architects & entrepreneurs. The architectural lead Saloni Parekh, brought on board for this project, explains: “Limbo’s work is cross border and uniquely informed by their own identities and experiences. There is a great transparency with our intentions and processes which allow for a very meaningful collaboration. We find that the diversity of our positions and practices globally has encouraged a great exchange and basis which one is able to develop and design for a more nuanced project.”
