Habitat Africa Opens Call for Essays On The Evolution of Nigerian Architecture

Habitat Africa, the premium annual coffee table book documenting the continent’s most ambitious architecture, real estate, and urban transformation, announces an open call for essays exploring the evolution of architecture in Nigeria.

Nigerian architecture tells the tale of a country constantly rebuilding itself, from the earthen compounds of the Hausa north to the courtyard houses of the Yoruba southwest, through the tropical modernism of the independence era to the glass towers of Eko Atlantic and the experimental practices redefining Lagos today. Habitat Africa is looking for a definitive essay that summarises this arc, including the origins, influences, and future directions of Nigerian architecture.

In the upcoming edition of Habitat Africa, the chosen essay will be included with photographs and biographies of the cities, people, and developments influencing Africa’s built environment. Developers, architects, institutional investors, legislators, and design aficionados from all across the continent and the diaspora will be among its audience.

What We Are Searching For

Submissions ought to take Nigeria’s architectural history and development seriously. Pre-colonial and vernacular building traditions, the post-independence civic architecture of Abuja and Lagos, the pressures of rapid urbanization and informal settlement, modern Nigerian practices gaining international recognition, and the future of sustainable, climate-responsive
design in West Africa are just a few of the topics that essays may cover.

Guidelines For Submission

Essays should be unpublished and between 1500 and 2,000 words long. Submissions can be submitted using this link here. A brief author biography (no more than 150 words) and, if applicable, links to earlier works should be included.

Submission deadline: 15th September 2026.

The winner will be awarded the sum of N100,000 and given full credit in print and on all Habitat Africa platforms, with second place at N75,000.

Peter Aleoghena

Editor-In-Chief, Habitat Africa

Sponsored Content