Legacy Starts Ilukwe House Restoration Plan
Legacy is delighted to announce that thanks to the Heritage Management Organization and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation our project Restoring Ilukwe House – A Research Centre Promoting Nigeria’s Heritage has been awarded a grant for the start-up of this restoration project. It will be the first step in the development of a research and exhibition centre to expand Legacy’s capacity to offer specialised school visits and to provide researchers a conducive environment in which to engage with architectural and railway heritage to promote Nigeria’s history and heritage. The project is led by Legacy members and incorporates collaboration with architects and students.
Ilukwe House is located at 21 Federal Road, Railway Compound, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. It was built in 1905 and is a fine example of tropical architecture. There are few of such buildings still standing. With the current pressures of climate change and high energy costs, there’s a need to revisit this architectural style. Preserving it provides a great resource for research.
This grant for the first stage of the project will include preliminaries such as site preparations, safety assessments, detailed drawings, and sourcing of artisans and craftspeople. This stage will also see the start of media and outreach work with students, and stakeholder vision workshops to plan for future usage and fundraising to complete the restoration. In line with Legacy’s commitment to environmental sustainability we aim to limit the use of plastic as much as possible during the project implementation, seek as many ways as possible to use recyclable materials in order to reuse and to reduce waste.
The process of the restoration of Ilukwe House is designed to add value and to educate and show Nigerians the benefits of purposeful restoration. It will be an inspiration and practical educational resource to architects, students, and other practitioners who want to save historic buildings, as well as providing opportunities for further research. It is our plan to involve as many stakeholders as possible. Moreover, the open days and outreach events are intended to allow our organisation to use the project to showcase the possibilities to peer heritage organisations in Nigeria more widely.
Visitors are welcome. Contact information can be found on Legacy’s website, www.legacy1995.ng.
