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Architecture West Africa
A|WA is an architectural research initiative focused on the construction histories, material systems, environmental behavior, and transformation of indigenous West African architecture.
A|WA is an architectural research initiative focused on the construction histories, material systems, environmental behavior, and transformation of indigenous West African architecture.
The project was established to investigate a problem that sits between architectural history and building performance:
The project was established to investigate a problem that sits between architectural history and building performance:
What architectural knowledge survives in historical buildings, and how can that knowledge be responsibly reconstructed, tested, and interpreted?
What architectural knowledge survives in historical buildings, and how can that knowledge be responsibly reconstructed, tested, and interpreted?
A|WA combines archival research, field documentation, architectural reconstruction, environmental analysis, digital methods, and contemporary design experimentation.
A|WA combines archival research, field documentation, architectural reconstruction, environmental analysis, digital methods, and contemporary design experimentation.
Research Phase 01 (2026–2029) uses Nigeria as an initial field of investigation within a broader West African research agenda.
Research Phase 01 (2026–2029) uses Nigeria as an initial field of investigation within a broader West African research agenda.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Chinaka U. Njoku
Chinaka U. Njoku
Chinaka U. Njoku is an architectural researcher and the founder and Principal Investigator of A|WA (Architecture West Africa).
Chinaka U. Njoku is an architectural researcher and the founder and Principal Investigator of A|WA (Architecture West Africa).
His research interests include West African architectural history, construction systems, material intelligence, environmental performance, digital documentation, architectural reconstruction, and the relationship between historical knowledge and contemporary design.
His research interests include West African architectural history, construction systems, material intelligence, environmental performance, digital documentation, architectural reconstruction, and the relationship between historical knowledge and contemporary design.
His work connects architectural research with building science, archival investigation, data analysis, and applied design experimentation.
His work connects architectural research with building science, archival investigation, data analysis, and applied design experimentation.
RESEARCH POSITION
RESEARCH POSITION
A|WA is grounded in several commitments:
Architecture is evidence.
Buildings contain information about material, climate, labor, technology, social organization, and maintenance.
Reconstruction is not certainty.
Historical reconstruction requires explicit distinctions between documented, corroborated, inferred, hypothetical, and unknown conditions.
Simulation is not history.
Environmental models can test a reconstruction; they do not replace the historical evidence from which the reconstruction was developed.
Application is not proof.
A contemporary prototype can test a research question without proving that a historical system operated identically.
Communities are not datasets.
Architectural knowledge is connected to the people, practices, and places through which it has been maintained.
RESEARCH PHASE 01
RESEARCH PHASE 01
2026–2029
2026–2029
The first phase of A|WA establishes the research framework, archival methodology, climatic transect, digital reconstruction process, field protocols, and initial applied experiments.
The first phase of A|WA establishes the research framework, archival methodology, climatic transect, digital reconstruction process, field protocols, and initial applied experiments.
The phase is organized around:
The phase is organized around:
North — Sahel
North — Sahel
Southwest — Tropical Wet-and-Dry
Southwest — Tropical Wet-and-Dry
Southeast — Humid / High-Rainfall
Southeast — Humid / High-Rainfall
Nigeria provides the initial geographic framework through which these questions can be investigated.
Nigeria provides the initial geographic framework through which these questions can be investigated.
A|WA AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH
A|WA AND ACADEMIC RESEARCH
A|WA develops alongside Chinaka U. Njoku's graduate architectural research.
A|WA develops alongside Chinaka U. Njoku's graduate architectural research.
Academic work, independent A|WA research, collaborative work, and commissioned design projects are identified separately so that institutional affiliations and project responsibilities remain clear.
Academic work, independent A|WA research, collaborative work, and commissioned design projects are identified separately so that institutional affiliations and project responsibilities remain clear.
COLLABORATION
COLLABORATION
A|WA is interested in collaboration across:
A|WA is interested in collaboration across:
Architecture
Architectural history
Building science
Environmental engineering
Material research
Digital humanities
Conservation
Anthropology / ethnography
Craft and construction
Community-based research
Architecture
Architectural history
Building science
Environmental engineering
Material research
Digital humanities
Conservation
Anthropology / ethnography
Craft and construction
Community-based research
Potential collaborators are listed only where relationships or affiliations have been formally established.
Potential collaborators are listed only where relationships or affiliations have been formally established.
CONTACT
CONTACT
General Research Inquiries
General Research Inquiries
Chinaka U. Njoku
Principal Investigator
A|WA — Architecture West Africa
Chinaka U. Njoku
Principal Investigator
A|WA — Architecture West Africa
Email: chinaka@umich.edu
Email: chinaka@umich.edu
Curriculum Vitae: [Download CV]
Curriculum Vitae: [Download CV]
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