atelier masōmī The project was conceptualised as part of a competition proposal for a new building within the hisstorical Cultural District of Benin, Nigeria. It seeks to combine formal and material references from pre-colonial Benin with contemporary architecture. A new pedestrianised district in the centre of Benin (in Edo State, Nigeria) is being shaped as part of the wider Edo Museum of West African Art project. 

 Benin palace architecture was characterised by large rectilinear courtyards, long galleries and tall pitched roofs. Written records show that early European visitors were impressed by the scale, grandeur and proportions of the palace complex, reporting: “The king’s court is very large, having many large square places within….the court is so large that the end is not to be seen.”