Aug
It is one thing to renovate, transform and repurpose a space, but to give a building a new soul is something else. Freehausdesign architects in collaboration with the interior designer Tola Ojuolape and brand agency Mam'gobozi Design Factory have done just that with The Africa Centre’s new home in Southwark.
I was commissioned to photograph and capture how the design team has breathed new life into the building, filling it with the colours, tastes, and vibe of Africa.
The Africa Centre started life in the 1960’s as a cultural hub for the UK’s African Diaspora, and for a long time was based in Covent Garden. It was a place to inspire, challenge, enlighten and encourage, hosting distinguished cultural, literary and political figures of African heritage.
The new headquarters in Great Suffolk Street has been completely rejuvenated into a multi-purpose site that offers flexible spaces for a variety of events and activities such as art exhibitions, pop-ups, and networking.
Inside, the 2216 sq. ft is divided across three floors with a new feature staircase connecting the first and second floors.
In contrast to the black painted exterior there is a palette of sandy clay plaster walls, rustic polished concrete floor, African inspired feature pendant lighting, authentic carved wooden furniture, vibrant fabrics and artwork. The ground floor opens out to a reception plus collaborative meeting space, and houses “Tatale”, a contemporary pan-African restaurant. The building has been extended at the back, with a row of glass doors that fold open completely, connecting the restaurant to an animated alleyway of railway arches.
The second floor is an events area, complete with bar clad in African geometric tiles and lounge with a mixture of contemporary African seating options. Both areas open out onto their own balconies, with the front terrace being supported by a sturdy black steel canopy that the architects added on the exterior as a welcoming feature.
On the third floor is the gallery space for artists to support the centre’s values and inspire others.
The Africa Centre has already featured in a number of prominent online forums and publications, including the Architects Journal, the Guardian, the Evening Standard, Wallpaper Magazine, Dezeen Magazine, The RIBA Journal and Forbes Africa.
The construction and fitout was completed by Metric Construction Cost Management Limited, Cambridge CM, Inc., OR Consulting Engineers Limited, Price & Myers and QOB.
#community #diaspora #culture #regeneration #design #community #africa #theafricacentre #interiordesign #brand #branding #collaboration
Aug
Nando’s has evolved into a 458-restaurant cultural phenomenon with a progressive peri-peri approach to their brand. I have been supplying them photography for a number of years, working with some incredible creatives.
Nando’s has always recognised that they had to be about much more than just the chicken that they served. From collaborations and associations with music artists (including a recording studio in their Soho restaurant), to partnering with Spier Arts Trust with a long-term commitment to contemporary Southern African art, peri-peri sauce now flavours many forms of popular culture.
Nando’s takes a progressive approach to promoting their #everyoneiswelcome stance through various different platforms. Their UK social media followers on Twitter and Instagram far exceeds their competitors. Nando’s millennial engagement and content has adopted music takeovers, reworks of memes or TikTok recipes using their sauces, and campaigns surrounding everything from the pandemic to student results, mental wellbeing and entrepreneurship.
Nando’s culture of diversity takes a “neighbourhood” approach to expansion driven by local demographics. If the clientele in Nando’s restaurants is modern, multiracial Britain made manifest, it could be because it engages its audience in a genuine, holistic way.
I recently photographed the new Nottingham, Netherfield Nando’s at Victoria Park Way. The restaurant was designed by Harrison with 118 internal, and 20 external covers. The exterior entrance is clad in timber and has both the Nando’s sign and logo, which light up in the evening. There is also a feature seated canopy area with box planters.
The interior is a kaleidoscope picture of the Nando’s palette, materials, lighting, and furniture. The flooring is a combination of Ted Todd wooden floor panels and tiles. The walls range from micro concrete trowelled finished render, to ribbed concrete tiles, exposed brick finish and vertical mosaic tiles with a deep glaze. There is a large selection of original South African art along with interspersed planters.
The seating is a mixture of large “live” edge banqueting tables, individual marble and chestnut top tables plus booths that divide the space. There is a suspended angled lath ceiling feature which is illuminated by linear LED strips, along with track lighting and Hoola Hoop pendant lights above the booths.
The evolution of the Nando’s progressive peri-peri brand is inspired by their adventurous spirit and values of Pride, Passion, Courage, Integrity and Family.
Jul
I was the guest speaker on the “Digital Artist” podcast on Wednesday July 20th 2022. I was joined by Andrew Kavanagh, the founder of Digital Artist and host for the talk, and Jack Savage of the Influx Gallery. My work features on the Influx Gallery website.
It was great to have an informal chat about my work and career although I do seem to ramble on for some time in the end! Jack and Andrew were awesome. The footage of the podcast is now available on YouTube –
Jul
Students have had a tough time lately with Covid related disruptions. I was assigned by Microsoft to photograph “Eedi”, their AI online math tutoring service.
I spent the morning with Eithne and her family in Chorley, photographing Eithne using the math tutoring service both in the house and on the move in the car.
Newly enrolled students on Eedi are asked to take a dynamic quiz of 10 multiple choice diagnostic questions that the service uses to learn where students struggle most in math. This information allows the service to place students on a learning pathway to overcome those specific obstacles, or misconceptions.
The dynamic quiz is powered by AI developed by researchers at the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge, United Kingdom, who specialize in machine learning algorithms that help people make decisions.
The AI uses each answer to predict the probability the student will correctly answer each of thousands of other possible next questions and then weighs those probabilities to decide what question to ask next to pinpoint knowledge gaps.
To read more about this project check out
