T-1 Estate is a residential development situated in an emerging and developing area of Gaduwa in Abuja, Nigeria. The site is conveniently located near the Gaduwa market, a new leisure shopping mall, and an established school that serves as a gateway in the public realm, with significant development taking place in the encompassing region. The design of the building was informed by an analysis of the scheme and its surrounding context. The site is situated in a region primarily covered by vegetation and unused land, and the proportion and materiality of the building closely consider the neighboring structures, which also helped to inform the massing.

The building consists of four terraces, each containing four bedrooms, built over an area of 1,100 square meters with ample outdoor spacing in compliance with the Nigerian Building Code. Our objective with this design is to employ a traditional palette of materials detailed in a contemporary manner to strike a balance between acknowledging the site’s history and projecting an aspirational future in response to the surrounding housing, fostering a sense of community.

Our proposal represents a high-quality architectural design solution developed with careful consideration of scale, form, massing, proportion, profile, materials, and relationships with the neighboring context. The set-back living room windows and a mix of flush, set-back, and extruded bedroom windows enhance the articulation and depth of the elevations. The form of the building is inspired by the repeated surfaces of the surrounding industrial structures, while the enhanced verticality and recessed top floors mirror the “bayed” facades of the adjacent educational building. Contemporary detailing around the windows demonstrates a further influence from the surrounding context.