The great writer ‘Toni Morrison’ once said, "if there is a book you want to read, and it is not yet written, then you must write it yourself".

I feel very honoured to have finally received my writer’s copy from the publishers, for my part contribution to the recently published DOM Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa. This comprises seven volumes, each covering a multifaceted overview of the region’s architecture across time and affirming how contemporary architecture has been shaped by its traditional and colonial roots. 

It all started 7 years ago when I was asked by one of the main editors, Adil to put together a team that would represent the Sierra Leonean chapter. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to have done this and most importantly, to have worked with such a phenomenal knowledgeable team who contributed to our chapter. Each and every one of my fellow writers on the Sierra Leone chapter gave their all. I personally poured my heart and total love that I have for architecture into this project and to hold a copy in my hand, was exhilarating and feels like a legacy for me.

This legacy project is such a ground-breaking one and, to my knowledge, the first of its kind to have captured all 49 countries from the great Continent. It was written/ narrated in such a pure way and captured by 338 different authors. Almost 40% of the contributors are women, giving it a wide, balanced and diverse perspective. It covers 858 different projects, but this was just a drop in the ocean. As we, (the Sierra Leonean chapter) only covered about 8% of the buildings we initially had on our preview list. It was such a hard choice but I’m very happy with the final selection.

I even had the opportunity to feature my first home the Hill Stations houses, I lived at HS 47. This was truly captured by Maurice Mitchell & Bo Tang who both had done such an extensive research on these iconic colonial houses. I loved every minute living there and have so many pleasant memories as a child growing up in one of them, some of my best years and the foundation of who I am today, the ‘happy go lucky’ attitude I have developed over the years. One of the key take-aways from this book is that Africa is not a country, it is one of the richest, most diverse continents that has so much to offer everyone and anyone.

Each of these seven books make a great tabletop read for anyone, even if you are not into architecture. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn a lot more about the misrepresented continent in so many ways, and for the much travelled or knowledgeable to educate yourself even more. Personally, I have attained so much more whilst writing the chapter and better still, now reading some of the other fellow contributors’ narratives, which has inspired me to add a few other countries to my bucket list and almost doubled overnight.

Grab yourself a copy and I guarantee you would soon be booking a flight to one of the 49 incredible destinations featured, to explore some of these iconic buildings or spaces first-hand which you may have never known existed. With limited travel today, it is a great way to explore from the comfort of your home/ office the many countries/ buildings featured and embrace the culture, the history and continuous unfolding modernities of African architecture and more.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adil, Philipp and DOM Publishers for what you have delivered which goes beyond what you had described to me. Had you been able to release this pre-pandemic it surely would have been a best seller by now. I still believe that it will become a best seller in the coming months once it hits the shelves.