I was looking at the H-Medics building being built here in Gwarinpa/karsana, and I noticed this beautiful thing they had made on one of the balconies.
I don't even know what they call it exactly, but it was like a roof over the balcony, made with wood. It was so beautiful, and I kept thinking that even vines could climb on it and make the whole thing even more beautiful.
And immediately, it took me back to Dubai.
I remember how you could sit out on patios in malls, on balconies overlooking the city, the ocean, the sea. You could actually sit outside, eat, have a conversation and just enjoy the environment around you. There was something beautiful about that.
And I kept thinking to myself: how beautiful would it be if H-Medics actually decided to do something like that with this space?
And then I started thinking beyond H-Medics.
How beautiful would it be if we, as Nigerians, actually had more things like this?
Where our balconies weren't just balconies. Where they were actually designed as spaces where people could sit outside and eat. Where you could have a seat, look out over the neighbourhood, have your food and enjoy the environment.
Because that's not something I actually see very often in Nigeria. It's a very rare occurrence to see people sitting outside and eating in that kind of setting, the way I've noticed it being done in the UAE.
And that's what caught my attention about this building.
It's still being built, so I don't even know what this space will eventually become. But when I looked at that balcony, with that beautiful wooden structure over it, I started imagining what it could be.
And I thought: what if we started designing our buildings with this kind of experience in mind?
Not just building structures, but creating places where people actually want to sit, eat, meet, look around and experience the city.
So I want to take a picture of that structure and put it here in the second issue of Gwarinpa Insider.
Because sometimes, you don't need a finished building to see what something could become.
Sometimes, you just have to look at it and imagine.
H-MEDIX RE-IMAGIED
THE REAL H-MEDIX