The New Building Code That Could Free Cities from Concrete
Last week, I reflected on why writing surpassed podcasting. Today, the focus returns to the material world—the very substance of our cities. Bamboo, laterite, and other local resources demand a serious reconsideration of how we build. This is not nostalgia, nor a fetishisation of exotic timbers. It is a pragmatic response to carbon-intensive construction dominating […]
Why Writing Turned Out to Be Better Than Podcasting
When I set up bambouorile.site in April, it was meant to be a low-tech test for a podcast I had been imagining—The Bamboo Urbanist. The blog would let me explore ideas, refine themes, and see whether there was enough substance to carry a series of conversations in audio form. Five months and nineteen posts later, […]
Bamboo Cities: Forgotten Wisdom Building Sustainable Urban Growth
Across the tropics, bamboo has proven itself as more than a humble material. Its tensile strength rivals steel. Its rapid growth ensures sustainability. Its aesthetic warmth lends cities a living grace often absent in concrete jungles. In Latin America, Colombia’s Guadua bamboo frames span public spaces. They shape schools, pavilions, and cultural centres. Each structure […]
Sponge Cities: The Proven Way to Beat Floods in Africa
When rain falls in West and Northwest Africa today, it too often becomes a crisis. Streets flood within hours, homes are damaged, and businesses lose stock. The problem lies less with the amount of rainfall than with the way cities are built. Asphalt and concrete shed water instead of absorbing it, and drains, when present […]
Regenerative Finance: The Proven Way to Build Thriving Communities
When people speak of financing urban development, the discussion often drifts toward loans from international agencies or grants from distant NGOs. Yet these routes risk debt traps, donor dependency, or projects that fail to match local needs. If regenerative development in West and North-West Africa is to be truly resilient, the answer must start closer […]
Interlocking Bricks: The Secure, Sustainable, and Smarter Way to Build
Minimal Mortar, Maximum Strength Walls can be smarter. They can lock together for strength, breathe for comfort, and last decades. Interlocking bricks demonstrate that minimal mortar is enough to create secure, climate-adapted buildings. Drawing inspiration from Japanese joinery and West African vernacular, this system combines precision geometry with low-carbon, locally sourced materials. The result is […]
Honeycomb Bricks: The Proven Way to Beat Africa’s Heat
Rethinking the Fabric of Construction In much of West and North-West Africa, the default building block is still the concrete breeze block. It is cheap, uniform and familiar, yet it is ill-suited to the climate. Its low thermal mass means interiors heat rapidly during the day and release that heat too slowly at night. Mechanical […]
How Better Urban Planning Codes Lead to Greener, Sustainable Cities
As cities across West and North West Africa continue to expand rapidly, they face immense pressures—from climate shocks to population growth and deepening inequality. Yet the policies and planning frameworks governing these urban spaces often lag behind. They are shaped more by colonial legacies and outdated models than by the needs and creativity of their […]
Reclaim Tomorrow: Co-Create Greener, Safer, More Regenerative Communities
The future of our cities will not be delivered to us. It must be built—together. Across West and North West Africa, climate stress, rapid urbanisation, and widening inequality call for a profound shift in how we shape the places we live. But this shift won’t come from concrete alone. It must emerge from collaboration, material […]
Why Bamboo Is the Ultimate Solution for Disaster-Resilient Building
Bamboo is more than a building material. It is the ultimate tool for resilient, low-carbon, affordable construction. Across West Africa and beyond, it offers speed, strength, and sustainability unmatched by conventional options. Bamboo’s Material Intelligence: Rediscovering Resilient Solutions Bamboo frames withstand shocks while keeping interiors cool, flexing under strain instead of breaking. This strength and […]