G.A.S. Farm House, Ikiṣẹ

About the Project

Our secondary residency space is located just three hours from Lagos outside the village of Ikiṣẹ near Ijebu Ode. Residencies here focus on trans-disciplinary craft, design, art and the environment, food sustainability and agriculture.

The G.A.S. Farm House offers a three-bed residency space for artists, designers, makers, scientists, agronomists, ecologists and researchers in quiet and peaceful surroundings. It sits on the lush 54-acre Ecology Green Farm founded by Yinka Shonibare CBE RA in 2018 which produces crops ranging from cassava and cashew to peppers and maize and the building. 2023 sees construction begin on an adjacent series of studio and workshop spaces dedicated to local craft.

The G.A.S. Farm House Building

The G.A.S. Farm House was designed by Papa Omotayo of MOE+ with an interior design concept delivered by Temitayo Shonibare. The ambitious project is guided by principles of sustainability which are reflected in both it's construction and design. The estimated 40,000 bricks used for the building were created from earth dug up during the foundation laying process. Meanwhile, bamboo scaffolding was repurposed for the screens that wrap around the building. High ceielings keep air ciculating and the building cool and power is delivered by solar panels.

The entire project is inspired by the idea of “Ile wa” which means “our home” in the Yoruba language, a style that includes a central courtyard surrounded by ancillary buildings. The aspiration has always been for the design of the space to be harmonious with the environment whilst maintaining the elegance of handcrafting.

Photography by Andrew Esiebo. Images © G.A.S. Foundation and Andrew Esiebo.

BBC World Service: In the Studio with Yinka Shonibare

In this episode of BBC World Service, In the Studio series reporter Nicola Humphries joins Yinka Shonibare CBE RA to discuss the Ecology Green Farm and G.A.S. Farm House. In the programme you hear from Yinka in his studio in London, and from his collaborator, architect and master planner Papa Omotayo, on the ground in Lagos.

Yinka shares his personal motivations for establishing the Ecology Green Farm and explains his ongoing beliefs in the relationship between art and social justice, demonstrating with this project, how the combined disciplines of architecture and science can contribute to local eco systems, food security and of course, creativity.

Listen to the Programme

Read About the G.A.S. Farm House in Wallpaper*

In Spring 2022 Wallpaper published an article about the G.A.S. Farm House and our residency project in Ijebu written by Ijeoma Ndukwe with photography by Andrew Esiebo.

"At the end of a powdery orange dirt track, a two-hour drive from Lagos in the village of Ikise, in south-western Nigeria, sits an earth brick barn house. The jewel in the crown of Ecology Green Farm, it’s a new artists’ residency space established by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare" writes Ijeoma. Read the full article now by clicking the button below.

Read the Article

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