James Cubitt veers into more areas with The Westley, others

The company says it has consolidated into a group of three companies, including founding James Cubitt Architects for its traditional architectural functions; James Cubitt Interiors for interiors and landscaping; and James Cubitt Developments for the construction of buildings to fit their designs 

HOUSING challenges in Nigeria are surmountable, if innovative strategies are deployed into the nation’s real estate industry, a firm, James Cubitt Architects has said.

The firm said last week in Lagos that it believed that Nigerian’s housing challenge could be positively addressed with tested strategies suitable for the country’s set up.

In a chat with journalists, the company says it has consolidated into a group of three companies, including founding James Cubitt Architects for its traditional architectural functions; James Cubitt Interiors for interiors and landscaping; and James Cubitt Developments for the construction of buildings to fit their designs.

The tier, according to the firm was geared towards making the firm a one-stop-shop to boost the satisfaction of its customers and prospective clients.

At the parley, the firm said it is working on 10-floor commercial office development located at Elias Close, Victoria Island, Lagos, is billed for completion in 2017.

Also, James Cubitt Developments is currently constructing a building a residential apartment in Victoria Island called The Wesley. Similarly, the firm is constructing the Danish Consulate on Probyn Road, Ikoyi, among others.

It was said that ‘The Viridian’ provides approximately 5,223 square metres of commercial office space with 746 sqm per floor and features smart and modern workforce facilities.

Facilities in this showpiece are a fidelity conference room, central temperature control system, a world-class digital clinic, a gaming and team bonding room, cafeteria and lounge, a well-fitted gym, guest hot desk, a central biometric access control system and digital weather and traffic monitoring displays.

The Viridian, which will also pioneer first tenant portal, will on its first three floors are multi-level car parking and auto car wash. There will be a central system for proactively managing facilities related incidents and coordinating central services to the building.

The Westley, designed to infuse wellness in the occupants, is a residential facility comprising seven floors and located on the corner of Younis Bashorun and Sinari Daranijo in Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to the Chairman, James Cubitt Group, Mr. Alan Davis said the mother company, James Cubitt Architects was set up by James Cubitt & Partners in London and to make positive impacts in Nigeria, Davis said his company entered Nigeria In 1956, where their first job was a public Library building in Enugu and then got involved in building projects in universities. “The University of Nigeria, Nsukka was the first where we impacted three master-plans.

Subsequently, I came to Nigeria in 1980 to work on the fifth master-plan.” Davis took over the practice in 1986 and he has been in the country since then running the firm.

In this period they did many jobs in universities; Jos; Teaching Hospital in Port Harcourt; and at the University of Ife. These, according to him, were their educational works but that they eventually designed the Senate Building at the University of Lagos.

The company did commercial and industrial works in the 1980s also, he said, “In 1987, we were commissioned to design Mobil House, Victoria Island, Lagos.

We were also commissioned as the interior designers.” Davis, the Honorary Australian Consul in Nigeria, said the company was known as office designers as they did more of offices like Coca Cola, Citi Bank, Diamond Bank by the Admiralty toll plaza on the Lekki expressway, Lagos.

They designed other buildings on Alfred Rewane (Kingsway) Road and the first building on Eko Atlantic City that is evolving off the Bar Beach axis of the Atlantic Ocean.

The company, he said designed the Nestle building in Sagamu, Ogun State. He said in 2004, they moved back to Ghana, working on the head office building of a shipping company, Maesk in Tema, saying they had done Maesk head office in Lagos, Nigeria.

The designs, he said were done in Nigeria and implemented in Ghana because of the close relationship they have with their practice in Ghana.