Introduction of Glass as Fenestration in 19th Century Lagos, Nigeria: A Brief History

Abstract

While glass as a material has been known to the people of western Nigerian for hundreds of years, it was only in the late 19th century that it became integrated into building and construction practice in Lagos. For the most part, early local architecture made little effort, if any at all, at covering window spaces with any material of permanence as the primary purpose of these orifices was more to let air in rather than light. Early European missionaries and colonial agents saw the situation differently. Their horrid fear for tropical bugs and matters of security and privacy necessitated a response and modification to the philosophy of tropical architecture. Using qualitative methods and visual analysis of archival images, this study takes a historical look at the beginnings of the integration and use of glass as fenestration and argues that so significant was the introduction in the late 19th and early 20th century in Lagos, that the innovation re-engineered the culture of architecture and living as we know it. The study identified the first building in Lagos to use glass as fenestration and discusses the role of missionaries in the development of innovation. It argues that missionary activity in the coastal city of Lagos, created a broad new industry and trade opportunities and concludes that the introduction of glass as a building material in 19th century Lagos, was not a mere development, but a significant innovation, both in construction and creativity.