Sharply Dressed: The Scissor House in Ikoyi by SI.SA

The Scissor House is a standalone 4 bedroom home sitting on 850 sq m of prime real estate in Park View, Ikoyi.

Designed by Lagos based architecture Firm SI.SA (Studio Imagine. Simply Architecture) the home is a welcome departure from typical Nigerian residential design in most urban centers, which tends to be, in a word, monotonous. (Concrete fascia wrapping around hip and gable roofs, stone tile facades and what not, don’t believe me, ask google).

The home itself covers about 420 sq m while 2 semi-detached town houses are also accomodated on site, which is quite the task in space planning and management, but, the architects at SI.SA handled it masterfully. Their solution, as they describe it, was to situate the main house at the front of the plot with its own entrance gate and grounds whilst providing a private entrance for the semi detached units at the rear.

Here’s their take on the concept,

The generation of the forms were as a result of the study of deconstructing blocks and planes to create interesting spaces. A central atrium with skylight allows light to permeate through to the lobby on entry. A feature staircase acts as the central route through with all habitable spaces either side of it. Private spaces are on the first and second floors. At the top is a terrace framed with 4m cantilevered beams, offering an area for relaxation.

scissor house sketch scissor house sketch 2 scissor house render 2 scissor house render 1 scissor house 1 scissor house beam scissor house atrium scissor house compound scissor house approach

The form of the home is, to say the least, Bold. The sharp angles and clean lines (hence the name, “scissor”) evoke a sense of dynamism that most Nigerian residential design is not privy to. I mean, Its not often you see 4m cantilevers effortlessly soar over what must be a balcony with an enviable view. The equally bold colour palette of black and white cements the idea of modernism that I suspect the designers were looking to achieve. Its certainly a step up from what was initially proposed in the renderings, and is sure to turn heads and catch eyes as they drive through Park View.

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