SMALL WORLD

An architect’s home in Accra, Ghana, packs a punch on a tight urban plot

- ELLIE STATHAKI

Black houses are unusual in Ghana. It’s a colour associated with death, melancholy and harshness, so Compact House, located on a sleepy, residential street in the capital city of Accra, naturally stands out. Still, it is a project that its author, architect Alice Asafu-Adjaye, has noticed stops people in their tracks - in a good way. 'Black buildings, let alone houses, are pretty much unheard of in Ghana,' she says. 'People rarely dress all in black, unless in mourning.' During construction, it became a talking point as workers on the estate would walk up to see the 'black house'. Where the initial response was tinged with alarm and suspicion, they softened into curiosity and marvelling at how so much (pool, garden, parking) could be done on such a small plot size and still pack a punch in comparison to the larger houses on the estate.

Asafu-Adjaye set up her studio, Mustard, in Accra in 2015, following training in the UK, and working both there (her experience includes a position at Foster + Partners) and in her home country of Ghana, where she moved with her daughter in 2012. The boutique practice now works across a range of residential, commercial and cultural projects, as well as installations such as her participation at the London Design Biennale in 2021, but Compact House, the architect’s own home, has a special place in her heart.