PHASE RANT: Valentine Onah | The Graphic Chef

The Man. The Mantra.

Multi-talented isn’t a word that should be thrown around. So pardon me as I slip it into the description of this extremely creative, intelligent, forward-thinking, multi-talented perfectionist that is the Nigerian gifted artist and architect in the making Valentine Onah. The Graphic Chef as he likes to be known is a professional designer capable of "cooking" up breath taking artworks, brand identities and sustainable architectural designs. His brand, Eveonstudio is also known as The Graphic Kitchen.

So what could possibly be dream come true for this young man who seems to be on the track to having it all? “I have a lot of dreams! I would love to see Eveonstudio stand out as a recognisable, strong competitor in the field of art and design. I'm constantly developing, learning and increasing my capacity to drive it. If I wake up one day to realise my brand is suddenly nationally renowned, I think that would be phase one of that dream come true”. A man with a plan. And that plan is diverse, rich and multi-faceted because what many people don’t know about this artist and architect-in-training is that he is also environmentally conscious, a trait that is too often undermined.

Inspired by Breath of life | Florence and the Machines

He spoke in detail to me about the importance of preserving the earth: “considering the rate of environmental degradation resulting from our actions and decisions, if we don't make conscious informed decisions today in the way we live and build there might be no earth for the future generations”. Yet we can’t just blindly build green and hope that this will somehow improve the environment. In order to avoid criticisms that will surely come such as those put against wind turbines that are supposedly killing off bald eagles in America, we must understand our environment not just on a global scale but also on a local, site-specific scale by recognising what works best where and why. When designing in such situations then it is the job of the architect to “meet the needs of the user without creating more negative impacts than necessary”.

Charcoal on paper: Inspired by a photograph by Lee Jeffries of a homeless man.

But Valentine being the ambitious young man he is takes it further, saying that minimising negative impact shouldn’t be where the goal ends; we should also be consciously trying to contribute positively to the world around us. He believes that if this mantra is accepted globally that we can restore the earth with a culmination of seemingly small actions. “We all should be aware that earth is currently sick, like an ill child. If we want her well again, we must do something other than continue our habit of poisoning her”.

This is all well and good but I’m sure many of my readers will be wondering like I was if this is something achievable for Nigeria. Valentine believes it is God’s gift to the motherland. He admits that if our aim is to finally shake the unreliable shackles of the Nigerian power authority PHCN then the initial installation costs will be high. However the money spent will be well worth it as we shouldn’t need to worry about power in the end. “Solar power can be harnessed any were the sun shines but wind power would require wind speeds in the area to reach a minimum velocity”. Most Nigerians will tell you that wind and sunshine are things we have in abundance. And he knows exactly how this can be achieved:

Proposed Abuja Art Expo Centre: Inspired by the Eyo masquerade. Solar panels, three 50kw vertical axis wind turbines for alternative renewable energy. GRFP pipes around the roof for harvesting rainwater into the annex building, "Greenhouse" for treatment and reuse.

“An economical approach to natural alternative power will be incorporating inverters and batteries with a few solar panels. The public power charges the batteries when available, if unavailable your solar panels would supply power to charge them. The inverter could be configured to supply power to only a few electrical outlets and lighting fixtures (bulbs) to conserve energy when in use. Lastly the use of energy star rated appliances should be promoted to cut down power consumption. Your batteries would last longer that way”.

Seems complex but not impossible. According to the budget office of the Federal Government of Nigeria PHCN’s total capital for 2012 stood at over N51 billion (over $300 million). Surely some of those funds could be directed towards giving Nigeria a more stable, more environmentally friendly power alternative.

Beyond all that Valentine seemed excited for the future of the Nigerian architectural scene. “I'm aware that great and bold minds are emerging”. To him it is all a matter of getting the right equipment to our shores and developing the skill set to harness them. So where does that leave him? What will The Graphic Chef be cooking up five years from now? “Breaking newer grounds in arts and designs. Actively contributing in restoring earth with my environmental conscious designs. Engaged with philanthropic commitments from the plenty God would have blessed me with.” You know, the norm. Watch this space.