The Firm

01

The Story

Formally incorporated in Nigeria in 2012, Lateral Design Concepts (LDC) is an international interdisciplinary practice set-up to deliver the very best in design consultancy services.

Our services include: architectural design, urban design, interior design, project management, contract administration, cost consultation and contract administration.

Our core management team have over 80 years of practice experience between us, and have delivered projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars in dozens of cities around the world including: Lagos, London, Birmingham, Ogun, Manchester, Ondo, Staffordshire, Portharcourt, Rotterdam, Yenogoa, Capetown, Liverpool, and Nairobi to name a few.

We have a very international make up, and partner with both foreign and indigenous consultancy firms to deliver projects based on complexity and specialisms required.

02

Design Empathy

We like to think outside the box… well outside the box. At the core of our ethos is our desire to produce spaces which improve lives through innovative design.

We constantly seek to achieve the delicate synergy between our understanding of our client’s desires and the greater impact of our proposed interventions on all levels of society.

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Design

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Construction Documentation

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Contract Administration

03

Strategy

DESIGN PROCESS

We approach each brief by focusing on first principles – ensuring there is a responsible balance between the desires of our client, and how our interventions will affect the site on a human micro and macro scale.

“Options yield solutions” – we analyse various possible solutions from the outset – carrying our clients along and tabling various alternatives for consideration. This bouquet extends to the spatial configuration of the building through to the materials and components that constitute it.

“Green is good” – We develop designs that: carefully minimise the use of energy; encourage the use of local material to reduce the buildings carbon footprint; and promote rainwater and solar energy harvesting.

STRATEGIC THINKING

“More than just a pretty façde” – Were not just building designers. Our clients value our strategic thinking – our willingness to advise on the real feasibility of a project after numbers, business strategy, a brief and current trends have been analysed.

We work with ambitious developers who are developing large communities rather than individual buildings. We work alongside these developers, providing master planning solutions which create a vision of what these communities might be.

Our unprejudiced response briefs have been known to talk ourselves out of projects. Sometimes, our client’s developments ideas don’t work, and based on our understanding of local markets and social trends, we let them know.

04

Testimonials

Mr Bunmi Martins

“We were looking to build a new funeral home in Ota. The conditions were quite unique: The finances were tight so we had to work with an existing structure whilst accommodating all the necessary spaces a business like ours require.

“They got it. There was always a feeling of being led down a path which you’re happy to tread. They were willing to learn, proposed several options, made us rethink our own operations, understood the restrictions we were faced with and made the best out of what was available.

“They gave us a building which we love and are proud of, and more importantly, a building our clients are very much at peace with.”

Mr Bunmi Martins
MD, CEO Omega Funeral Homes

Eskay Petroleum

“We called them in to refurbish a petrol station on the expressway. Honestly, I think we just wanted the place to look a lot more presentable.
We soon found ourselves going through our sales logs and discussing peak periods of operation, what kind of lights work best in that area, analysing turning circles, surveying haulage truck visits and activities on site… it was eye opening.
Do you know truck drivers will rather drive over a foot high kerb than drive over a foot high planting bed? It’s the little things like that.”

MD, Eskay Petroleum

Mr Sola Salami

“They’re clever. More than anything else, they’re very clever.
We’d been struggling with our in-house design team on this particular development – long site, long building, poor views, no car parking spaces, it was just a bouquet of problems.
A month after we got them to look at the previous schemes we’d developed, we got their aproposals and were blown away. Attached to the completely resolved scheme was A complimentary note simply said ‘let the building look inwards’… and that was it. Brilliant!”
Mr Sola Salami
MD, Sturdy Shelters

03

Our Relationship

We seek to develop long-lasting relationships built on mutual respect and trust. Whether it be with blue chip commercial clients, boutique residential developers, or business-minded prospectors, we feed off the happiness and satisfaction we provide our clients… perhaps that’s why they keep coming back.

Our clients get value beyond architectural input: we get involved in feasibility studies, advise on managing resources and even go as far as to opine whether particular briefs are in keeping with a client’s cooperate identity.

We are a one-stop-shop ready to engage all other consultants at our client’s behest, limiting all liabilities and ensuring all information gets funnelled through one source.

Noting the evolving nature of the profession, we are primarily designers, but secondarily coordinators – working with design consultants, contractors, sub-contractors, client representatives etc. to ensure a seamless process and positive outcome.