Butabu Remix

BUTABU REMIX reimagines the architectural landscapes of West Africa through a contemporary lens that is both poetic and analytical. In this major new volume, British photographer James Morris presents over 200 reedited and remastered photographs—many previously unpublished—that reveal the expressive power and dignity of earthen architecture across Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, and Togo. These buildings, sculpted from mud and sunlight, are not static relics but living testaments to ecological intelligence, community, and artistry.

Edited by Lesley Lokko, founder of the African Futures Institute in Accra, the book pairs Morris’s luminous photography with newly commissioned texts, including several new voices in architectural writing from a young generation of African and diasporic thinkers. Their writings respond to Morris’s images with fresh critical insight, tracing how traditional knowledge and material practice speak urgently to today’s concerns—sustainability, identity, and belonging—while opening pathways toward new architectural and cultural futures.

More than a photographic record, BUTABU REMIX is an inquiry into how built form becomes a vessel for memory and imagination. It celebrates the creativity of those who shape their environments from the most elemental materials, transforming earth into enduring works of art. Merging aesthetic excellence with the forward-looking reflections of both emerging and renowned voices, this volume offers an unparalleled view of Africa’s architectural heritage and its resonance within the global discourse on design and place.

With contributions by David Adjaye, Francis Kéré, Ewa Effiom, Lois Innes, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, Izabela Wieczorek