The landscape architect argues that many environmental crises are rooted not only in policy failure, but in how land itself is misunderstood

Across many rapidly urbanising regions, development is often measured by visible output: roads, bridges, estates, concrete and construction speed.

But according to architect and landscape architect Ayodeji Komolafe, this understanding of development may itself be part of the problem.

Speaking recently at the University of Lagos Built Environment Talks, Komolafe presented a talk titled:

“3D is Not Design. Concrete is Not Development.”

The presentation has since drawn attention within built environment and planning circles for its direct critique of how land, ecology and infrastructure are approached in contemporary urban growth.

At the centre of the discussion was a simple argument: land is not blank paper.

Using examples ranging from Lagos flooding and wetland loss to erosion in southeastern Nigeria, coastal degradation and rising urban heat conditions, Komolafe argued that many environmental outcomes commonly treated as isolated crises are instead connected consequences of development systems that ignore ecological logic.

According to him, true design begins long before visualisation, rendering or construction.

“Real design is the thinking before anything is built,” he explained during the session.

The talk also challenged the growing tendency to equate visual complexity and technological output with meaningful design thinking.

For Komolafe, 3D renderings, modern materials and large-scale construction cannot compensate for poor environmental understanding.

His perspective draws partly from his combined background in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Planning, as well as his ongoing work within UK infrastructure and environmental planning contexts involving renewable energy and landscape-related development systems.

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the idea that traditional African building systems historically understood climate, land and ecology in ways contemporary practice often neglects.

“What we reward in the classroom becomes what we repeat in practice,” he noted, arguing that many built environment education systems still separate development from ecological understanding.

The presentation has since contributed to growing interest in his work. As cities across Africa continue to confront flooding, environmental degradation, rapid urbanisation and climate pressure, voices calling for more landscape-informed development approaches are increasingly becoming part of broader planning and infrastructure conversations.

Komolafe believes the future of development will depend not simply on building more, but on understanding land better before building at all.