Meet The 28-Year-Old Architect Behind Notable School Projet In Ghana

Cursory: 28-year-old Wisdom Afedzi is the architect of the Michael Blackson Academy in Agona Nsaba in the Central Region of Ghana. In an interview he spoke about how he became involved with the school project and how Michael Blackson trusted him to do a good job. According to him the Michael Blackson Academy is one of many notable projects he has worked on both in Ghana and abroad.

A young Ghanaian man called Wisdom Afedzi is the architect behind popular Ghanaian-American comedian Michael Blackson’s school project in Ghana.

The Michael Blackson Academy was a sight to behold when it was completed and commissioned in the comedian’s hometown of Agona Nsaba.

Wisdom disclosed that he never dreamt of ever meeting Michael in person, let alone working together with him on a project. The young architect added that he only saw Michael on the screens. When he got involved with the school project, he did not know it belonged to Michael Blackson until he got to meet him on the project.

Wisdom disclosed that he was brought on board the school project as an architect by a real estate company called Complete Properties Solution which was contracted by Michael to construct the school.

The young architect added that when he first met Michael Blackson, the comedian was impressed with his submissions and presentation of how he was going to approach the school project. It reassured Michael that Wisdom Afedzi was the right man for the job.

Wisdom explained:

“I did a presentation for him about my findings and how we can make the project more international and standardized. In addition, I talked about how we can inculcate his brand into the building so that when people see the building, it will have a certain character that will reflect the brand, Michael Blackson. When we did the presentation, he really liked it.”

Wisdom confessed that the Michael Blackson Academy project initially had a chief mason who was working on it as a generic classroom unit. However, when the real estate company he works for got on board, they had to carry out several works on it and give it a new structure and look from what was initially planned.

He said:

“They had done the structurals and block work but we had to come in with the choice of roofing material, classroom arrangement, washroom plumbing, landscaping, colour coding, gate house design, water system, rainwater harvesting and pedestrian interfaces among others.”

According to Wisdom, they inherited the project but his company brought their interventions on board for it to be what it is currently. He explained that his contribution to the project was not only the architectural designs but he was also the one doing the construction supervision.

In his words:

“I spent most of the year shuffling between Accra and Agona Nsaba to relate with artisans, coordinate their work schedules, supervise them and more. Wisdom Afedzi speaks on other projects he has worked on

He revealed that the Michael Blackson Academy is not the only mega-project he has worked on. There are other massive projects he worked on either as an individual or as part of a team.

He stated that he has worked on projects for some organisations such as the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GetFund); the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg and even worked on the controversial National Cathedral project in Ghana.

According to Wisdom, the ultramodern school project was not always smooth sailing through calm seas.

The young architect explained that some hired professionals hiked their service charges when they realised that the school project belonged to a popular celebrity.

This made the construction company pay more for services than they had initially budgeted for. Also, Wisdom confessed that some local labourers they hired for the school project were not skilled to carry out specific tasks that were asked of them. As such, it was difficult getting the quality results they required.

Wisdom added that some of the speciality works were not available in the local communities so they had to transport people all the way from Accra just to come and do a small bit of the work and go back.

Wisdom shares how he felt when the school project was completed According to Wisdom, the sense of pride that came with working on the school project is unparalleled.

He said:

“That night, when everybody was gone, I walked a few metres away from the school and saw the lights come on. That was when I knew that something great had been done. I felt at peace within me that we have brought something beautiful to a close and that the young kids in that area are not only going to look at it as a school but anytime they visit and come out of it, they will be imbibing knowledge and getting skills that will send them far in their various endeavours. I really felt proud for contributing to it.”

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