Gillian Hopwood

John Godwin (OFR, OBE) and Gillian Hopwood (MFR) are English architects, based in Nigeria.

Career

John and Gillian were born in England in 1928 and in 1927 respectively. They both studied architecture at the Architectural Association in London, both qualifying in 1950. John came to Nigeria with his wife, Gillian in 1954, residing in colonial Lagos, British Nigeria. They began their careers in architecture and were involved in designing many significant projects in the city. John also established an academic career as a Professor of Architecture at the University of Lagos. Although he collaborated with his wife on many projects, Gillian focused in historic preservation and architectural photography and documented several iconic buildings which existed in colonial Lagos (some of which have been demolished). They established their architectural firm named Godwin and Hopwood Architects in 1954. The firm’s name was later changed to Godwin Hopwood Kuye (GHK) Architects Limited in 1989. The couples became Nigerian citizens in 2013 after spending about 60 years living and practicing as architects in Nigeria.

Projects

• Allen and Hanbury House, Lagos
• WAEC building, Yaba, Lagos
• Bookshop House, Lagos
• Niger House, Lagos
• Nestle Nigeria Plc Water Plant, Lagos.
• Faculty of Sciences building, University of Lagos
• GlaxoSmith Headquarters building, Lagos.
• Boyle street residential building, Lagos.
• Bishop Court Building, Ikeja, Lagos

Published works

• Sand City: Lagos at 150. Kachifo. 2012. ISBN 978-9785108460.
• A Photographers Odyssey: Lagos Island 1954-2014. Kachifo. 2015.
• The Architecture of Demas Nwoko. Published by Farafina in 2007