The innovative "umbrella crate stall," is a modular design that honors the city's informal market culture while offering enhanced functionality for street vendors creared by Nigerian designer Paul Yakubu during his residency at Versant Sud. Inspired by the vibrant, makeshift umbrella stalls that define Lagos's street life, Yakubu sought to explore how design can engage with informality bringing form and function to the stalls. His creation features a circular frame with an Umbrella top, surrounded by pivoting crates, allowing traders to customize their displays and expand their setups as needed. The structure is lightweight, mobile and collapsible reflecting the transitory nature of informal traders.
Yakubu's design is currently in the product development phase, with prototypes being refined for wider use amongst local traders. Yakubu emphasizes the importance of collaboration with traders to adapt the design to their specific needs, fostering a dialogue that bridges formal design principles with the adaptive needs of vendors.
This project exemplifies a growing movement among African designers to embrace and elevate the ingenuity found in informal urban practices, challenging traditional design norms.
