Chief Isaac Folayan Alade, FNIA, D.Sc, OFR, one of Nigeria’s first four architecture graduates has died.
Naija News understands that the deceased had designed famous structures including the 1004 Estate in Lagos State. The cause of the 88-year-old architects’ death, however, is yet to be made known to the public.
Alade hailed from Aramoko-Ekiti in Ekiti State. He is said to be the brain behind the defunct Federal Secretariat building, Ikoyi, and the National Stadium, Surulere.
The deceased alongside three others graduated from the Nigerian College of Arts & Sciences and Technology, Zaria (now Ahmadu Bello University) in 1961. Naija News understands that Alade having completed his post-graduate studies at the Architectural Association School of Tropical Studies, London in 1965, on a Commonwealth Scholarship became the first Architect to hold the post of a Federal Permanent Secretary in 1976, a post he held until his retirement in 1979. He later established his private practice Fola Alade Associates in 1979.
Other iconic designs by the deceased in Lagos include the Remembrance Arcade, Tafawa Balewa Square, Satellite Town, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Ikeja.
Alade also designed the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) building, Kuru, near Jos, National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja, and Nigerian Embassy buildings in 11 countries.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News