The Architecture / Landscape / Interiors Department at Otis College of Art and Design is pleased to announce the selection of architect, designer, and urban researcher, Kunlé Adeyemi as the 2018-2019 Donghia Designer-in-Residence. Adeyemi will present a public lecture on March 13, 2019, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and direct a one-week Master Class at Otis College of Art and Design between March 14 and 19, 2019.
"We are thrilled that Kunlé Adeyemi will continue our history and practice of providing a unique, culturally-immersive design experience for students in the Donghia Master Class. Mr. Adeyemi will direct a small group of Architecture/Landscape/Interiors juniors, seniors, and alumni in a rehabilitation project that will address the history, culture, physical environment, and future of an African city. Previous Donghia Master Class projects were sited in Beijing, Mexico City, Tripoli (Lebanon), Rotterdam, and other world cities," said Linda Pollari, Chair, Architecture / Landscape / Interiors at Otis College.
Kunlé Adeyemi, photographed by Mark Horn
Adeyemi is the founder/principal of NLÉ and 2017 Aga Khan Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His notable works include Makoko Floating School, an innovative prototype floating structure located on the lagoon heart of Lagos, Nigeria. This acclaimed project is part of an extensive research project, African Water Cities, being developed by NLÉ, an architecture, design and urbanism practice founded by Adeyemi in 2010, focusing on developing cities and communities. NLÉ recently launched MFS II, a new, improved iteration of Makoko Floating School, at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, for which it was awarded the Silver Lion Prize. Other projects include Chicoco Radio Media Center, an amphibious community building in Port Harcourt, Nigeria; ROCK, Lakefront Kiosk in Chicago, USA; CDL Head Office in Lagos, Nigeria; and Serpentine Summer House at the Royal Kensington Gardens in London, UK.
Before founding NLÉ, Adeyemi worked for OMA, where he led the design, development and execution of high profile projects such as the Shenzhen Stock Exchange tower in China, the Qatar Foundation Headquarters, Qatar National Library, and Prada Transformer in Seoul.
Alongside his professional practice, Kunlé Adeyemi is an international speaker and thought leader serving as juror for the 2014 AIA award and 2016 RIBA international Prize. He is a multiple award winner, and holds an honorary doctorate degree in Architecture from Hasselt University, Belgium. He has taught at Cornell University and was an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, researching architecture and urban solutions to societal, environmental and economic needs.
The Donghia-in-Residence program is made possible by a generous grant from the Angelo Donghia Foundation, which provides support for the advancement of education in the field of interior design, and for the investigation and treatment of AIDS and its related diseases. The Residency is organized by the Architecture / Landscape / Interiors Department at Otis College of Art and Design, which offers a synthetic curriculum of the spatial design fields.
Top image: Makoko Floating School, Lagos, Nigeria, design by NLÉ, photographed by Iwan Baan