The Course of Empire: A Compound House Typology

22nd July – 4th August 2021

Curated by: Studio NYALI

The exhibition focuses on Studio NYALI’s ongoing research on the African compound house as a typology investigating its traditional and contemporary form. It features the work of Studio 2.2, a second-year design studio in the Department of Architecture and Landscape at Kingston School of Art taught in 2019-2020 by Michael Badu and Nana Biamah-Ofosu, Mary Vaughan Johnson and Bushra Mohamed. Studio NYALI and Studio 2.2’s work is focused on the compound house studying how this historic housing typology could be used to generate more thoughtful responses to urban growth and continuity in African and Western cities. Projects exhibited here respond to the traditional and contemporary practice of architecture in West Africa designing urban housing projects based on the compound house typology in Accra, Ghana. For more details, see attached Exhibition 1.

Contact Studio NYALI at info[at]studionyali.com

WE The 7: A Conversation with the African Diaspora

5th August - 19 August 2021

Curated by: Coleman A. Jordan, Morgan State University School of Architecture and Planning (USA)

WE, the 7 schools and all HBCUs exist as an outcome of the historical Black Atlantic Slave Trade out of Africa and the oppression and denial of access to higher education in the United States before and after the Emancipation Proclamation. We have had to make our way together, we did, and we continue forward. Our universities are open to all, we are diverse, with students, faculty, and staff from domestic and international backgrounds.

The exhibition, A Conversation with the African Diaspora, is an opportunity to expand our voice on the global stage of architecture and celebrate our Pan African connection. Finally, the European Cultural Centre's theme of TIME, SPACE, EXISTENCE, is a reminder to all, that WE MATTER!

“How will we live together?” the theme of the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, is the perfect theme for our presentation of student work from the seven architecture programs from the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) family in the United States.

Contact Coleman Jordan at coleman.jordan[at]morgan.edu

ArchiAfrika’s New Blood

22nd August – 5th November 2021

Curated by: ArchiAfrika and James Inedu-George

This exhibition presents ArchiAfrika’s New Blood exhibition, providing a platform for the work of African architects under the age of 40. Curated by James George Inedu from Nigeria, the exhibitors represent critical next generation voices who through current work and explorations, will contribute to the future African architecture landscape. For more details, see attached Exhibition 3.

Joseph Osae-Addo believes that the promotion of young black voices at the top tiers of the architectural world has the potential to alter many career paths. Through the experience of the past 40 years in architectural practice on three continents, Joe knows that opportunities for true collaboration with elitist architectural organizations are few. More experienced black architects with access to capital, networks and jobs should create opportunities for more visibility for the new generation. Together, we can change the discourse of how we will live together for the decades to come.

Contact Joseph Osae-Addo at joe[at]constructsllc.com

OCOCOLOV Design Workshop Final Projects

17th September - 9th October 2021

Curated by: Adriano Wajskol and Flavia Vaccher

The exhibition will present the results of OCOCOLOV One Cinema One Clinic One Library, One Village design workshop, promoted by Architects Without Borders Veneto Onlus, a non-profit association that promotes study, research and planning initiatives for sustainable development of critical territorial areas around the world, together with ghanic.org, local Ghanaian NGO partner, with the collaboration of Emergency NGO ONLUS, IUAV University of Venice and the Order of Architects of the province of Venice. 

The workshop has been conceived by Flavia Vaccher, as a cultural, educational design initiative in order to support a project with a highly innovative and sustainable footprint, which will involve students of architecture, young architects, and international lecturers for two weeks, with the aim to develop design solutions, that will generate new spaces. The result of a site-specific research will be shared and modified by the community of Aboduam (Sefwi-Wiawso) in Ghana, being the main subjects representing the social fabric of the place. The workshop, is part of a larger project, that involves the entire community, 
committed to create an innovative ecosystem, capable of enriching both the community and the environment. The intention is to make a contribution in terms of project continuity and support for sustainable growth of the territory. For more details, see attached Exhibition 4.

Contact Adriano Wajskol at wajskol[at]gmail.com

Exhibition Partnerships and Funders

The European Cultural Centre exhibition runs parallel with the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia from 22nd May 2021 to 21st November 2021. Time Space Existence features a wide selection of projects from a diverse group of participants working across disciplines. The European Cultural Centre aims at stimulating an exchange among architects, universities, legendary masters, emerging studios, established global practices, designers, artists, photographers, developers, engineering companies, who together can have a crucial role in shaping the future of our living.

The ArchiAfrika Pavilion is funded by anonymous donors of ArchiAfrika Accra and supporters of Studio NYALI and Studio 2.2’s research through Kingston University’s crowdfunding platform, KUBacker.  

For more information, please contact: Joseph Osae-Addo, Director, ArchiAfrika at joe[at]constructsllc.com