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Lesley Lokko: The Latest Architecture and News

UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Explores Abundance in Arid Environments

Aridly Abundant is the title of the body of research being exhibited at the UAE National Pavilion at the 18th annual International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. The Pavilion was curated by Faysal Tabbarah, Associate Dean and Professor of Architecture at the College of Architecture, Art, and Design at the American University of Sharjah. The exhibition explores the possibility of architectural possibilities in, with, and for arid landscapes.

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Exploring Past Technological Innovations to Inspire the Future: The Romanian Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale

The Romanian Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will showcase innovative, yet unusual ideas and past technological innovations as a source of inspiration for creating more enjoyable and resilient urban environments. Titled “Now, Here, There,” the project was chosen following a national competition. The curatorial team composed of Emil Ivănescu, Simina Filat, Cătălin Berescu, and Anca Păsărin suggests turning to forgotten early 20th-century inventions to open up the field of possibilities for future developments. The team also collaborates with a number of specialists and institutions, including the National Technical Museum in Bucharest, which will provide a series of original artifacts to be on display for the duration of the exhibition, from May 20 to November 26, 2023.

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2023 Venice Architecture Biennale Opens International Call for the First-Ever Biennale College Architettura

The College is open to graduate students, graduates under the age of 30, to early career academics (PhD candidates, researchers, assistant professors, tutors, teaching fellows, etc.), and emerging practitioners under the age of 35. In line with the general goals of all Biennale Colleges (cinema, dance, music, theatre, art), this first Biennale College Architettura will seek to complement and enrich the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, The Laboratory of the Future, at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale by exploring how to place the Exhibition’s central themes, decolonization, and decarbonization, at the heart of architectural education.

Lesley Lokko, the Curator of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, Recognized in King Charles' First New Year Honours List

On Friday, King Charles III has released the New Year Honours List 2023, recognizing those in the UK who have demonstrated exemplary service or achievements in their fields. Ghanian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Lesley Lokko is among those who have been named an Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to architecture and education. In December 2021, Lesley Lokko was announced as the Curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, which will be held from Saturday, 20 May to Sunday, 26 November 2023.

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Doreen Adengo, Progressive Architect from Uganda and Founder of Adengo Architecture Passes Away

Doreen Adengo, architect from Kampala, Uganda has passed away, as reported by African Futures Institute’s Instagram Account, after a long battle with cancer. Founder of Adengo Architecture in 2015, a research-based multi-disciplinary practice operating out of her hometown Kampala, Doreen, a registered architect in the United States and Uganda, had earned her undergraduate at the Catholic University (Bachelor of Science in Architecture) and graduate studies at Yale (Masters of Architecture). She has taught at The New School and Pratt Institute in New York, the University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture, and was currently teaching at Uganda Martyrs University. In celebration of International Women’s Day 2022, Doreen Adengo was recognized by ArchDaily as one of the established practitioners implicated in change.

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Ursula von der Leyen and Francis Kéré Open the Bauhaus Earth Conference

The “Reconstructing the Future for People and PlanetConference, hosted by Bauhaus Earth and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS), has begun at the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens. The conference opened with a speech from Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. The extensive program brings together renowned scientists, architects, spatial planners, and policymakers to discuss the transformation of the built environment from a driver of climatic and societal crises into a force for regeneration.

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The Laboratory of the Future: The 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale Announces Title and Theme of its 18th Edition

Running from May 20th to November 26th, 2023 in the Giardini, at the Arsenale, and at various sites around Venice, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition will be titled: The Laboratory of the Future. Announced today by the President of La Biennale di Venezia, Roberto Cicutto, and the Curator of the exhibition, Lesley Lokko, the theme and title of this edition will consider the African continent as the protagonist of the future. “There is one place on this planet where all these questions of equity, race, hope, and fear converge and coalesce. Africa. At an anthropological level, we are all African. And what happens in Africa happens to us all”, explains Lokko.

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Breaking Down Barriers: Black History Month 2022

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A little less than two years after the onset of a global pandemic, inclusion in the architecture profession is unfortunately still a limited conversation. A 2020 survey by the UK’s Architects' Journal revealed a sobering amount of obstacles for Black architects in the UK, and in the United States, prominent Black practitioners such as Mabel O. Wilson of Studio & have questioned the Eurocentric nature of a large amount of architectural study.

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Lesley Lokko Appointed Curator of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale

The Board of La Biennale di Venezia, has appointed Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Lesley Lokko as Curator of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. The 18th International Architecture Exhibition will be held from Saturday 20 May to Sunday 26 November, 2023.

"Cultural Identity is Central to Architecture": In Conversation with Lesley Lokko

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Questioning the new now, especially with the new challenges of Covid-19, around the world, cities are advocating for structural change and collective action. Berlin questions, an annual, multi-day conference and a platform for transdisciplinary dialogue, in its 2021 edition “Metropolis: The New Now”, tackled the immediate present, creating a place for debate. Dedicated to local solutions to global challenges, the event took on a hybrid format, at various locations in Berlin and online, resembling the world we live in.

ArchDaily had the chance to meet up with Lesley Lokko, architect, academic, and novelist at Berlin Questions, to discuss her talk “Africa as the lab for the future”, her visions for the future of architecture education and the future of big cities on a social, cultural and urban level.

Local Expertise Versus Local Extraction: African Vernacular Architecture and a More Holistic Sustainability

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Every year, in the hot, dry town of Djenné in Central Mali, something special takes place – La Fête de Crépissage. Roughly translated to the “Day of Plastering”, this day sees the entire community of Djenné collaborate to reinforce the mud walls of the Great Mosque of Djenné – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the African continent’s most distinctive architectural landmarks.

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Kazuyo Sejima Appointed as President of the International Jury of the Biennale Architettura 2021

The Board of Directors of the 2021 Venice Biennale has appointed Kazuyo Sejima as president of the international jury, in charge of awarding mainly the Golden Lion for Best National Participation, the Golden Lion for the Best participant, and the Silver Lion for a promising young participant. In addition, they have also selected four other jury members from Peru, Lebanon, Ghana-Scotland, and Italy. The Awards Ceremony will take place in Venice on Monday, August 30th, 2021.

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Architects, not Architecture - Virtual Event 02

The current global situation forces us to do all kinds of adjustments and we are seeing this as an opportunity to go out of our comfort zone and try something new. We are going online! This allows us to invite architects from different parts of the world and make it possible for you to get to know them from the “AnA perspective”, no matter where you are located. The first round of events will take place before mid-July. Join us!

Chicago Architecture Biennial Announces 2019 Early Highlight Contributors

The third Chicago Architecture Biennial will occur from September 19, 2019, to January 5, 2020, and yesterday the first group of contributors to the 2019 edition and publication was announced. This year’s theme, “...and other such stories,” will bring together a multi-faceted and international exploration of architecture and the built environment. Newly commissioned projects for the Biennial will highlight issues including public housing, social justice, and the appropriation and preservation of the natural environment.

Caroline Bos, David Adjaye, Li Xiaodong and Many Others to Speak at 2018 World Architecture Festival

After two years in Berlin, the World Architecture Festival will move their 2018 edition to Amsterdam for three days of talks, design presentations, and award ceremonies featuring cutting-edge contemporary works and some of the most prominent figures in architecture today.