Steering Panel 2017 | Africa Architecture

Steering Panel 2017

The Steering Panel for the Africa Architecture Awards 2017 comprises seven members, including two previous winners from the 2015 Architecture for Social Gain Awards, four practicing African architects (ranging from emerging to well-established), plus an international architect and filmmaker.

The members of the Steering Panel are as follows:

Professor Lesley Lokko (Chairperson)

Luís Urbano

Issa Diabaté

Urko Sánchez

Doreen Adengo

Thomas Chapman

Mphethi Morojele

This Pan-African body is chaired by Professor Lesely Lokko and was assembled at the invitation of the awards founding sponsor, Saint-Gobain. The Steering Panel first met from 24-25 June 2016 in Johannesburg, as part of a week-long festival of architecture.

Since its inception, the role of the Steering Panel has been to define the entry criteria and categories for the awards as well as identify the Master Jury. The Steering Panel’s final duty will be to brief the Master Jury on the judging process in July 2017, at which point the panel members’ term of service will end. They are then eligible for nomination as part of the 2019 Master Jury, but are not eligible to enter the awards.

Here's more information on the individual members of the panel:

Lesley Lokko (Chair)

“Cities are collaborative endeavours. Like any other activity, practice makes us better, if not quite perfect.” Lesley Lokko is Associate Professor and Head of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg. She is an architect, academic and (incidentally) the author of nine best-selling novels. She was born to a Ghanaian surgeon and Scottish artist,
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“Architecture can have major social impact and significantly change people's lives. It is a vector for education, economic growth and sustainability, but on local scales.” “ Issa Diabaté is a Master in Architecture graduate from Yale University, Managing Director of Koffi & Diabaté Architects and co-founder of the Koffi & Diabaté Group.
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“We analyse the vernacular architecture of each location where a project is going to take place in order to be able to introduce a modern twist and techniques which we believe the project can benefit from.” Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, Urko Sánchez began his architectural studies in 1988. As part of his studies,
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Mphethi Morojele

“Design… anticipates new ways of how people live. It reflects rural habits within an urban setting – a culture going through a transition.” Mphethi Morojele is an award-winning architect and urbanist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He qualified with a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Cape Town in 1990 and Master of Science in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture,
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“In portraying architecture in the way that it is lived, cinema, more than any other means of representation, has the ability to draw us into the spatial experience.” Luís Urbano is an architect, researcher and filmmaker and currently teaches at the Faculty of Architecture – Porto University where he completed his PhD in 2015.
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“Working in a developing country allows for the opportunity to apply simple, innovative design ideas that are also sustainable.” Doreen is a Uganda-born architect, currently based in Kampala, Uganda. After working at various firms such as Adjaye Associates, Robert A.M.Stern Architects, Ellerbe Becket and Gruzen Samton Architects, she now leads Adengo Architects,
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“We place public space at the forefront of any design process.” Thomas Chapman is the founder and principal of Local Studio, an architecture firm based in Brixton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Chapman holds masters degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of the Witwatersrand. Both of his degrees explored the reintroduction of “publicness”
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“Architecture can have major social impact and significantly change people's lives. It is a vector for education, economic growth and sustainability, but on local scales.” “ Issa Diabaté is a Master in Architecture graduate from Yale University, Managing Director of Koffi & Diabaté Architects and co-founder of the Koffi & Diabaté Group.
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“We place public space at the forefront of any design process.” Thomas Chapman is the founder and principal of Local Studio, an architecture firm based in Brixton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Chapman holds masters degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of the Witwatersrand. Both of his degrees explored the reintroduction of “publicness”
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