Luis Urbano – architect, producer, director and academic – recently visited South Africa to participate in the first Steering Committee panel discussion for the Africa Architecture Awards, and as a guest speaker at the Architect Africa Film Festival 2016.

Designer, brands expert and entrepreneur - “From a macro perspective, Africa needs to look beyond product design to design thinking – the design of processes, policies and business models that allow people to prototype their way out of problems.”

Kunlé Adeyemi in discussion with Prof. Lesley Lokko. Head of the Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg. 11 August 2016, MOAD, Maboneng, Johannesburg.

In a profession that is increasingly expected to operate in multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder environments, where technology and easy travel have made it possible for architects to practice simultaneously in multi-contextual realities, teaching architecture is rapidly evolving beyond the realm of the design studio.

“We need to be innovative in how we translate African traditional architecture in response to contemporary needs, otherwise we risk losing part of the culture. At all costs we should avoid ‘fast food architecture’ that results in spaces without identity.”

The critical question of the architects’ role and relevance in society was put under the spotlight at the Association of Ethiopian Architects’ 18th Annual Convention and Exhibition held at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa on the 19th and 20th of August.

Through their work, craftsmen provide a link between culture, identity, & how craft pieces are imbued with value. This is the philosophy of Allan Schwarz, architect, journeyman, craftsman, artist and environmentalist.

A visual fly through the surface of a city with some key facts that frame the city's current status and it's projected growth.

The Steering Panel Chaired by Professor Lesley Lokko share their thinking and decisions on the Africa Architecture Awards 2017 in this public panel discussion held in Maboneng in June 2016.