In this lecture, Tosin Oshinowo brings her wealth of experience from her recent success as curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial, which investigated architectural innovation in the face of scarcity. Delving into architecture and urbanism in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, she will share her perspective on urbanism routed in tradition and evolved from informality and challenge conventional notions, offering fresh perspectives on design and architecture tailored to the twenty-first century’s cultural and climatic needs. 

An Alternative Urbanism: The Culture of Self-organising Systems
Thu, Feb 6 2025, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Main Hall, Daniels Building

In this lecture, Tosin Oshinowo brings her wealth of experience from her recent success as curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial, which investigated architectural innovation in the face of scarcity. Delving into architecture and urbanism in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, she will share her perspective on urbanism routed in tradition and evolved from informality and challenge conventional notions, offering fresh perspectives on design and architecture tailored to the twenty-first century’s cultural and climatic needs. 

Tosin Oshinowo is a Lagos-based Nigerian architect and the principal and founder of Oshinowo Studio, established in 2013. She has worked on several civic, commercial, and residential projects throughout Nigeria and is renowned for her socially responsive approach to architecture, design, and urbanism. 

Her work demonstrates a strong interest in architectural history while embodying a contemporary perspective on African design and innovation. Her curatorial work focuses primarily on concerns of culture and identity, embodying a contemporary perspective of urbanism in the global South. 

She co-curated the second Lagos Biennial in 2019 and curated the second Sharjah Architecture Triennial in 2023. She is a 2025 Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.