Venice Architecture Biennale "creates a portal for clarity for the rest of the world," says Lagos-based Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo in this exclusive video interview held at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale. 

Oshinowo points out that the diversity and potential of the works, with the presence of different voices and values in Africa are more clearly expressed with this exhibition.

"There is nothing new about what Lesley is showing," said the architect. 

"The plurality and multiplicity have always existed on the continent and what Lesley has done is to create a portal for clarity for the rest of the world," Oshinowo told World Architecture Community during the biennale. 

"Venice Architecture Biennale creates a portal for clarity for the rest of the world"

Referring to Lesley Lokko's statement, "maybe 15 years ago there might not have been as many voices to showcase", at the opening press conference of the event, Oshinowo agreed with Lesley Lokko, and she explained that "a lot of Africa has also been hiding in plain sight and being able to pick and to nurture and to amplify is really what Lesley has done."

"It's not about showing just the multiplicity or the plurality, the reality is that it has existed," the architect emphasized. 

In this 25-minute video interview, Tosin Oshinowo gives an in-depth look from a distinctive body of work and the design philosophy of her practice, cmDesign Atelier, the notion of style, her influences from Yoruba culture to the new age of modernism, new green initiatives in Africa and the latest of works of her practice.

Lagos-based Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo is the principal of cmDesign Atelier, the architecture studio she founded in 2012 in Lagos. Oshinowo is known for her socially responsive approaches to architecture, design and urbanism in which her design philosophy is deeply rooted the West African context. 

Her studio is working across residential and civic architecture, the practice has carried out some notable landmark projects in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria. Her studio designed an all-white minimal Coral Pavilion on Lagos peninsula as well as a family house that plays with solid-void relationship and features crisp lines and geometric patterns on it façade in Lagos, Nigeria.

She is the curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. She announced the theme as "The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability" for the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. 

During the interview, the architect drew particular attention to the technical aspect of the biennale and mentioned her favorite pavilions in this year's biennale, including the Nordic Countries Pavilion. 

"The technicality behind the engineered wood that was used to create the structures. There are some internal pavilions and some hanging pieces from the ceiling and you can see how the wood has been so beautifully interwoven," Oshinowo explained. 

"But also there has been a big emphasis on indigenous and not just indigenous Norwegian culture but indigenous Global or International culture," she added.

Coral Pavilion on Lagos peninsula, Nigeria by founder of cmD+A Tosin Oshinowo. Image © Tolu Sanusi

"We now have a new age of modernism"

Talking about modernism, Oshinowo believes that there is a profound difference between the modernism she grew up with in the 80s and today's understanding of modernism.

She added that "we now have a new age of modernism that is very much about the use of energy and air conditioning and artificial lighting - which is very different from the 50s and 60s version of modernism."

"Identity plays a very big role in my work. Yearning and understanding of South and the representation of culture in architecture, and that really has been the premise to which a lot of my practice is based."

"When I relate this with modernism I grew up in the 80s and and very much the buildings that were my early experience were buildings that were built in the 50s and 60s," she added.

"I've evolved as a practitioner I've started to question the importance of modernism has played, particularly tropical modernism came in an era which was where a lot of nation building was built. 

"So you have this relationship with modernism and nationalism, especially in Africa where you had a lot of countries who were gaining independence and are made up of a real diverse breadth of ethnic groups and there wasn't anything as a physical architecture that represented any particular culture in a modernist context."

Fowóralé House in Ilashe Lagos by founder of cmD+A Tosin Oshinowo whose works will be on view at 2021 Design Week Lagos. Image courtesy of Tosin Oshinowo

"Conscious hybrids"

On the other hand, she describes today's understanding of modernism as "modernism which is also not the the best solution in terms of our climate".

She said that "I realized that the tropical modernism that was about passive system is actually a lot more appropriate so I have this conundrum where I'm against identity and and resource consumption."

"We need to start to create very conscious hybrids that take the technology of the past and fuse it with modernism of the present and merge the possibilities of the future."

Toshinowo's influence from Yoruba culture

"This is an evolving body of research. Every project gives you an opportunity to continue to add a layer of information or understanding. Every project gives you an opportunity to continue to add a layer of information or understanding."

Taking the spatial references from the Yoruba culture, she emphasized that the consciousness of the people in the ways they use space and the consciousness of their culture.

Lantern House by cmDesign Atelier was built in Lagos, Nigeria. Image © Tolu Sanusi

"Spaces should be about creating a canvas for life"

The office, which produces works between different scales, does not have a dominant style over representation. But for Oshinowo, it is important to construct "an ideology of language" and how people feel in the space.

"I very much believe in creating an ideology of language. The style of our practice is quite minimal. I believe that spaces should be about creating a canvas for life."

According to the architect, "buildings should recede within the background, but they do have an identity but they're not at the forefront of life and that's very much reality the ideology we base our buildings on they all have individual identities."

"All projects should actually solve a problem. All our projects are very conscious of the individual what it feels like to walk through the space."

Northern Nigerian Village by Tosin Oshinowo together with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first phase of the Nigerian village was completed last year November. Image courtesy of UNDP and Tolulope Sanusi

Design process and methodology for Northern Nigerian Village in northeast Nigeria

The design of Northern Nigerian Village in Northern Nigeria for a community displaced by Boko Haram marks one of key projects of her practice. The large-scale project is being built for Rebuilding Ngarannam, a stabilization programme in Northeast Nigeria. 

The architect highlighted the details of the design and construction process of the project and how it adopted a community-led process with the local community and contractors. 

"Going to the north of Nigeria that is very different from my culture, I had realized that I needed to understand the people and understand their way of living, their way of working and their religious practice," Oshinowo explained. 

"I had already started to develop this principle about using culture within buildings. I had to apply these principles in a different context, the principles that I had learned and developed when working with Yoruba culture and buildings in the South."

Northern Nigerian Village by Tosin Oshinowo together with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first phase of the Nigerian village was completed last year November. Image courtesy of UNDP and Tolulope Sanusi

Regarding her choice of colorful materials, textures and roofs, she explained her influence from the blue sky and coral-colored sandy soil in the area.

"When I first traveled to the northern part of Nigeria, I was so inspired by the fact that the sky is so blue and they've got a beautiful kind of coral-colored sandy soil," she said.

"And those two elements were such a massive contrast and I wanted to be able to amplify those."

"It was really really important that the local community were included in the project. It was put in by the governor of the state that we needed to work with indigenous communities. So the projects were actually handled by a team of different contractors."

"There was an insistence that the workers for the contractors had to be from the local community, and that helped us to keep a quality control."

Ògún headpiece from Freedom to Move by Tosin Oshinowo and Chrissa Amuah, inspired by Lexus. Image © Mark Cocksedge

Working at different scales

In the interview, the architect also highlighted how designing in between different scales nourishes her, allowing to improve and enables a constant change. She emphasized that quick decisions in product design are important in terms of reaching the finished work in a shorter time.

"Practicing in architecture, product design, and curatorial role have given me this opportunity to have a trilogy. I think it's so important to be able to work at different scales because every scale or every aspect that you work in informs the other."

"So you're constantly evolving and improving as a designer your logic, your thoughts and your values are evolving within each sphere," she added.

"What product design gives me is the gratification that you don't get with a building design because the construction of a building takes on average 36 months from the first day you meet your client to the end product."

"Whereas product design you can in a much shorter period make some decisions and actually see the gratification of the finished work," the architect continued. 

Ironrun table by Tosin Oshinowo. Image © Emmanuel Oyeleke

New green initiatives and pathways in Africa

Lastly, Oshinowo talked about new green initiatives and pathways in Africa where the continent has been known with physical and economic scarcity and "a place of lack".

Although Africa is responsible for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions, with just 3.8%, compared to China (23%), the US (19%) and the European Union (13%), the African continent is still holding the first position to become vulnerable to climate change. 

The continent is being exposed to extreme heat, precipitation changes, aridity, sea level rise affecting water resources, agricultural production, ocean and savannah ecosystems where its coastal populations are highly susceptible. 

"We've always worked from a place of lack, and the most of Africa has worked within the conditions of scarcity," Oshinowo explained. 

"For example, the place where I live in Lagos we don't have 24-hour power and similar to what you have in Lebanon. But the point is that when you work within these limits, it forces you to become quite resourceful," she emphasized. 

"There are a lot of lessons that can actually be learned from how Africa has actually adapted to the challenges that we're all facing now."

"I'm curating the Sharjah Architecture Triennial and we're really going to be celebrating these we're going to be celebrating these innovations that have existed within Africa that have not been acknowledged by the canon."

"The issue of energy emissions and the new pathways for Africa is very different because we don't we don't have the same problems, we're not as industrialized as the rest of the world. 

"We have significant innovations that have existed that have always existed on the continent and created a required balance."

"The biggest challenge that we have is scaling those initiatives. I think that's really where we need to place our concentration is how can we scale these innovations," the architect concluded. 

Adunni Chair by Tosin Oshinowo. Image © Emmanuel Oyeleke

The Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 is taking place from Saturday 20 May to Sunday 26 November, 2023 at the Arsenale and Giardini venues in Italy. 

The theme of the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale is The Laboratory of the Future curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and novelist Professor Lesley Lokko.

Read more about WAC's coverage about the biennale pavilions on Venice Architecture Biennale 2023. 

To see more pavilions from this year's biennale, you can also visit WAC's Instagram/Reels for exclusive videos.

Top image in the article: Tosin Oshinowo. Image © World Architecture Community. 

Africa cmDesign Atelier exhibition Tosin Oshinowo Venice Architecture Biennale