NLÉ, with offices in Amsterdam and Lagos, is an architecture, design and
urbanism practice focused on developing cities. African Design Magazine spoke
to Kunlé Adeyemi about the firm’s work in Africa.
Tell us about the background of NLE.
NLÉ was founded in 2010with the motivation of being
driven by the interest and curiosity into developing
cities – within both current and future contexts, and a
view towards urbanisation and climate change.
I believe that it is the cities of the developing world
that will generate responsible solutions for the larger
world; NLÉ’s role as thinkers, creatives and agents of
change, allow us to reveal these solutions and apply
them so that we can shape the physical, human and
urban interventions that are critical to the evolution
and development of cities today.
Our team is made up of a strong, diverse and
talented set of creatives with experience at many
levels and within many fields, from all over the
globe. By combining skill sets, it allows us to explore
the infusion of relevant global ideas and advanced
technologies while adding sustainable value on both a
social and material level.
What do you believe differentiates your work
from other practices?
I have a belief that architecture is a way of thinking;
of organising information, space; of identifying
issues and solving problems. For me it is a way
of reconstituting and reorganising while utilising
resources and materials to create a built environment.
At NLÉ we work by focusing on social and
environmental issues and we try to have that degree
of consciousness in what we do.
The point of innovation for me is often the
intersection between what already exists, the
knowledge of its use and the application of that
knowledge which benefits future generations. We
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often achieve this through community involvement
where we become agents to compose ideas into a new
form or improve what already exists.
We look into sensitive and diverse issues, which affect
the social sectors and the environmental impact of
buildings long term – allowing us to influence change
in a broad field of operation.
What do you have in store for the next twelve
months?
We have some treats lined up for 2015! You’ll have to
make sure to keep your eyes on our social media and
stay up to date. But what we can say for now is we’ve
got some exciting new research areas as part of our
African Water Cities project and you can also keep
your fingers crossed for a building or two to emerge
this year.
Where do you see African architecture going
in the next decade?
I see African architecture moving into some exciting
situations within the next decade. The way we view
it as an office, is by questioning how cities in Africa
dealing with the issue of climate change, particularly
as they try to urbanise, given the pressures of
economic development and population growth.
There are currently, and will continue to be, offers of
new opportunities for countries to invest in world
class quality buildings, bridges, public spaces that
will become historic landmarks, environmental
innovations, legacies and national identities. I
remain inspired by this notion along with how great
civilisations have been built throughout history, and
motived to bring architecture across Africa back into
international focus. AD