3835 Campus Drive
Architecture Building (145 ARC)
College Park, MD 20742
United States
This lecture is part of the SPRING 2025 Architecture Lecture + Event Series. This event is open to the public.
“Where is Wakanda? Who is T’Challa? The Sustainable African City Re-Imagined as a Livable and Lovable City”
Lecture by Amira Osman
Professor of Architecture, Tshwane University of Technology
About the lecture:
Where is Wakanda? Is it place? An idea? Who is T’Challa? Who are the African heroes when it comes to the conceptualising of African space and cities? Images of future African cities tend to resemble Wakanda, dominated by high-rise glass and steel structures—an aspiration of many cities in emerging African economies. While there is a need to imagine alternatives to current trajectories of development of African cities, it is important to consider images that lead to the creation of inclusive spaces, a scale that is accessible and a relationship with the public realm that is meaningful to the majority of city residents. A personal perspective and an anecdotal narrative (from South Africa, Sudan and Egypt) is combined with reference to some academic texts. The African City is re-imagined as a livable and lovable city. These concepts imply that cities are just, attractive, functional and resonate with many communities over time. In this way, cities become sustainable by accommodating for all people and allowing for diversity, choice and change. The future image of these cities thus also strongly relates to their geographical, social, cultural, economic and historical contexts.
About the speaker:
Amira Osman is a Sudanese/South African architect, researcher, academic, activist, public speaker and author. She is a Professor of Architecture at the Tshwane University of Technology and holds the position of the South African Research Chair in Spatial Transformation (Positive Change in the Built Environment). Amira is a joint coordinator for the international Open Building Implementation network and the past President of the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA), convenor of the conference series: A City is [Not] a Tree: the Urban Ecologies of Divided Cities launched in 2022. She is the director of the organization PLATFORM 100, a thinktank and collaborative vehicle for promoting change in conversations and practice around architecture, space and cities. Amira is a registered Professional Architect and the editor of The Built Environment in Emerging Economies (BEinEE) Book Series. Amira has extensive experience curating international events, coordinating complex programs and exhibitions in terms of design, conceptualizing content and managing diverse teams.