Kunlé Adeyemi
Encyclopedia
Kunlé Adeyemi is a Nigeria
n architect
, urbanist and creative researcher. Adeyemi is founder and principal of NLÉ
, an architecture, design
and urbanism
practice, based in Amsterdam
, in the Netherlands
. Adeyemi studied at the University of Lagos
in Nigeria and Princeton University
in New Jersey
, the United States
. Before starting his own office in the Netherlands, he worked nearly a decade at Office for Metropolitan Architecture
(OMA).
, in the north of Nigeria
, and studied and started his early career in Lagos
. His father was a modernist architect and started one of the first indigenous architecture firms in North Nigeria in the 1970s. In his mid-teens, Adeyemi had the opportunity to design his first house, for a friend of his father.
Adeyemi studied architecture at the University of Lagos
in Nigeria, and finished his Bachelor as Best Graduate. In 2005, Adeyemi received a Post-Professional degree at Princeton University
in New Jersey
. At that university, Adeyemi investigated together with Peter Eisenman
, the rapid urbanization and the role of market economies in developing cities of the Global South, focusing on Lagos.
and other parts of Nigeria. After that, Adeyemi joined OMA
(The Office for Metropolitan Architecture) in 2002, where he was Senior Associate and worked for about nine years alongside its award-winning founder Rem Koolhaas
. There, Adeyemi led the following projects, in different stages:
, located in Amsterdam
. NLÉ means ‘at home’ in Yoruba
. With his office NLÉ, Adeyemi is interested in elements that make up a city. He focuses especially on the rapidly growing cities in developing countries. Adeyemi seeks the logic in systems that arise in the rapid development of those cities. He observes and questions the existing systems within these cities, and creates new solutions inspired by his own ‘reading’ of those systems. Adeyemi is convinced that there is much to learn from the type of condition that is found in rapidly developing, energetic cities, like one of Africa's most populated cities Lagos in Nigeria. NLÉ offers a strategy advisory service and focuses on city development research, conceptualization, creative structuring, architectural-, product- and infrastructure design, arts and urban cultural intervention. Among others, Adeyemi conducted with NLÉ the following activities:
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, urbanist and creative researcher. Adeyemi is founder and principal of NLÉ
NLE
NLE is an acronym. It may stand for:* Non-linear editing system* National Latin Examination* North Luzon Expressway* N.L.E. Tractors, a codename for Cultivator No. 6...
, an architecture, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and urbanism
Urbanism
Broadly, urbanism is a focus on cities and urban areas, their geography, economies, politics, social characteristics, as well as the effects on, and caused by, the built environment.-Philosophy:...
practice, based in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Adeyemi studied at the University of Lagos
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...
in Nigeria and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Before starting his own office in the Netherlands, he worked nearly a decade at Office for Metropolitan Architecture
Office for Metropolitan Architecture
OMA , is a Rotterdam based architecture firm of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.The firm was founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis with Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.-History:...
(OMA).
Early life
Adekunle Adeyemi was born and raised in KadunaKaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
, in the north of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and studied and started his early career in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
. His father was a modernist architect and started one of the first indigenous architecture firms in North Nigeria in the 1970s. In his mid-teens, Adeyemi had the opportunity to design his first house, for a friend of his father.
Adeyemi studied architecture at the University of Lagos
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...
in Nigeria, and finished his Bachelor as Best Graduate. In 2005, Adeyemi received a Post-Professional degree at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. At that university, Adeyemi investigated together with Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
, the rapid urbanization and the role of market economies in developing cities of the Global South, focusing on Lagos.
Early career
In his early career, Adeyemi worked on projects in Lagos, AbujaAbuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
and other parts of Nigeria. After that, Adeyemi joined OMA
Office for Metropolitan Architecture
OMA , is a Rotterdam based architecture firm of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.The firm was founded in 1975 by Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis with Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.-History:...
(The Office for Metropolitan Architecture) in 2002, where he was Senior Associate and worked for about nine years alongside its award-winning founder Rem Koolhaas
Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...
. There, Adeyemi led the following projects, in different stages:
- Qatar Foundation Headquarters, the Central Library and the Strategic Studies Center, in the Education City in Doha
- The 4th Mainland Bridge and Master Plan in Lagos
- The Prada TransformerPrada TransformerThe Prada Transformer is an unusual building which has one of four different apparent shapes, depending on the function for which the building is needed at the moment. The building is roughly in the shape of a tetrahedron...
project in 2009 - New Court Rothschild Bank project in London (2006). This bank is about to open soon
- Master plan concept for Abuja - AIST, Nigeria in 2006 for the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology
- Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2006, opened in November 2007
- The Seoul National University Museum project in 2005
- The S-project Masterplan for Seoul in 2004
- The Leeum Museum in Seoul in 2004.
Current Work and Projects
Currently, Adeyemi runs his own architecture, design and urbanism practice called NLÉNLE
NLE is an acronym. It may stand for:* Non-linear editing system* National Latin Examination* North Luzon Expressway* N.L.E. Tractors, a codename for Cultivator No. 6...
, located in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. NLÉ means ‘at home’ in Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
. With his office NLÉ, Adeyemi is interested in elements that make up a city. He focuses especially on the rapidly growing cities in developing countries. Adeyemi seeks the logic in systems that arise in the rapid development of those cities. He observes and questions the existing systems within these cities, and creates new solutions inspired by his own ‘reading’ of those systems. Adeyemi is convinced that there is much to learn from the type of condition that is found in rapidly developing, energetic cities, like one of Africa's most populated cities Lagos in Nigeria. NLÉ offers a strategy advisory service and focuses on city development research, conceptualization, creative structuring, architectural-, product- and infrastructure design, arts and urban cultural intervention. Among others, Adeyemi conducted with NLÉ the following activities:
- Building prototype housing for urban tropic environment
- ‘Queensday Lagos’, in order to exchange the DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Queensday experience with inhabitants of LagosLagosLagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
by video conferencing - Lagos Photo project with the African Artists’ Foundation.
Academic Contribution
Adeyemi gave and gives lectures and workshops at universities and conferences in Amsterdam, Zurich, Delft, Guggenheim, and published several articles on architecture and urbanism:- Adeyemi is 2011 Callison Distinguished Visiting Lecturer of the University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, faculty of Architecture, teaching and researching ‘The Modern City in the Age of Globalization’ in ChandigarhChandigarhChandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
, together with Dr. Vikramaditya Prakash, following-up Glenn MurcuttGlenn MurcuttGlenn Marcus Murcutt AO is a British-born Australian architect and winner of the 2002 Pritzker Prize and 2009 AIA Gold Medal.-Biography:...
. - At PICNICPicnicIn contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
2011 (yearly creative conference), Adeyemi spoke about organic urban growth versus city planning - Adeyemi was visiting critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in America, the Architectural Association in London, and the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam
- Adeyemi published the article “Urban Craw” in the LOG Journal, summer/fall 2007, about Observation on Architecture and Contemporary Cities
- In 2006, Adeyemi was keynote speaker at the Guggenheim Symposium “Contamination, Impure Architecture”, next to Zaha HadidZaha HadidZaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
, Sandfort Kwinter, and Alex McDowellAlex McDowellAlex McDowell, RDI is British production designer and film producer.McDowell was born in Borneo to parents of English origin. He wanted to become a painter and studied at the Central School of Art in London. He founded Rocking Russian Design in 1978 and started his career designing album covers... - Adeyemi was in 2006 a teacher at the Urban Body Studio of the Delft University of Technology, faculty of Architecture.
- Adeyemi joined Architecture for Humanity as competition juror and project reviewer.