Author Archives: Lesley Lokko

Kindled by Covid and a highly politicised and racialised landscape, emerging mores could be transformational

Lesley Lokko tends to write emails as if she were writing letters and is pretty sure that’s why no one really reads them

Shelter from the sun in urban Africa is a public resource and site of civic life, but is under threat from economic forces with roots in colonial city planning

Remittances from migrant workers hailing from the Global South are extremely important for both hosts and home

Africa has the world’s youngest population and the world’s oldest leaders – a divide challenged by the democratisation of social media

Only with change will Africa – confined by the expectation of being influenced rather than influencing – realise its true architectural potential

If change can be said to be Africa’s ‘natural’ condition, what role can architecture play in either stabilising or exacerbating it to produce tangible, material, even formal results?

South Africa’s new developments offer promising ‘places of light’ and aim to transform Johannesburg into a true melting-pot city

As the spotlight falls on Africa following the death of Nelson Mandela, a timely exhibition on the continent’s built environment gives cause for hope

Can the homogeneous architectural profession learn from the London Olympics to find a better way to embrace difference?