Joe Osae-Addo
Principal of the architecture practice Constructs
Joe Osae-Addo is Principal of the architecture practice Constructs, with offices in Accra and Tamale, Ghana, and in Washington DC and Los Angeles, USA.
The firm synergizes architecture, urban planning, landscaping, and building technology into a single unit geared towards bringing modern architecture and building techniques to create ‘inno-native’ design solutions to contemporary African architecture. ‘Inno-native’ is the condition where solutions are developed smartly and are indigenous.
The work and interest of the practice has been influenced by various investigations of ‘genus-loci’ and how architecture can/should respond to this in creating pieces that are both site specific and meet the needs of the people who will inhabit or interact with it. This has led to a more public intervention in South Los Angeles, where several projects are under construction aimed at establishing a discourse between what is important to communities and how site, climate, materials and their weathering, with design intent, should shape these interventions
Joe Osae-Addo studied architecture at the Architectural Association (AA) in London (1980-86).
He has worked for architectural firms in Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
He is Chairman of ArchiAfrika, a platform that initiates and facilitates research and projects on the terrain of African architecture and architecture in Africa.
Joe Osae-Addo was a member of the Awards jury for Middle East Africa in 2008, 2011 and 2017.
