Postponed | Renowned architect Lesley Lokko headlines inaugural CAPLA Lecture Series
The CAPLA Inaugural Lecture Series featuring Lesley Lokko, originally scheduled for Friday, November 1, has been postponed due to the speaker's unexpected illness.
If you would like to be among the first to know about the rescheduled date, please complete our interest form. We are actively working to reschedule the event and will provide updated information as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
The University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) is proud to announce the launch of the CAPLA Lecture Series, featuring renowned architect, academic, and writer, Professor Lesley Lokko, OBE, RIBA as the inaugural speaker.
The CAPLA Lecture Series is designed to engage the broader community in discussions on the Built, Natural, and Metaphysical Environments. Each year, the series will delve into diverse topics such as architecture, landscape design, ecosystems, and social good, aiming to deepen our understanding of the complex challenges and our shared responsibility to foster a brighter future.
The series introduces these important topics to our community and the public, encouraging dialogue around today’s global challenges and promoting collective efforts toward a more optimistic and sustainable future.
"Our goal is to inspire optimism and wonder in our changing world," said Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, dean and professor of CAPLA. "We are honored and excited to host thought leaders like Professor Lesley Lokko, whose work resonates deeply with the global architectural and academic communities."
CAPLA Lecture Series featuring Lesley Lokko
Date TBD
Health Sciences Innovation Building 1670 E Drachman Street Tucson, AZ
Doors Open | 4:30 p.m.
Lecture | 5 p.m.
Q&A | 6 p.m.
Reception to Follow
For those unable to join the lecture in person, an option to watch virtually will be offered.
Lokko is widely recognized for her contributions to architectural education, her leadership in diversity and inclusion, and her visionary approach to global and social issues. In 2023, she made history as the first Black woman to curate the 18th International Architecture Biennale at La Biennale di Venezia, an exhibit titled “The Laboratory of the Future.”
The exhibition focused on architecture’s role in shaping the future, with a spotlight on Africa and its diaspora, while addressing global challenges like climate change, social justice, migration, and equality. In April 2024, she was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in the annual TIME100 list.
Oscar Lopez, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and chair of the CAPLA Lecture Series Committee, said the series embodies CAPLA’s values and its dedication to addressing the critical issues of today and tomorrow through the college’s focused yet ambitious teaching and research.
“If not us, then who?” Lopez asks, underscoring the responsibility to drive significant change and inspire others to do the same.
“The lecture series embodies and echoes CAPLA’s commitment to the Natural, Built, and Metaphysical Environments that we all co-inhabit and create. We are excited and honored to have Professor Lesley Lokko as our inaugural speaker, bringing CAPLA’s mission to a wider audience.”
About Lesley Lokko
Professor Lesley Lokko, OBE , RIBA, is the Founder and Chair of the African Futures Institute (AFI) headquartered in Accra, Ghana and Director of the Nomadic African Studio; an annual winter/summer school located in different cities around the African continent. She holds a BSc (Arch), MArch and PhD in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. She was the Founder and Director of the Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg (2014—2019). She is the Editor of “White Papers, Black Marks: Race, Culture, Architecture” (University of Minnesota Press, 2000) and the Editor-in-Chief of “FOLIO: Journal of Contemporary African Architecture.”
She is currently a Visiting Professor at the Bartlett School of Architecture and at University College Dublin. She was appointed Curator of the 18th International Architecture Biennale at La Biennale di Venezia in 2023. In January 2023, she was awarded an OBE ‘for services to architecture and education’ in King Charles’ New Year’s Honours List. In January 2024, she was awarded the UK’s highest architecture award, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal. In April 2024, she was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in the annual TIME100 list.
Prof. Lesley Lokko joins us from Accra, Ghana, West Africa.
