"Shaping my Thoughts, One Sketchbook at a Time" Arthur Adeya

We are shaped by our context and histories. However, we also and critically shape our context and history to influence the future. While this appears so obvious, it took my leaving Kenya to study and work in the US, to discover my own deep-seated biases and discriminations that had influenced my design thinking.  This lecture will reflect on how sketching can be utilised as a tool for introspection, with specific regard to breaking down deep-seated biases that are the basis for institutional discrimination. Through my sketches and the work of KDI I will explore the potential of Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Urban Design to shape our context and drive a more equitable future, in Kenyan Urban Space. 

Arthur is primarily driven by a passion for sketching, and especially urban sketching from life. He uses this passion to capture the invisible social cultural building blocks of Nairobi’s Urban Structure. The lessons learnt have helped him navigate the three extremes in his professional life. Working with a large corporate real estate developer, Centum RE, where he drives the planning and design of their affordable housing projects, supporting the transformation of unsafe and under-used sites into “Productive public spaces” with KDI and teaching a Landscape Engineering Studio at JKUAT. 

Arthur has been a Principal Partner at Lexicon + ion, in Nairobi Kenya in charge of  Master Planning, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design working with external  teams to ensure projects are launched on firm planning principals, uphold  environmental sustainability and are situated in well-designed landscapes. He  previously worked in the USA with The HOK Planning Group in Washington DC and  EDSA Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he was involved in several large master planning and urban design projects in Tunisia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

Arthur holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Nairobi, a  Master’s in Landscape Architecture from The Harvard University Graduate School of  Design where he was awarded the Norman T. Newton Prize, for landscape architecture student whose work best exemplifies achievement in design expression as realized in any medium and the ASLA Certificate of Honor for demonstrating a high degree of academic scholarship and of accomplishment in skills related to the art and technology of landscape architecture. He is a Registered Architect in Kenya, a LEED Accredited Professional and is  a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Architectural  Association of Kenya.