NAIROBI, SEPTEMBER 2026
“shifting the center : from fragility to resilience.”
Africa is the origin of life. Not only biologically, but culturally, intellectually, and spiritually. Its centrality must now be reclaimed in shaping global futures. For too long, Africa’s built environment has been viewed through an external lens shaped by colonial occupation, redefined by Western development ideologies, and systemically excluded from the dominant narratives of architectural modernity. This Biennale marks a decisive shift. It repositions Africa not at the periphery of global architectural discourse, but at its centre not merely as a recipient of models and technologies, but as a site of spatial intelligence, epistemic innovation, and future making.
pan-african biennale
The Pan-African Biennale is the first continental platform dedicated to the built environment, architecture, and spatial practice, conceived and led from Africa. It brings together voices from across the continent and its diasporas to reclaim authorship, visibility, and agency in shaping cities, landscapes, and futures. Rooted in lived realities, memory, and material knowledge, the Biennale challenges inherited narratives and imposed centers of architectural discourse. It positions Africa not as a case study, but as a generator of ideas, methods, and critical spatial thinking.
The Biennale is a space for action, exchange, and collective reimagining of the built environment, from Africa, for the world.
