Active Research Projects
PLANETARY HEUTAGOGIES: WEST AFRICAN AFROTROPICS
Partners:
Willow Technologies Ltd., Ghana, Hahatay,
Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture,
Collège Universitaire d’Architecture de Dakar
Funding: ReArc Institute, Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund, Yale MacMillan Center
Period: 2026-present
The West African region, with a current population of 440 million is projected to become home to 15% of the world's population by 2035, has been recognized as one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, the region represents a global hotspot for intersectional challenges and innovation. Engaging with pluriversal systems of capital across the West African intersectoral economy (cultural, economic, social, natural), the project’s heutagogical approach aims to construct a system of knowledge exchange in which key actors (informal and formal, professional, entrepreneurial, sectoral, disciplinary) who are facing convergent challenges can find meaningful mechanisms for knowledge and skill transfer.
The Planetary Heutagogy: Saint Louis Bioregion flagship project is comprised of four core areas that aim to bridge networks and information between existing regional biomass to biobased construction sectors, and develop key products to support the uptake of biobased construction and regenerative design practices in prevailing housing construction systems: (i) development of a PH Network working group (ii) PH Research Program, (iii) PH Workshops (iv) PH Handbook and Policy Products.
CIVILSATIONS OF COLOR
Principal Investigators: Mae-ling Lokko, Yale School of Architecture; Amma Asamoah, Tuskegee School of Architecture
Co-Principal Investigators: Sasha Duerr, Tei Carpenter (Princeton School of Architecture); Mark Aronson, Yale Center for British Art; Kwesi Daniels, Tuskegee School of Architecture
Funding: Yale ASCEND Collaboration Grant
Period: 2024-present
Building on legacy research at Tuskegee University stemming from George Carver Washington’s research on plant, forestry by-products and clay paints; and ongoing research at Yale’s Center for Ecosystems in Architecture on regenerative color for biogenic building materials, this proposal brings together convergent research areas to drive innovation in the design, development and evaluation of biogenic coloring practices in the built environment.
POLICY: CARBON IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Principal Investigator: Yale Center for Ecosystems in ArchitectureCo-Principal Investigators: Willow Technologies Ltd., Ghana, McGill University
Funding: United Nations Environment Program
Period: 2022-2023
Building Materials and Climate: Constructing a New Future Report (Download here)
Specific Contributions:
- Chapter 4: Shift to Biobased Materials (Timber, Bamboo, Biomass)
- Chapter 5: Improve: Masonry and Earth-based Materials
- Case Studies:
+ Taking pressure off West Africa’s tropical forests through the use of non-timber biomass resources
+ Greening the masonry value chain in West Africa
2022 Global Status Report- Buildings and
Constructions (URL)
Global ABC
contributing author, Materials Chapter
INTEGRATED MATERIAL LIFE CYCLE DESIGN
Soil SistersProject Website: www.yalesoilsisters.com/
Period: 2021 to present
Funding: SOM Foundation, Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture, Yale School of Architecture
GLOBAL ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION
Domestic Worldmaking by the Enslaved
Collabortors: Mae-ling Lokko, Geri Augusto, Simon Benjamin, Marie-Louise Richards, Mohamed Aly Etman
Project Website: https://domesticworldmaking.com/
Funding: Global Architectural History and Teaching Collaborative
Period: 2020-ongoing
