Creative Urban Alchemy: Ifeoma Ebo on Cultural Identity, Priorities in Design Education, and an Inclusive Design Process
By Julia Gamolina
Ifeoma Ebo is an experienced Urban Designer & Strategist with a proven track record in transforming urban spaces into platforms for equity and design excellence. In her twenty-year career she has led projects in architecture, urban revitalization, community and large scale masterplanning, infrastructure upgrading, urban policy and neighborhood development. As the founding Director of Creative Urban Alchemy LLC, she is a highly sought-after consultant on equitable design and sustainable development strategy for city governments and civic institutions internationally.
She has served on Advisory Boards for the Mayor of Helsingborg, Sweden H22 Smart City Initiative, Association for Community Design, Museum of Modern Art and is a founding board member of the BlackSpace Urbanist Collective. She is a 2010 Architecture for Humanity Design Fellow, 2016 NYC Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow and 2016 Next City Vanguard Fellow. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University and Columbia University and has taught and lectured at Cornell University, University of Cape Town, Harvard University and the NYC School of Visual Arts. Ifeoma holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master in City Design and Development from MIT. In her interview, Ifeoma talks about getting to know her heritage and working internationally, as well as learning to be agile and take risks. She advises those starting their careers to nurture their curiosity.
JG: How did your interest in architecture first develop? What did you learn about yourself in studying it?
IE: My interest started with a love of arts and crafts as a child, and then also as my aptitudes in math and science were nurtured through STEM programs for Black women in middle and high school. Both of these scenarios contributed to my decision to apply for and getting accepted to the Bachelor of Architecture program at Cornell University.
Studying architecture was a window for me to learn more about my Nigerian heritage and African American history and culture. I learned that I could use my creativity as a way of expressing my cultural identity and growing passion for social justice.
How did you get your start in the field?
My first job out of architecture school was at Aaris Architects, a firm owned by a Black female Architect by the name of Nicole Hollant-Denis who is also an alumna of Cornell University. At the time she had a partner by the name of Rodney Leon and they were working on the African Burial Ground Memorial in lower Manhattan and also developing a proposal for the expansion of the African Studies & Research Center at Cornell University. It was a great opportunity to be involved in notable projects striving for a uniquely African American aesthetic.
Walk me through your career steps chronologically, focusing on significant moments and key milestones.
After graduating from Cornell University with my Bachelor of Architecture degree I worked in New York City for two years for small firms allowing me to experience all phases of the architectural process. I then went on to study Urban Design and Planning at MIT out of a desire to better understand how design can be used to address social and economic issues in national and international contexts. After that, I moved to the Bay Area for four years and worked for medium to large firms on larger scale Hospital and residential development projects. My experience working in California exposed me to best practice in sustainable design, using participatory methods in hospital design and designing for live-work-play in international contexts - namely California and China.
At this point the 2008 recession hit and I had experienced being laid off for the second time and there didn’t seem like there was an end in sight to the economic decline. I decided to fulfill a long time passion of mine to use my skills in an African context and got an opportunity as a Design Fellow with Architecture for Humanity in Cape Town South Africa supporting their FIFA funded project to build community and soccer centers in twenty cities across the African continent. This was a pivotal experience for me in that it allowed me to completely immerse myself in community design practice and engage with an international network of architects and designers passionate about community development.
After my fellowship with AFH I decided to stay in South Africa for four more years partnering with nonprofit organizations and private sector on urban design and development projects across the continent. The experience built my personal resiliency and expanded my capacity to problem solve using architecture and planning. I returned to New York in 2015, at this point after ten years away, to work for City government because I wanted to immerse myself in the City that raised me and make a positive contribution in the built environment. The past five years have been quite an amazing experience working for the Department of Design & Construction, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development working on influential projects in public infrastructure, housing, and the public realm, all striving to improve the quality of life for residents of New York City.
“Studying architecture was a window for me to learn more about my Nigerian heritage and African American history and culture. I learned that I could use my creativity as a way of expressing my cultural identity and growing passion for social justice.”
Where are you in your career today?
Today I am quite excited for where I am and where I am headed. I currently teach undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia GSAPP and Syracuse University in architecture, urban design and planning focusing on issues at the intersection of race and urbanism in New York. I am building my independent consultancy, Creative Urban Alchemy LLC, where I am leveraging my diverse experience to consult for real estate developers, city governments, and civic institutions on equitable design and sustainable development. I am also a founding board member of the BlackSpace Urbanist Collective, a nonprofit organization and national network of Black creatives and practitioners striving for equity and justice in the built environment. I am manifesting the dreams and passions that I have held my entire life, promoting excellence in everything that I touch and cultivating a wealth of experience, capacity, and partnerships along the way.
Public Space Transformation Brownsville, Brooklyn New York; photo credit Mayors Office of Criminal Justice + Center for Court Innovation
Facilitating BlackSpace worksho. Photo courtesy of BlackSpace.
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges?
By far the biggest challenges have been, and continue to be, knowing how to pivot in the midst of uncertain times. My working career started with the 9/11 attacks in New York, fought through the 2008 recession, struggled to stay afloat while immigrating to South Africa without any local connections, and now making new paths in this pandemic. What I have discovered is my unfailing ability to be agile, take risks, and think on my feet. All of those experiences made me mentally stronger and adept at dealing with change.
What have been the highlights?
The highlights of my career have been engaging in really meaningful projects in different contexts that have challenged my intellectual curiosity. I have had to step out of my comfort zone in order to pursue these opportunities and it allowed me to cross paths with some brilliant people that are ready to create change in the world. 2019 was the year that I feel that I found my voice in an international arena. I was invited to speak at convenings in Korea, South Africa, and Sweden and was able to share my insight on community engaged design to a broad audience. I was so empowered by that experience of traveling around the world and sharing knowledge with design practitioners striving for social impact.
This year would mark my fifth year as a member of the BlackSpace Urbanist Collective. We went from having brunches in each of our homes every month to now being a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization, with a network of affiliates in five different cities and recently hired two Co-Directors Emma Osore and Kenyatta McLean. The BlackSpace trajectory is a testament to the power of the Collective and we are using that power to ignite change in our communities.
“My core mission is to transform the role of the Architect in society...There is a need and capacity for the Architect to play a greater role in facilitating a design process that is inclusive and researching the history and culture of the community as inspiration for design.”
Who are you admiring right now and why?
I admire Architect and Academic Leslie Lokko – not only for her brilliance and illustrative career in writing, architectural practice, and education - but also for how she takes on new challenges in her career. I met Leslie in 2004, at a convening at Yale School of Architecture, and I was blown away by her sense of agency through her writing. She edited a book entitled White Paper, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture. That book is a foundational resource for many design courses that I teach. Ten years later in South Africa I bumped into her again in Johannesburg and was inspired by her trajectory as she spearheaded a new Architecture post graduate program at the University of Johannesburg. She was not only creating space for the voices of women of color in design research but also in academia.
Fast forward six more years to 2020 she made the leap back to the US to take on leadership at City College’s Spitzer School of Architecture. When she decided to leave City College a short while after, I admired her for speaking her truth – I found myself and experienced healing in her story. I know that many Black women in the Architecture field identified with her story, and did not have the courage to speak their own truth out loud. She embodies an amazing versality and is unapologetic about bringing her whole self to all of her endeavors. Among many, I await what else she will create in the world that opens more doors and opportunities for the rest of us.
Activism BlackSpace Urbanist Collective National Board. Photo by Alicia Ajayi.
What is the impact you’d like to have in the world? What is your core mission?
My core mission is to transform the role of the Architect in society. We have an increasing dependence on technology that has inevitably transformed the efficiency of our work. There is a need and capacity for the Architect to play a greater role in facilitating a design process that is inclusive and researching the history and culture of the community as inspiration for design. Through my teaching, activism and practice I strive to create a world where racial, social, cultural, equity and justice are priorities in design education, qualifications for practice and in the design of urban spaces.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
I would encourage all who are starting their career to be guided by their curiosity. Curiosity led me to my purpose and my purpose gives me a sense of agency in the world. In addition to that, for women in particular, I would encourage them not to silence themselves when they feel compelled to voice their opinion. Earlier in my career I silenced myself in fear that I did not know enough to make a valuable contribution. I realize now that I need to create space for my voice to be heard and respected because my contribution is vital.