Tosin Oshinowo

Tosin Oshinowo is a Lagos-based Nigerian architect and designer, creative entrepreneur, public speaker and author.[1][2]

Renowned for her expansive residential and commercial spaces and insights into socially-responsive approaches to urbanism. Tosin Oshinowo's designs are grounded in a deep respect for Yoruba culture and history and coming from a markedly African context, they embody a contemporary perspective on the next generation of African design and Afro-minimalism: a responsive reflection of the past, present, and future of architecture and design that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and poise. She is also the curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial. As an architect who has worked on a number of projects in various Architectural firms in Europe and Africa, Tosin incorporated her own Architectural Design Consultancy firm, CmDesign Atelier in 2013 and is best known as the Founder and Chief Executive and principal of cmDesign Atelier (cmD+A).[3][1] Based in Lagos, the practice has undertaken a number of predominant civic projects, including the design of the Maryland Mall, as well as a wide range of residential projects, including luminous beach houses on the coast of the oceanside city. Her interest in architecture extends into a broader vision of urbanism and community as well; she recently completed a project with the United Nations Development Programme in Northeast Nigeria, building an entirely new community for a village displaced by Boko Haram. Before founding cmD+A, she worked in the offices of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in London and the Office of Metropolitan Architecture Rotterdam, where she was part of the team that designed the 4th Mainland Bridge proposal in 2008. Returning to Lagos, she practiced at James Cubitt Architects and led notable projects, including the master plan and corporate head office building for Nigeria LNG in Port Harcourt. Tosin Oshinowo is also the Founder and Chief Executive of Lifestyle furniture line, Ilé-Ilà which she started in 2017 and means House of Lines in her native Yoruba language .[4][5] As a product designer, her work is primarily focused on the design of chairs. A luxury brand, Ilé-Ilàchairs are made to order, designed, and handmade in Lagos and have been featured as a highlight of contemporary African furniture design in publications around the world, including Harper's Bazaar Interiors April 2018, Elle Decor January 2020, and Grazia online June 2020. Tosin Oshinowo’s work also spans the conceptual sphere, with a strong interest in architectural history and socially-responsive approaches to architecture, design, and urbanism, underpinned by a passion for supporting African design and innovation. In 2020, she partnered with Lexus on conceptual design explorations for Design Miami/, and written prolifically on urbanism, afro-modernism, design, and identity in publications including Expansions, a publication as part of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale and Omenka Online, a topic also explored in her TEDxPortHarcourt talk in November 2017. She also co-curated the second Lagos Biennial titled How to Build a Lagoon from a Bottle of Wine? in 2019. Tosin Oshinowo is a registered Architect in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects as well as the Royal Institute of British Architects. Tosin is a graduate of Architecture from Kingston College London and had her master's degree in Urban designs from Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London , a Diploma in Architecture from the Architecture Association London, and a Masters for Business in Architecture and Design from IE University, Madrid. She has won numerous awards, including the 3rd City People Real Estate Awards for Architect of the Year 2017 and the Lord’s Achievers Awards for Creativity, in celebration of World Achievers Day 2019. She was among five finalists for the 2023 Diversity in Architecture Divia Awards. [6] Tosin is a member of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and also a registered architect with Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON)[3] In 2019, Oshinowo was featured in the Polaris catalogue produced by Visual Collaborative, she was interviewed alongside other practitioners from around the world.[7]