Lecture by Nairobi-based office Cave_Bureau

We were happy to welcome Nairobi based office Cave_bureau, to talk about their recent work. Cave_bureau is a Nairobi-based bureau of architects and researchers doing explorations into architecture and urbanism within nature. Their work addresses the anthropological and geological context of the postcolonial African city as a means to confront the challenges of contemporary rural and urban life. Caves as geological structures and spaces are ingrained in our prehistoric consciousness. The city, like the cave, is dynamic and complex, both having changed over time, albeit with varying geological time lines. The proposed geological age we live in, the Anthropocene, now brings this anthropological and geological relationship to the fore. Cave_bureau’s work is an exploration into this relationship, where they look for sensitive ways to read, define and rethink architecture on the African continent.

About Cave_BUREAU

Cave_bureau is a Nairobi-based bureau of architects and researchers charting explorations into architecture and urbanism within nature. Their work addresses and works to decode both anthropological and geological contexts of the postcolonial African city, explored through drawing, storytelling, construction, and the curation of performative events of resistance. The bureau is driven to develop systems and structures that improve the human condition, without negatively impacting the natural environment and social fabric of communities. By conducting playful and intensive research studies into caves within and around Nairobi, they aim to navigate a return to the limitless curiosity of our early ancestors while confronting the challenges of contemporary rural and urban living. Current and recent events and exhibitions include: the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, 2023, the Prada Frames Symposium at Milan Design Week, 2022, the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, 2021 (awarded a Special Mention for their installation ‘Obsidian Rain’); The World Around Summit, Guggenheim Museum, 2021; Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, 2019-20; and the London Festival of Architecture, 2018, among many others. Cave_bureau’s ideas have appeared in a range of publications, including a 2021 feature article in the New York Times

Programme

18:00 – 19:00 Door open, drinks, bites and tunes
19:00 – 20:30 Lecture by Cave_bureau – Kabage Karanje and Stella Mutegi + Q&A
20:30 – 22:00 drinks, bites and tunes