Yussef Agbo-Ola

Yussef Agbo-Ola is the founder and creative director at Olaniyi Studio based in London. Agbo-Ola’s multidisciplinary architectural and artistic practice is focused on interpreting natural energy systems, through interactive experiments that explore the connections between an array of sensory environments, from the biological and anthropological, to the perceptual and microscopic. His aim is to use diverse multidisciplinary research methods and design components, to reinterpret local knowledge and its environmental importance cross-culturally. His research outcomes manifest through architectural pavilions, photographic journalism, material alchemy, interactive performance, experimental sound design, and conceptual writing.

Agbo-Ola holds a Masters in Fine Art from the University of the Arts London, and a Masters in Architecture from the Royal College of Art. He has led art and architectural commissions for the United Nations, Institute of Contemporary Art (London), Serpentine Gallery London, TEDx East End, BBC Arts, Venice Architectural Biennials, Palais de Tokyo, Arts Catalyst, and Lexus Automotive Innovation Centre Japan, among others. Agbo-Ola is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture at Columbia GSAPP where he directs an experimental design studio within the Advanced Architectural Design program.