Omar Degan (born June 1990) is an Italian-born Somali architect, author and academic, he is the principal and founder of DO Architecture Group. Known for his work in Africa and in particular in the horn of Africa, Omar specialized in fragile contexts and urban resilience with a particular focus on minorities and marginalized communities. His work aims to highlight the beauty of our cultural diversity and how architecture could become a means to support peace, development and fight against climate change.
Early life and education
edit
Degan was born in Italy to Somali parents in June 1990.[1][2][3] He studied architecture first at the Politecnico di Torino, and later at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[2]
Career
editFollowing graduate school, Degan worked on projects to upgrade slums in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong.[4]
Born in Italy in 1990, Omar dedicated his career to the study of emergency contexts and developing countries focusing on the interactions between cultural diversity and architecture as a mean to support the fight against climate change. The principle of his firm, which is based between Somalia, USA and Italy, lies in designing culturally, historically and climatically relevant solutions to social problems around the world, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable communities and minorities. With his work, he seeks to develop new ways to celebrate the cultural identity of communities around the world through the use of architecture, supporting peace, development and a more sustainable future. In his Tedx "Architecture Identity and Reconstructing Somalia," he highlighted the power of culture and traditions in architecture and how design can become a tool to promote peace and development around the world. His work has been recognized internationally and has been considered one of the emergent voices of African architecture.[2][5] His projects include a schools, restaurants and private houses. In 2021 due to the medical crisis in Somalia he designed a portable clinic to facilitate medical aids in rural areas.[3]
In 2017 he received attention for his proposed memorial to the 14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings.[6][7][8]
In 2020 he published the book Mogadishu through the eyes of an architect.[1][9]
References
edit- ^ a b Dahir, Abdi Latif (9 July 2021). "Architect Finds a Sense of Belonging for His Family's Homeland, and for Himself". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Magazine, Wallpaper* (11 October 2020). "Architect Omar Degan's latest work is an ode to Somali culture". Wallpaper*.
- ^ a b Sheikh, Abdi (9 September 2020). "Somali architect looks at city's ruined past and dreams of the future". Reuters.
- ^ Latief, Jehan (25 February 2019). "Rebuilding Somalia's Ruined Cities". ArchDaily.
- ^ "Architect Omar Degan: 'Afrikaanse architecten zijn te lang buiten beeld geweest. Dat moet anders'". MO* (in Dutch).
- ^ "BBC World Service - Focus on Africa, Plans for a Memorial for Mogadishu Bomb Victims". BBC.
- ^ Dahir, Abdi Latif (18 December 2017). "Somalia's first post-civil war memorial could be erected to the victims of its deadliest ever attack". Quartz.
- ^ Purdeková, Andrea (1 November 2019). "Rectified Sites of Violence from Westgate to Lampedusa: Exploring the Link between Public Amnesia and Conflict in Ongoing Confrontations". International Journal of Transitional Justice. 13 (3): 504–523. doi:10.1093/ijtj/ijz021.
- ^ Amter, Thomas. "Mogadishu tries to rebuild after years of war | DW | 11.09.2020". dw.com.