Ola Uduku is a British African architect who is Head of School at the Liverpool School of Architecture. Uduku is a member of the

Nigerian Institute of Architects The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) is a professional body for architects primarily in Nigeria. History The idea for the formation of an independent professional architect's organization in Nigeria was first conceived and motivated by three ...

and the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

. She specialises in African educational architecture.

Early life and education

Uduku is from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She attended Federal Government Girls' College, Owerri. She studied architecture at the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

, where she worked toward a master's degree in the design of solar housing in the

Tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

. She moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for her graduate studies. Uduku earned her M.Phil, followed by her doctoral degree at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she researched factors that impacted the design of schools in Nigeria. She is an historic fellow of Robinson College Cambridge. After earning her doctorate, Uduku completed her part 2 RIBA at the

and is an associate member of the RIBA. She also has part 3 qualifications from the Nigeria Institute of Architects. She obtained an MBA from the University of Strathclyde, and has a PgCert in Education from the University of the Arts, London.

Research and career

A few years later Uduku joined the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, where she earned an

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. Uduku served as Associate Professor in Architecture and Dean for Africa at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Her research considers educational architecture in Africa. In 2001 Uduku became a founding member of

ArchiAfrika ArchiAfrika is a non-profit organisation concerned with the architecture of Africa. History ArchiAfrika was founded in 2001 by a group of Dutch architects, including Antoni Folkers, who had spent many years in Africa. When they returned to the ...

, a nonprofit which looks to improve contemporary architectural history in Africa. She created an exhibition at the

Manchester School of Art Manchester School of Art in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded the year before. It is now par ...

which explored the

Alan Vaughan-Richards Alan Vaughan-Richards (1925–1989) was a British-Nigerian architect who was active in the post-colonial architecture industry of Nigeria. He engaged architects on the potential influence of African forms in architectural design through publication ...

archive. In 2017 Uduku was appointed Professor of Architecture in the

Manchester School of Architecture The Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) is a School of Architecture, jointly administered by The University of Manchester and the Manchester Metropolitan University in the city of Manchester, England. The School was formed in 1996 with the ...

. Here she leads graduate research programmes in urbanism, heritage and conservation. She founded EdenAppLabs, a team of researchers who are looking at the use of mobile apps for environmental design.

Select publications

Journal articles

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Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uduku, Ola Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British Nigerian Nigerian women academics Nigerian women architects British architectural historians Academics of the University of Manchester Presidents of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom