Tosin Oshinowo/Ile-ila
Lagos, Nigeria
Category: Furniture, Architecture
Location: Africa
Tosin Oshinowo is a registered architect in federal republic of Nigeria and also a member of the Royal Institute of the British Architects. She has been lead Architect at cmDesign Atelier (cmD+A) since 2012. CmD+A is an architecture design consultancy practice based in Lagos. The practice has recently completed Maryland Mall, which opened in June 2016. She completed her Architecture Education at the Architecture Association London and also holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Prior to setting-up cmD+A, her experiences have been shaped by working in leading international practices like Skidmore Owing & Merril’s LLP London and the Office of Metropolitan Architecture Rotterdam, where she was part of the team that designed a proposal for the 4th Mainland Bridge in 2008. Upon returning to Lagos, she practiced at James Cubitt Architects and was team-lead on projects such as the master plan and Corporate Head Office Building for Nigeria LNG in Port Harcourt.
Her interests are in architectural history and socially responsive approaches in architecture design and urbanism. She has served as the convener of SHO-N-TEL (2009 - 2014) at the University of Lagos, an event series that takes practicing professionals back into the studio to present their experiences to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Tosin is an award-winning amateur photographer and has worked in a professional capacity on public art design installation in Lagos. Her written work includes an article on 'the reclamation of public space in Lagos', which was published in October 2012. She took part in the Playable Cities Lagos workshop with the Watershed Art Center, Bristol that was organized by the British Council Lagos in March 2016. She is a founding member of the ‘African Alliance for New Design’ (AAND), a think-tank that explores the value of design for the current generation of creatives on the continent.
In 2017, Tosin started her furniture line Ilé-Ilà. Translated to House of Lines from her native Yoruba, Tosin’s new brand celebrates her approach to architectural design - minimalist, clean and culture-rich. The heart of the armchair collection is its Aso-Oke upholstery, a nod to Tosin’s heritage.
Tosin was nominated for the EbonyLife TV Sisterhood Awards for Entrepreneur of the year in 2017 and also received a recognition from leading Ladies Africa as one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria 2017. She won the 3rd City People Real Estate Awards for Architect of the Year 2017. She gave a presentation at TEDx Portharcourt on 'the the identity of an African Building' in November 2017 and In January 2018 she joined the Board for The Lagos Theatre Festival with the British Council.
She collaborated on an architectural project with acclaimed Nigeria artist Victor Ehikhamenor and the process was filmed by Netflix 'Amazing Interiors', and was the only project in Africa documented as part the series, which aired in June 2018.
Tosin is a devoted mother.