Conversation 1 : Gabriela De Matos and Olufèmi Hinson Yovo

This conversation traverses the respective experiences and practices of two black women architects in different contexts. It evokes African and Afro-descendant architectural heritages, highlighting the importance of the body and informal practices of urban space in defining new approaches and ways of thinking, building and sharing the city. This dialogue is moderated by Olivier Marboeuf, author, curator and cultural theorist.

Gabriela De Matos is a Brazilian architect and urban planner, co-curator of the Brazil Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale (2023) and winner of the Golden Lion for Best National Representation.

She graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from PUC Minas and specialized in Sustainability and Management of the Built Environment. Gabriela holds a Master's degree in Humanities and Rights from USP. She served as co-president of the Institute of Architects of Brazil in São Paulo and is a professor at the Institute Scola da Cidaj. Her research focuses on Afro-Brazilian architecture, and she founded the project Arquitetas Negras, which maps the work of Black female architects in Brazil.

Olufèmi Hinson Yovo is an architect, designer, researcher and curator based in Cotonou, Benin. She is the founder of Sah Studio, a polymath research- based practice in Cotonou, developing projects from various scales and materiality, celebrating the local context with a focus on decolonizing architecture. Her process flows around design and research on biodiversity in the city, heritage, informality and habitat in Cotonou and West Africa. She participated in the 14th and 18th Venice Biennale, exhibited at African Mobilities in Architekturmuseum, Munich and is the Laureate of the Prince Claus Building Beyond 2023 Prize. She is the co-author of Building African Future (2023). She has, over the last 10 years, developed a keen interest in West African architecture spanning from vernacular to postmodern, through her various travels in the continents, culminating in her appointment as curator for the first West African architecture exhibition at the Dak’art Biennale 2024 OFF entitled « Architecture of West Africa: Yesterday’s Heritage, Tomorrow’s cities ». She is a member of the Beninese Board of Architects and a tutor at Africa Design School in Cotonou.