Architecture
Heritage
Urbanism
in West Africa
Architecture, Heritage, Urbanism in West Africa (AHUWA) research centre is based at the University of Liverpool. We partner with institutions, collections, scholars, and communities across Africa and beyond to investigate the most pressing questions about cities, design, history, heritage, and urbanism.
We write histories and tell stories
With a focus on West Africa we write new histories and promote new voices. We have a particular specialism in modern architecture, cities, and coastal heritage.
Heritage
We catalogue, record, and document architecture, heritage, and the built environment. We work with local communities, artists, writers, designers, architects, historians, and scholars to understand heritage and culture in West Africa.
Sustainability and
Environmental Design
The Sustainable Development Goals are at the core of all our research projects. From undertaking environmental analysis of modernist libraries through to celebrating the rich architecture and urbanism of the 'African City', we want to see places that are inclusive, resilient, and address the climate emergency.
Programmes and Projects
Programmes
Masters in Global Urbanism and Heritage
PhD West African Coastal Urbanism and Heritage
Urbanism and Coastal Heritage Lab (2024 – 2029)
Writing Campus Modernisms (2019 - 2025)
Spaces for Health and Healing
Projects
Banking in West Africa
Modern Heritage in the Anthropocene
The Architecture of the United Africa Company
British Academy Writing Workshop
Liquid Crystal Concrete: Postwar Colonialism
Keeping Cool: Library designs in the tropics
AHUWA Launch Event
Mapping Spatial Displacements in Lagos
People and Partner Organisations
Members
Ola Uduku
Iain Jackson
Taibat Lawanson
Femi Adetunji
Nura Ali
Adefolatomiwa Toye
Affiliates
Irene Appeaning Addo
Oluseyi Akerele
Kuukuwa Manful
Oluwafemi Olajide
Partner Organisations
AHUWA is a large community of scholars, designers, activists, and practitioners. The Centre is directed by Professors Ola Uduku and Iain Jackson at Liverpool School of Architecture.
Events
![Displaced: A City’s Scar [Documentary]](assets/images/gallery06/1d29a967.jpg?v=f8a7a007)
Displaced: A City’s Scar [Documentary]
Urban+/Heritage Talk | (Re)Humanising Urban Development in Africa
Urban+/Heritage Talk | Heritage Tourism in Africa: Beyond Monuments to Living Traditions
Urban+/Heritage Talk - Anthropology, Colonialism and the fate of Africa
Lagos Study Tour to Liverpool
Urban+/Heritage Talk - Global South-South Cooperation: Broadening Collaboration in Heritage Protection in Africa
Urban+/Heritage Talk | Heritage for Urban Development: Experiences and Challenges from Nigerian Cities
Urban+/Heritage Talk | New Alternative Nigerian Architecture: Reclaiming Identity through Context & Material
Urban+/Heritage Talk | Inheriting the Coast: Sand, Drift, and the Making of Freetown
Blogs
The Architecture of Zdzisław Borysowicz – from Poland to West Africa, via Liverpool
Lagos visits Liverpool
In Lagos, there are no Streets, but Rivers
Publications
1. Pottgiesser, U., & Uduku, O. (2024). Educational Buildings in Africa: A Modernist Review. In Modernism in Africa (pp. 8-31). De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783035628357-002
2. Uduku, O. (2024). Upgrading of townships in South Africa after apartheid. In Tradition, Location and Community (pp. 235-250). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003514169-17
3. Uduku, O. (2024). Foreword: The Architecture of John Godwin and Gillian Hopwood. In Who Are Godwin and Hopwood? (pp. 9-16). De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783035626773-001
4. Abubakar, I. R., Onyebueke, V. U., Lawanson, T., Barau, A. S., & Bununu, Y. A. (2025). Urban planning strategies for addressing climate change in Lagos megacity, Nigeria. Land Use Policy, 153, 107524. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107524
4. Olajide, O. A., & Lawanson, T. (2025). Claiming the right to the city: the politics of urban reform coalitions in Lagos. Environment & Urbanization, 37(1), 57-75. doi:10.1177/09562478251318231
Call to Action
Are you ready to be part of something meaningful?At AHUWA Lab, we believe in the power of collective action to drive real change. Whether you're passionate about sustainability, innovation, education, or community development, your voice and your actions matter. Now is the time to step forward.We are building movements and we want you with us.Click below to get involved. Sign up for updates, attend our events, or become a member of our growing network of changemakers.
Let's stay in touch
Please sign up for our quarterly news letter or write to us AHUWA/UCL Lab