This public lecture at Pratt Institute brought together a dynamic group of voices to explore how African architecture can reclaim its central place in global discourse. Led by Omar Degan, curator of the Pan-African Biennale, the conversation was hosted by Mark Gardner (Parsons | Jaklitsch/Gardner) and featured contributions from Gary Bates (Pratt UA | Make Make), Yetunde Olaiya (Pratt UA), and Ifeoma Ebo (Pratt Urban Placemaking and Management). The lecture challenged the long-held perception of Africa as peripheral to architectural history, reframing the continent as a source of cultural intelligence, spatial innovation, and urban resilience. Through the case of Somalia and the Horn of Africa, Degan highlighted how architecture emerges not only from stability but from continuity, memory, and adaptation in the face of fragility. Together, the speakers reflected on how African cities generate new forms of design, identity, and community-led transformation. The session left the audience with a central question:

What happens when we design through fragility and when Africa is placed at the center rather than the margins of architectural thought?