Emanuel Admassu (’12 MSAAD, ’13 AAR) is an assistant professor at GSAPP and a founding partner, with Jen Wood, of AD—WO, an art and architecture practice based in New York. As a practicing architect, urbanist, and educator, Admassu’s work explores the intersections of spatial justice and urbanism, with a special focus on the African continent and the African diaspora. Prior to joining GSAPP, Admassu taught at RISD and Harvard GSD. He is also one of the founding board members of the Black Reconstruction Collective.
Employing an array of methodological frameworks, Admassu’s work traces global networks, including historical ones, of how people, resources, and culture circulate, and how they materialize in emergent aesthetic practices and urban systems. His recent book, a coedited anthology of interviews, essays, and artworks, titled Where Is Africa (with Anita N. Bateman; CARA, 2024), is the product of a multi-year, multidisciplinary research on the histories and possible futures of African art and design.
Through AD—WO, Admassu weaves threads between formal expression and material research. AD—WO has ongoing and completed projects in Ethiopia, Tanzania, United States, Germany, and Italy. Their work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. They have designed exhibitions at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, Bard Graduate Center, and Express Newark.
AD—WO’s works have been acquired for the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. They have received numerous awards and recognitions including the United States Artists (USA) Fellowship in Architecture & Design, J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize, The Architectural League’s Emerging Voices award, the Rice Design Alliances Spotlight Award, and the Pinpoint Award from African Futures Institute (AFI).
