Olalekan Jeyifous’ irresistible visions of a future in which humanity makes the best out of its many mistakes and thrives within the strictures of its self-inflicted handicaps have had a remarkable effect on the architecture world––and beyond. From the Venice Architecture Biennale, where he won the Silver Lion in 2023, to the Museum of Modern Art and the Sharjah Biennial, his work never ceases to delight and puzzle. Could these really be the futures we are heading for? In this episode of the Design Emergency podcast, Olalekan explains to Paola his idea of utopia and the role of speculation in guiding our behaviors towards positive change. Nigerian-born and Brooklyn-based, Olalekan puts his architectural training to good use and imagines our old cities reframed on new systems of communication, transportation, occupation, and exchange. He describes them in rich visual detail with immersive collages, videos, objects, and even VR experiences. The characters in his tableaus are often smiling, gregarious, in charge of their destinies, imaginary and yet familiar. His communities are strong, his economies a mix of informal and creatively structured. His work has been described with many florid labels––from architectural utopianism to speculative world-building and eco-fiction, by way of Afrofuturism and retrofuturism. You can find images of Olalekan and his work on our Instagram grid @design.emergency. Please join us for future episodes of Design Emergency when we will hear from other global design leaders who, like Olalekan, are at the forefront of positive change. Design Emergency is supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.