Princeton Mellon / Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies Fellow

Chukwuemeka V. Chukwuemeka’s fellowship was made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Program in African Studies; and the Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies. 

Chukwuemeka is an architect and urbanist with international experience in project development, project management, and systems design. His research is on emergent dynamics and self-organization processes of spatial productions in rapidly urbanizing sub-Saharan African cities, with a focus on Onitsha Markets in Nigeria. Prior to earning his doctoral degree in Architecture at KU Leuven in Belgium, Chukwuemeka earned an MA in Architecture from Hochschule Anhalt (DIA – Bauhaus Dessau) in Germany, and a B.Sc. in Architecture degree from Imo State University in Nigeria.

Chukwuemeka’s academic recognitions include KU Leuven’s Interfaculty Council for Development Cooperation (IRO) full doctoral scholarship, and the DAAD Prize, awarded for outstanding achievements of international students at German universities. He has taught and critiqued design studios at KU Leuven in Belgium, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, DIA Dessau in Germany, and Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany.

At Princeton, he will work on developing tools and frameworks on how to read, design, and plan for sub-Saharan African cities undergoing rapid urbanization, and in constant flux amidst uncertainties. Chukwuemeka will also co-taught the Interdisciplinary Design Studio [ARC 205/URB 205/LAS 225/ENV 205] with Prof. Mario I. Gandelsonas, which focuses on social forces that shape design thinking.