Stephen Ajadi is an award-winning architect, and development economist with a decade of experience and leadership in the built environment industry. He is the founding principal of Ruban Office, an architecture and planning consultancy with offices in 4 cities across Nigeria and Uganda through which he spearheads local and international projects in architecture and urban planning.

 

He has formal education in Architecture, design, sustainability, economics, and management, all with distinctions. He is the founder of the Penumbra Space Foundation, an NGO that has raised series of funding in finance and real estate value in engaging some of West Africa's most unstable regions with a steady track-record of development.

 

He has taught and critiqued architecture and planning at various schools in Nigeria, the UK and the USA including the Kingston School of Art and University of California, Berkeley. Stephen studied for his PhD in land Economy at the university of Cambridge where he was the recipient of a number of recognitions including the CSAR PhD prize for research excellence, and the Vice Chancellor's Award for research Impact.

 

He is a fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society and an associate fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He sits on the board of a number of organizations and enterprises in Nigeria, the UK and USA, where he steers projects on innovation, circular finance, and art. He currently leads the Cambridge Initiative for African Urbanism at the University of Cambridge and leads the African Urbanism program at the prestigious Architectural Association School in London. He continues to advice on urban security, real estate finance, circular economy, and urban planning. Ruban Office is currently designing one of the largest new cities in Africa.