Emanuel Admassu

A founding partner of AD-WO together with Jen Wood, Emanuel Admassu is assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he teaches history/theory and design courses. AD-WO is engaged in projects throughout the world, most recently an apartment building in Addis Ababa, a market and playscape in Stockholm and an installation in Los Angeles. Born in Addis Ababa, Admassu has taught at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and worked with practices in Atlanta and New York. He has recently been examining the constructed identities of urban markets in East Africa and premodern brick construction in Asia. Through his teaching, research and design practice, he is engaged in investigating the opportunities and problems associated with the diasporic condition. Admassu graduated in architecture from Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, Georgia, then gained a master of science in advanced architectural design within Columbia University’s Advanced Architectural Research programme.