Omar Degan (born June 1990) is an Italian-born Somali architect, author and academic, he is the principal and founder of DO Architecture Group. Known for his work in Africa and in particular in the horn of Africa, Omar specialized in fragile contexts and urban resilience with a particular focus on minorities and marginalized communities. His work aims to highlight the beauty of our cultural diversity and how architecture could become a means to support peace, development and fight against climate change.

Early life and education

Degan was born in Italy to Somali and Italian parents in June 1990. He studied architecture first at the

Politecnico di Torino The Polytechnic University of Turin (, abbreviated as PoliTO) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is consi ...

, and later at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

Career

Following graduate school, Degan worked on projects to upgrade slums in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong. Born in Italy in 1990, Omar dedicated his career to the study of emergency contexts and developing countries focusing on the interactions between cultural diversity and architecture as a mean to support the fight against climate change. The principle of his firm, which is based between Somalia, USA and Italy, lies in designing culturally, historically and climatically relevant solutions to social problems around the world, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable communities and minorities. With his work, he seeks to develop new ways to celebrate the cultural identity of communities around the world through the use of architecture, supporting peace, development and a more sustainable future. In his Tedx "Architecture Identity and Reconstructing Somalia," he highlighted the power of culture and traditions in architecture and how design can become a tool to promote peace and development around the world. His work has been recognized internationally and has been considered one of the emergent voices of African architecture. His projects include a schools, restaurants and private houses. In 2021 due to the medical crisis in Somalia he designed a portable clinic to facilitate medical aids in rural areas. In 2017 he received attention for his proposed memorial to the

14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings On 14 October 2017, two truck bombings took place in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killing at least 587 people and injuring 316 others. Almost all of the casualties were caused by one of the trucks which detonated when the driver, while at ...

. In 2020 he published the book ''Mogadishu through the eyes of an architect''.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degan, Omar Living people 1990 births Architects from Turin 21st-century Italian architects 21st-century Somalian people Somalian architects Polytechnic University of Turin alumni Chinese University of Hong Kong people Italian people of Somali descent