Arthur is primarily driven by a passion for sketching, and especially urban sketching from life.  He uses his passion for sketching to capture the invisible social cultural building blocks of Nairobi’s Urban Structure. The lessons learnt have helped him navigate the three extremes in his professional life. Supporting the transformation of unsafe and under-used sites into “Productive public spaces” with KDI and teaching a Landscape Engineering Studio at JKUAT and working with a large corporate real estate developer, Centum RE, where he drove the planning and design of their affordable housing projects. Arthur has been a Principal Partner at Lexicon + ion, in Nairobi Kenya in charge of Master Planning, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design working with external teams to ensure projects are launched on firm planning principals, uphold environmental sustainability, and are situated in well-designed landscapes. 

Kounkuey Design Initiative was founded in 2006 by six students at Harvard Graduate School of Design asking the question “How could they harness their skills to combat issues such as poverty, environmental degradation, and social isolation?” This question led them to Nairobi, where Kenyan co-founder Arthur Adeya is from. There, they began working with residents of an informal settlement called Kibera. KDI works with local residents to transform unsafe and under-used sites into “Productive Public Spaces”. From permanent parks to temporary vacant lot activations, each space integrates key amenities such as community buildings, water and sanitation facilities, green infrastructure, and open spaces for recreation and exercise.

Photo: © KDI