The housing crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, exacerbated by rapid urbanization, population growth, increasing longevity, climate change, and socioeconomic inequalities. As of 2025, UN-Habitat estimates that approximately 2.8 billion people worldwide—about 40% of the global population—lack access to adequate housing, secure land tenure, or basic services like water and sanitation. (news.un.org) This includes over 1.1 billion residents in informal settlements or slums, and more than 300 million experiencing absolute homelessness. (unhabitat.org) In sub-Saharan Africa, the situation is particularly acute, with 53.6% of urban dwellers living in slums—the highest rate globally—and projections suggesting an additional 360 million could join these conditions by 2030 without intervention. (unhabitat.org}
Factors such as climate-induced displacement, where extreme weather destroys homes and drives emissions from construction, compound the issue. (wri.org) Informal settlements, often characterized by precarious structures, lack of infrastructure, and vulnerability to disasters, represent both a symptom and a driver of urban poverty.Architects play a pivotal role in addressing this crisis, shifting from top-down modernist approaches—evident in failed projects like Pruitt-Igoe in the U.S. or Soviet-era khrushchyovkas—to participatory, context-sensitive designs that prioritize resilience, affordability, and community empowerment. (@otienowill)
In Africa, where urbanization is fastest, architects are innovating with local materials, incremental building strategies, and slum-upgrading models to transform informal settlements into sustainable communities. Globally, thought leadership emphasizes integrating housing with climate adaptation, such as upgrading settlements with secure tenure, basic services, and green infrastructure. (wri.org)
Recent recognitions, particularly in 2025 awards, highlight architects who are advancing these solutions through innovative projects.This response, tailored for an architecture audience, explores leading architects worldwide (with a focus on Africa), their key contributions, and those recognized as thought leaders in the last six months to a year (mid-2025 to early 2026). I’ll draw on participatory design principles, material innovations, and policy advocacy, using case studies to illustrate scalable approaches.
Global Architects Leading Solutions to the Housing Crisis and Informal Settlements
Architects worldwide are pioneering models that address housing shortages by emphasizing affordability, sustainability, and inclusivity. These efforts often involve public-private partnerships, community-led upgrades, and adaptive reuse to avoid the pitfalls of past large-scale demolitions. (weforum.org )
Below is a table summarizing key global figures, followed by detailed profiles.
| Architect/Firm | Region/Focus | Key Contributions | Notable Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evelyn Lee (AIA President) | USA/Global | Advocacy for architect-mayor collaborations to streamline permitting and fund affordable housing; emphasizes architects as problem-solvers in crisis response. | USCM-AIA Housing Needs Survey (2025); partnerships for faster housing delivery. aia.org |
| Alfredo Brillembourg (Urban-Think Tank) | Global/Africa (South Africa) | Rebellious approaches to slum upgrading using modular, low-cost designs; focuses on vertical expansions and community empowerment to combat overcrowding. | Empower Shack (2014-ongoing in South Africa): Prototypical houses for 2,700 informal settlements, allowing safe, incremental growth. dezeen.com |
| MOS Architects & Adamo Faiden | Latin America (Paraguay) | Participatory upgrades of informal settlements, transforming polluted areas into vibrant public spaces with affordable, resident-designed homes. | Barrio Chacarita Alta Housing (Asunción, Paraguay): Resident-involved redesign of a ravine slum into safe pathways and housing. awards.holcimfoundation.org |
| Lorcan O’Herlihy (LOHA) | USA | Mixed-use supportive housing integrating affordability with social services; adaptive reuse of urban sites for homeless and low-income populations. | Isla Intersections Supportive Housing & Paseo (Los Angeles): 2025 AIA LA Honor Award for affordable units with wellness integration. loharchitects.com |
| BAR Architects & Interiors | USA | High-density affordable communities with sustainability features like net-zero energy; models for urban infill. | Shirley Chisholm Village (San Francisco): 2025 Gold Nugget Award for 60-100 du/acre affordable housing. housingfinance.com |
Evelyn Lee: As 2025 AIA President, Lee has been a vocal thought leader, urging architects to partner with local governments to tackle affordability. (aia.org) At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June 2025, she highlighted survey findings showing mayors’ need for innovative designs to reduce permitting delays. Her work promotes architects as facilitators in creating resilient housing that withstands climate events, drawing from global examples like Iloilo City’s community-led relocations post-typhoon. (wri.org)
Lee’s advocacy extends to policy, pushing for federal funding to scale solutions, making her a bridge between design and governance.
Alfredo Brillembourg: Founder of Urban-Think Tank, Brillembourg’s work exemplifies “rebellious architecture” for slums. (designindaba.com) In South Africa, where informal settlements house millions amid a severe housing backlog, his Empower Shack prototype uses prefabricated frames for two-story shacks, enabling safe vertical expansion without evictions. (dezeen.com) This incremental approach—allowing residents to add floors as needed—addresses overcrowding while incorporating solar panels and rainwater harvesting. Brillembourg’s philosophy critiques modernist failures, advocating for “bottom-up” designs that empower slum dwellers, influencing global discourse on informal settlements.
MOS Architects & Adamo Faiden: Winners of the 2025 Holcim Foundation Grand Prize, their Barrio Chacarita Alta project in Paraguay upgrades an informal settlement through co-design. (awards.holcimfoundation.org) By involving residents in planning, they converted a polluted ravine into public pathways and affordable homes, emphasizing land tenure and flood resilience. This model integrates architecture with social habitat, reducing inequality and climate vulnerability—key for architects designing in precarious urban edges.
Lorcan O’Herlihy (LOHA): Recognized in December 2025 with three AIA LA Residential Awards, O’Herlihy’s firm excels in adaptive reuse for affordable housing. (loharchitects.com) Isla Intersections in Los Angeles transforms underused sites into supportive housing with 709 units, including education and wellness spaces. (aia.org) His designs use modular construction and green facades to enhance livability, serving as blueprints for U.S. cities facing homelessness surges.Other global notables include Jesse Lazar (AIA New York), who in 2025 advocated for sustainable housing at CSU’s conference, stressing architects’ role in harmony with the environment.
csu.global Firms like KFA Architecture (AIA California Merit for affordable projects) and Cahill Contractors (Gold Nugget for net-zero communities) demonstrate scalable, LEED-certified models. aiacalifornia.org +1
Architects in Africa Leading Solutions
Africa’s housing deficit stands at 70 million units, with informal settlements dominating urban landscapes. (unhabitat.org) Architects here focus on local materials, cultural relevance, and anti-eviction strategies, often collaborating with NGOs and governments.
| Architect/Firm | Country | Key Contributions | Notable Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfredo Brillembourg (Urban-Think Tank) | South Africa | Modular upgrades for shacks; vertical additions to existing informal structures. | Empower Shack: Safe, expandable homes in Cape Town slums. apolitical.co |
| Dr. Linda Nkatha | Kenya | Research on environmental design for informal settlements; addresses reform gaps in housing policy. | Studies on slum challenges, advocating for equitable land use. @DrNkatha |
| Jacqueline Namayanja (Uganda Society of Architects) | Uganda | Rethinking urbanization; from slums to sustainable communities via policy and design. | Panel on informal settlements at Uganda Real Estate Expo (September 2025). @UgArchSociety |
| Various (e.g., DSH Architecture) | South Africa/Nigeria | Sustainable materials for affordable housing; co-creation in favelas-like slums. | Barrington1503 (adaptive reuse); Nigeria’s slum upgrades with local resources. aialosangeles.org +1 |
Dr. Linda Nkatha: A Kenyan architect and researcher, Nkatha tackles informal settlements’ unique challenges, such as historical policies leading to evictions. (@DrNkatha) Her work on building physics and environmental design highlights “reform gaps” like inadequate codes and self-construction trends, proposing systemic changes for resilient housing in slums like Kibera.
Jacqueline Namayanja: As President of the Uganda Society of Architects, Namayanja led discussions in September 2025 on transforming slums into sustainable communities. (@UgArchSociety) Her advocacy focuses on participatory planning to integrate informal settlements into urban fabrics, using Uganda’s rapid urbanization as a case study.
In Nigeria, architects are innovating with reusable blocks for resilient homes in slums like those in Lagos, addressing overcrowding and sanitation. (solve.mit.edu) South African efforts, like those in Cape Town’s informal settlements, emphasize avoiding evictions by providing infrastructure first. (@Shady_Lurker)
Recent Recognitions: Thought Leaders in the Last 6-12 Months (Mid-2025 to Early 2026)
In 2025, awards spotlighted architects as thought leaders, emphasizing slum transformation and affordability.
- • Holcim Foundation Awards (November 2025): MOS Architects & Adamo Faiden’s Grand Prize for Barrio Chacarita Alta recognized participatory slum upgrades as a model for global equity. awards.holcimfoundation.org
- • AIA Housing Awards (June 2025): Honored projects like Sendero Verde (BAR Architects) for sustainable mixed-use affordable housing, positioning firms as leaders in urban resilience. aia.org
- • AIA California Residential Awards (November 2025): Merit for projects like Barrington1503, hailed as models for all housing typologies. aiacalifornia.org
- • Gold Nugget Awards (June 2025): Eight affordable developments, including Tillman Cove, recognized for density and innovation in crisis response. housingfinance.com
- • AIA LA Residential Awards (December 2025): LOHA’s Honor for Isla Intersections, elevating O’Herlihy as a thought leader in supportive housing. aialosangeles.org
Thought leaders like Karen Kubey (Fulbright Scholar) presented on spatial justice in informal settlements at the World Urban Forum (November 2025), advocating for social habitat models. (@KarenKubey) In Africa, Namayanja’s expo panel positioned her as a regional voice. (@UgArchSociety) UN-Habitat’s Anacláudia Rossbach, while not an architect, collaborates with designers on slum transformations, influencing 2025-2029 strategies.(linkedin.com)
Future Directions for Architects
To scale solutions, architects must prioritize multilevel action: partnering with governments for NDC targets on slum upgrades, using tools like community land trusts, and innovating with AI for site analysis. (penniur.upenn.edu) In Africa, blending traditional materials with modern tech—e.g., 3D-printed affordable units—could address deficits. The crisis demands bold, humane designs that view housing as a right, not a commodity, ensuring dignity amid urbanization.
Note: Tags / “@PersonName” in this text refers to X.com handles.