OBIORA NWAZOTA

Architect, Interior Designer & Author

Orange Skin Showroom, Minotti-Chicago MonoBrand Showroom

Illinois, USA

Obiora Nwazota, born in Nigeria to a father that was a Chief Judge and a mother that is an agricultural scientist, is an architect, a tastemaker, and a long-time resident of Chicago, Illinois. In 1986, Obiora migrated to America to study architecture at the University of Illinois, School of Architecture. Upon graduation, he worked for one of the most innovative interior design firms in Chicago, Eva Maddox & Associates (EMA). His projects for the firm were widely published and won numerous awards. Notable amongst them was the gold medal-winning design for Chicago State University, a predominantly African American institution. One of the first institutional architectural designs inspired by African Americans' collective experiences and rich cultures and their heritage from continental black Africa. With his eponymous firm ONA's formation, he would go on to create several acclaimed projects influencing various scenes and cultures throughout Chicago. 

 

Celebrated as a tastemaker, he has created memorable projects in and around Chicago and featured in museums. He is the owner of the Orange Skin Showroom and Minotti-Chicago MonoBrand Showroom. In 2016, he launched the critically acclaimed Nigerian restaurant Little Unicoco to return to his roots exploring and presenting Igbo Culture. ỌKPARA HOUSE©, launched in 2020, is a producer of Igbo content. The mission is to harness the power of good design, dialogue, and academic research as powerful agents to stimulate, reactivate, elevate, and reimagine Igbo culture. Through this, he reclaims and asserts Igbo culture's relevance on contemporary lifestyles within and beyond the Igbo community

 

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