About Dahlia Nduom
Biography
Dahlia Nduom is a licensed architect and Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received a B.A. in Architecture and Visual Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.Arch from Columbia University.
Her research and design practice are rooted in spatial practices across the African Diaspora, probing the nuanced cultural, socio-political, and climatic forces that shape built environments across diverse locales. Her recent work centers on Caribbean spatial narratives, housing justice, and climate resilience, examining how tourism imagery, colonial histories, and environmental vulnerability have shaped architecture and identity in the region.
She has presented and exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, including her Graham Foundation-funded exhibition, Tourism, Tropicalization, and the Architectural Image, which was presented at the Octagon Museum in Washington, DC (2024–2025). Her scholarship has appeared in the Places Journal, The Plan Journal, and edited volumes including How Does Spatial Justice Manifest in the Built Environment? (Wiley, 2026), and has reached broader public audiences through a TEDx talk at Indiana University and an appearance on the Strictly Facts: A Guide to Caribbean History & Culture podcast. She is the recipient of the 2022 AIA DC Architect Educator Award and the 2024 Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Emerging Scholar Award.