Mena Uchendu-Wogu

Mena Uchendu-Wogu
LI

Honours Bachelor of Science, Architecture (High Distinction) • University of Nigeria

Bio

Mena Wogu graduated from the University of Nigeria with a Bachelor of Science (honours) in Architecture. He graduated with high distinction and was awarded the Nigerian Institute of Architects’ Sketch Design Award for his capstone project that placed 3rd nationwide at the 2019 Biennial Students Competition. Mena’s interest in sustainability developed in his junior year research work on the advanced manufacturing of regenerative building materials. During that formative period, he built the capacity to translate sustainability knowledge into his design projects which eventually led to the exhibition of his undergraduate design portfolio at the 2019 World Architecture Day celebration on campus.

Throughout his undergrad, Mena spent his university summers focused on gaining hands-on experience at top-tier architecture firms in Nigeria, working across various multidisciplinary design and project management roles to deliver sustainable solutions that optimized human health, wellness, and operations. He gained holistic insights into the property development process and the practice of architecture, within Nigeria and across West Africa. Mena was majorly involved in project teams that developed multi-residential and mixed-used commercial buildings to achieve sustainable advantages in metropolitan city planning. Being multidisciplinary design-inclined, Mena believes the most equity-centered way towards a decarbonized built sector, is simply through widespread electrification. He exemplified this firm belief in one of his high-end residential building projects where he fused nature-centric design with regenerative building materials and renewable energy to reinvent eco-friendly living spaces that achieved the Sustainable Development Goal – 11. In November 2021, Mena received a certification of Honorary Mention in Green Architecture from the Architecture MasterPrize 2021 for that project.

In his role as a sustainable design specialist at Associated Design Consultants, Mena spearheaded multiple design proposals from strategic definition stages through construction administration and post-occupancy evaluation for clients in government, private, and non-profit sectors. In his spare time, Mena provided advisory services in niche areas of Immersive Experience design technology to a Property-Tech start-up on a 4D Virtual Reality flagship product that launched to advance property marketing operations in Nigeria. Recently, Mena was among the 30 students selected into the 2022-2023 cohort of the highly prestigious research program called the Reach Alliance at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. He is examining how critical interventions and innovations reach those who are the hardest to reach and investigating how to get [important stuff] to everyone everywhere.

As a solutions-driven sustainability professional in the active pursuit of that elusive middle where design and innovation meet for coffee, humanity is what centers Mena Wogu. Outside work, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and friends, performing poetry, binging documentaries, and meditating on smooth jazz.

Mena's MScSM Internship: RioCan

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