In Los Angeles he had started a practice in the early 1990s focusing on small civic projects and private houses, and gained local renown for founding the A+D Museum with fellow architect Stephen Kanner. From this base, he began paving the way for his return. He started actively seeking projects in Ghana, and by 2005 he established his firm, Constructs, in its capital city, Accra, and in Tamale, the capital of the country’s northern region.Twenty years after leaving his native Ghana to attend the Architectural Association in London and then seek employment abroad, Joe Osae-Addo found himself contemplating a return to his homeland during a visit in 2000. The West African nation had just elected a new president, and Addo sensed a “democratic fervor” that had not existed before. “There was an atmosphere of optimism and euphoria, and I wanted to be part of it,” he says.

Addo’s approach to design combines advanced techniques with traditional materials and methods. His own house is decidedly Modern, but made of adobe and timber. For a conference center nearing completion in Tamale, Addo created two concrete-framed structures raised on pilotis that have adobe infill and operable glass louvers. The buildings are wrapped in bamboo slats, providing shade and evoking locally made baskets.