Earthly Things – Ghostly Matters

Charles O. Job

Charles was born in Lagos Nigeria. He achieved his diploma in architecture, and a Master’s degree in Urban Design at the Oxford Brookes University, followed by work experience in various architectural practices in London, Paris and Zürich.

Charles was junior faculty member at the renowned Swiss Federal Polytechnic (ETH) in Zurich for many years and was appointed professor of architectural design theory at the Berne University of Applied Sciences in 2008, where he continues to teach part time.

Like all children of Africa of a certain generation, Charles would collect discarded objects and reassemble them into semblances of toys. This spirit of improvisation, «making do» with what was readily at hand, would lead to “simple objects”. His products are of necessity minimalistic, accessible and easy to comprehend because of this playful, childlike logic. From improvised child play with few resources, a passion emerged for simple resourceful products.

Unlike many designers, he works not only to a specific brief from a specific producer but also thrives on a will to set his own creative agenda by designing first and then seeking out a producer and partner to hopefully market a specific idea. Therefore, to generate new ideas, Charles regularly participates in international design competitions. An open competition on a given topic is therefore an incentive that triggers creative curiosity.

Aside from teaching and studio work, Charles organizes Interdisciplinary Workshops at the Berne University of Applied Sciences. The aim of these workshops is to train transdisciplinary problem solving. The students work in cross-disciplinary teams, and are tasked with designing, planning and producing objects and buildings deploying very basic raw materials, be it in India using Bamboo and Egypt with mud bricks.

The emphasis of these workshops is rooted in Low Key innovation. The creative challenge is greater with so-called low technology materials and processes. It encourages the students to think about what is available and how best to use these resources to achieve a set goal.

Working in the fields of architecture, interior design, product, furniture and lighting design Charles’s studio considers architecture in its variety of scales. A constant quest for simple innovation is the common thread through its wide repertoire of projects.

Charles has served in many international design juries such as, IF Germany, Design Turkey, D&AD Awards, SIT Furniture Design Award, World Architecture Festival, Trinity buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Prix Lignum, Switzerland to name a few.

Charles has taken part in and won more than 50 international design competitions.

His plywood armchair SKETCH was recently acquired for the permanent collection of Vitra Design Museum and will soon join the permanent collection of a major cultural institution in the USA.

Recent competitions:

Winner. Prize Designs for Modern Furniture + Lighting® Award Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum 2024 for his armchair SKETCH.

Armchair PLANKS presented at the Dakar Design Biennale 2024 in collaboration with Arpino Design, Luanda.

Winner in the Home Office furniture section of the SIT Furniture Design Award 2024 with Stackable Storage containers TOTEM.

Nominated by the BIG SEE Curators for the BIG SEE Product Design Award 2024.

2024 Finalist, Swiss Pavilion 2025 for Pro Helvetia, with Samoa Henny, Nina Huppi, Amalia Bonsack, Patrick Gosatti.