Chief Executive Officer, EcoBuild Africa
Arch. Prof. Alfred Omenya is a practicing architect and sustainable human settlements expert. He is the Principal Researcher and CEO at Eco-Build Africa, a leading consultancy on sustainable urban development for developing countries. He has been Associate Professor and Head of School of the Built Environment at the Technical University of Kenya. He previously taught at the University of the Witwatersrand (RSA) and the University of Nairobi (Kenya) where he still serves as external examiner. He has supervised numerous Masters and PhD students. He helped establish schools of the built environment in Rwanda, Malawi and South Africa. He has published over 100 academic papers and remains external examiner in various universities. He collaborates with leading universities globally in research including the Harvard Graduate School, ETH Zurich, University of Manchester (UK), University of Florida (Gainesville US) among others.
He started professional practice at Planning Systems Services (Kenya) and also worked with Sync Consult Pty (South Africa). He has designed hundreds of commercial, residential and hospitality projects in Kenya, Uganda and a few in South Africa. He was the lead consultant for the New Green Master plan for United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya and was identified by the International Union of Architects as a major opinion shaper on the future of sustainable architecture. Prof. Omenya was also lead author for the African Union Vision 2063 on Urban Development.
Omenya has consulted for international organisations including: the World Bank, African Union, UNEP, UK-Aid / DfID, Oxfam GB, Sida, etc. He was lead author of the UN-Habitat’s State of African Cities Report series for many years. He co-authored “the Definition of Housing Terms for the Republic of South Africa”, “Guidelines for County Spatial Planning for the Republic of Kenya”, and “the African Union Climate Change Strategy”. In 2018 and 2019 he published two research reports on the State of Housing in Kenya. He is currently the lead consultant in development of Building Regulations incorporating Sustainability, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management for the Republic of Malawi, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Republic of Uganda. Locally Prof. Omenya is supporting the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP), the Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme for Kenya (SUED) and the Programme Management Office for Post-Covid 19 Recovery.
