Sep
08
September 8, 4:15 pm
Where

Conference Rationale

The African Architectural and Urban History Network (AFRAUHN), in collaboration with the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi, invites proposals for papers about emerging discourses and themes in African architectural and urban practices for a major international conference being held at the University of Nairobi from 8th September – 10th September 2026.

It will be the second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference, the first having taken place at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning in South Africa in July 2024. Recognizing that discourses about African architecture and urban planning are more complex than the bifurcated ‘traditional’/‘colonial’ or ‘African’/‘Western’ models which still tend to dominate the research, writing, environmental design and spatial design practices in the continent, this conference instead welcomes contributions that critically examine the status quo(s) of these models and disciplines – be that in terms of academic, practice, national institutions or regulatory bodies, or as are imagined by policy-makers in forms of urban development which are then disseminated to the public.

This second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference is organized to coincide with the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, curated by Omar Degan and team, and which is also being held in September 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Supporting institutions

  • Pan-African Biennale of Architecture

  • Architectural Association of Kenya

  • Campus Innovation Laboratory (CIL), University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

  • Department of Art History, University of Delaware, USA

  • Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, UK

  • The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, UK.

CALL FOR PAPERS: AFRAUHN NAIROBI

27 Feb

Conference Dates: 8 – 10 September 2026

Conference run by the African Architectural & Urban History Network (AFRAUHN) in collaboration with the Department of Architecture, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Where

Conference Rationale

The African Architectural and Urban History Network (AFRAUHN), in collaboration with the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi, invites proposals for papers about emerging discourses and themes in African architectural and urban practices for a major international conference being held at the University of Nairobi from 8th September – 10th September 2026.

It will be the second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference, the first having taken place at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning in South Africa in July 2024. Recognizing that discourses about African architecture and urban planning are more complex than the bifurcated ‘traditional’/‘colonial’ or ‘African’/‘Western’ models which still tend to dominate the research, writing, environmental design and spatial design practices in the continent, this conference instead welcomes contributions that critically examine the status quo(s) of these models and disciplines – be that in terms of academic, practice, national institutions or regulatory bodies, or as are imagined by policy-makers in forms of urban development which are then disseminated to the public.

This second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference is organized to coincide with the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, curated by Omar Degan and team, and which is also being held in September 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Supporting institutions

  • Pan-African Biennale of Architecture

  • Architectural Association of Kenya

  • Campus Innovation Laboratory (CIL), University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

  • Department of Art History, University of Delaware, USA

  • Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, UK

  • The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, UK.

Conference Dates: 8 – 10 September 2026

Conference run by the African Architectural & Urban History Network (AFRAUHN) in collaboration with the Department of Architecture, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Conference Rationale

The African Architectural and Urban History Network (AFRAUHN), in collaboration with the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi, invites proposals for papers about emerging discourses and themes in African architectural and urban practices for a major international conference being held at the University of Nairobi from 8th September – 10th September 2026.

It will be the second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference, the first having taken place at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning in South Africa in July 2024. Recognizing that discourses about African architecture and urban planning are more complex than the bifurcated ‘traditional’/‘colonial’ or ‘African’/‘Western’ models which still tend to dominate the research, writing, environmental design and spatial design practices in the continent, this conference instead welcomes contributions that critically examine the status quo(s) of these models and disciplines – be that in terms of academic, practice, national institutions or regulatory bodies, or as are imagined by policy-makers in forms of urban development which are then disseminated to the public.

This second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference is organized to coincide with the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, curated by Omar Degan and team, and which is also being held in September 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya.

 

Supporting institutions

  • Pan-African Biennale of Architecture

  • Architectural Association of Kenya

  • Campus Innovation Laboratory (CIL), University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

  • Department of Art History, University of Delaware, USA

  • Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, UK

  • The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, UK.

 

Event contact information

Scientific Committee

Dr Irene Appeaning Addo, University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana)

George Arrabu Ndege, President of the Architectural Association of Kenya

Professor Eva Branscome, University College London (UK)

Dr Warebi Brisibe, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (Nigeria)

Professor Marshall Brown, Princeton University (USA) 

Omar Degan, Pan-African Biennale of Architecture

Professor Nnamdi Elleh, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)

Professor Murray Fraser, University College London (UK) 

Prof Julia Gallagher, King’s College London (UK)

Jacqueline Khairu, Chairperson – Architects’ Chapter, Architectural Association of Kenya

Dr Linda Nkatha Gichuyia, University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Professor Ikem Stanley Okoye, University of Delaware (USA)

Prof Robert Rukwaro, University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Dr Anooradha Siddiqi, Barnard College, Columbia University (USA)

Professor Ola Uduku, University of Liverpool (UK)