Dr. Collins Sasakah Makunda is an Assistant Professor in Interior Design in the School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. He is also a member of the School’s Spatial Research Group. Dr. Makunda is qualified in a broad range of related design disciplines with his PhD in Architecture and Design (The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Norway), a Master’s degree in City Planning – with a focus on Urban Development and Design (University of Pennsylvania, USA), a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture (University of Oregon, USA), and an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Design – with a concentration in Interior Design (University of Nairobi, Kenya). With more than 15 years’ work experience in higher education, Dr. Makunda’s pedagogical and research practice, while varied in design scale, encompasses aligned pursuits on aspects of design not only as object and process but also in its spatial expression at both the interior and urban scale. These range in scope from interests in sustainable urban design, planning and development; housing design, sustainability, affordability and development; to interior architecture and design. His most recent investigations and publications have centred on the process of rapid vertical densification of housing in global South contexts and the implications of the phenomenon for a sustainable urban future. Dr. Makunda is currently engaged in an internationally collaborative book project that seeks to foreground sustainable pathways illuminated in locally initiated innovative projects in select cities around the world. He is also exploring the viability of discarded plant-based organic materials as potentially sustainable sources of interior finishes and fitouts for residential and commercial interior design projects.

Sustainable interior design, architecture, housing design, urban design and urban planning; novel materials for sustainable interior finishes and fitouts, materiality of designed spaces; urban housing transformation processes; cultural contexts of spatial design; designing for urban resilience.

Previous Position (HEI):

Lecturer in desgn/interior design, University of Nairobi, Kenya (08/06/2011-06/06/2023)