Dr Collins Makunda

Assistant Professor

School: Design Arts and Creative Industries

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.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

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.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
A City at a Crossroads: Challenges and Opportunities of Nairobi’s Rapid Urban Transformation, Makunda, C. 28 Feb 2025, In: AMPS Proceedings
Urban Habitat Transformation and the African Middle Class: The Case of Kileleshwa, Nairobi, Kenya, Makunda, C. 8 Sep 2021
Morphological Transformation of Kileleshwa, Nairobi, Makunda, C., Anyamba, T. 23 Dec 2020, In: Africa Habitat Review Journal
The Unsustainability of Urban Habitat Transformation:: A Case Study of Kileleshwa in Nairobi, Kenya, Makunda, C., Edeholt, H. 20 Feb 2020, In: Africa Habitat Review Journal
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT: 6A — Development in Nairobi: Three Into One Does Not GO!, Makunda, C. Apr 2019, Intrinsic Capability, Singapore, Singapore, World Scientific
Changing Times in Housing Production:: Market-led Housing Transformation in 21st Century Nairobi, Makunda, C. 2 Nov 2018, In: AMPS Proceedings
Bridging the Divide Between Problem and Solution:: A Design Approach to Housing Production in Nairobi, Makunda, C. 30 May 2017, Proceedings of Cumulus REDO Conference: , Kolding, Denmark, Design School Kolding & Cumulus International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media
Harnessing Cultural Heritage for Locally Relevant Interior Design Solutions for New Apartments in Nairobi, Makunda, C. 7 Mar 2017, Proceedings of the 1st Annual Innovation Research Symposium: Innovating to Solve Pressing Local and Global Challenges , Nairobi, Kenya, University of Nairobi
Sustainable Housing Through Sustainable Planning Practices: Challenges and Opportunities for Formal Housing Provision in Nairobi, Kenya, Makunda, C. 28 Nov 2017, Lifelong Learning and Education in Healthy and Sustainable Cities, World Sustainability Series, Cham, Switzerland, Springer
How African Design Perspectives Challenge Sustainable Development, Makunda, C., Edeholt, H. 15 Jul 2016, Proceedings of the 22nd International Sustainable Development Research Society Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS)