Emmanuel Banahene Owusu

Faculty Biography

I am an Architect and a Lecturer at the Department of Architecture- KNUST. I hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Architecture, Master of Architecture (M. Arch) degree and a Bachelor of (BSc) Architecture degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. I am also an Erasmus+ Scholar from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) - Germany. I am currently a Probationer member of the Architects Registration Council (ARC) of Ghana and the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA).My area of expertise is Architectural Heritage Conservation. My interest in heritage conservation dates back from my childhood days, when I was told that several settlements in Ghana such as Kumasi and Koforidua and numerous other legendry stories of Ghana emerged as a result of certain special trees. I wished I had seen even one of such trees. Unfortunately, none of the trees had survived, leading me to question whether those stories were actually true. I realized that, throughout the built environment of Ghana, physical evidences that bear witness to our legendry stories and historical events were being lost at alarming rates and virtually no conscious effort was being made to protect the remaining.As, a Built Environment professional, I am motivated by this, and I seek to preserve the physical evidences that authenticate these legendry stories and events through teaching, research and practice. My PhD study entitled, “A Study of Morphology and Architectural Heritage: A Case for the Conservation and Valorization of Coastal Colonial Towns of Ghana”, undertaken from 2017 to 2023 helped me to uncover 89 colonial monuments which have economic and tourism values and which can be capitalized upon to revitalized host communities.In September 2023, I had the privilege of being selected amongst the 34 participants to represent my country (Ghana) in the UNESCO World Heritage Young Professionals Forum in Riyadh- Saudi Arabia.  In December 2023, I participated in the UNESCO Earth Network Workshop at Kumasi- Ghana, focused on the Asante Traditional Buildings of Ghana. As a consultant for JustGhana Ltd (https://www.just-ghana.com), I have prepared preliminary studies of James Fort, Accra and the pottery industries of Vume in the Volta Region- Ghana. These research activities and workshops, shared with the Commonwealth Heritage Forum, have positively impacted my teaching, research and practice methods.Presently, two main research areas are of primary interest to me; Ghana’s Vernacular Architectural Heritage (Eg. Ashanti Traditional Buildings and the Tenzug- Tallensi Settlements) and Ghana’s Colonial Heritage. I have also developed four main career goals over the years:  It is my hope and prayer that I will be able to contribute my quota to the development of Ghana’s Architectural Heritage. SO HELP ME GOD.