Conference, held in Portland, USA. The founding Partner for OMT Architects, Leander Moons, highlighted the availability of timber in the African context and the opportunities of using this material in a more sustainable way to tackle the challenges resulting from demographic development in Africa.

The presentation showcased high-quality and landmark projects, such as Fumba Town, which demonstrate how timber can be used to create equitable and more sustainable housing solutions. The projects, which include the Moyoni and Vizazi Townhouses, are exemplary of OMT’s goal to promote the use of timber within the affordable market.

The CheiChei Living project, a multi-family 4-story apartment building complex, is the next step in OMT’s development, followed by the Burj Zanzibar as a hybrid-timber tower. The experience gained from the previous projects has resulted in the further development of more complex and larger timber buildings, which would not have been possible without the experience gained from earlier projects, both in planning and production and assembly.

From a design and sustainability perspective, mass timber offers numerous benefits for high-rise construction. Mass timber is one of the more sustainable building materials available, and through careful planning, its use can be optimized. The combination of traditional and engineered timber systems is the most effective way forward to enable a more sustainable construction industry.

OMT Architects recognizes that the demand for timber as a construction material needs to grow before challenges in the local timber value chain can be overcome. OMT’s projects in Africa aim to create more awareness of the potential for mass timber in construction, and to support local value chains to empower local communities and support local wealth creation while limiting transportation and importing impacts.

CPS is one of the partners that OMT is working with on its Moyoni, Vizazi, and Burj Zanzibar projects. 

“CPS’s vision to develop urban and residential solutions for a sustainable future have been instrumental in the collaboration with OMT architects. Their expertise, embedded in the local communities, and commitment to engineered timber construction systems enabled the success of these sustainable projects.”

Leander Moons’ message to other architects and builders who may be considering mass timber as a construction material is clear: we all have a responsibility to transform the construction industry into a more sustainable sector. By building new houses in a more sustainable way, with the help of timber and mass timber, we can contribute to the development of a more sustainable building industry, use locally available materials and craftsmanship, and empower people in Africa and beyond.

OMT Architects’ innovative approach to mass timber construction in Africa is creating a sustainable legacy that promotes a new era of construction. Through landmark projects such as Fumba Town, Moyoni, Vizazi, and Burj Zanzibar, OMT Architects is demonstrating that mass timber can provide a viable, sustainable solution to the growing demand for housing in Africa.