Samuel Oboh

Samuel Oghale Oboh (born March 27, 1971, Lagos, Nigeria) a Canadian architect and the first African-Canadian to be elected as President of the Alberta Chapter of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2007. He is a registered architect licensed in the state of Texas (USA), in the province of Alberta (Canada), and previously in South Africa. Samuel Oboh was recently named as one of the 15 most influential African - Canadians in 2013.

Inspiring a new generation of Africans in Canada and guided by an enduring commitment to excellence, innovation and stewardship while being an avid advocate of responsible architecture, Samuel Oboh is an accomplished architect (licensed in multiple jurisdictions) and he is the Regional Director for Alberta and Northwest Territories with Architecture Canada.

With over 20 years of experience, Samuel, a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) leads an inspired team of professional and technical experts with the Government of Canada. He holds a Master of Science degree in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Alberta. He emigrated from Botswana to Canada in 2003 and shortly after, he jointly led the establishment of Canada’s first local chapter of the RAIC in Alberta, where he served as President in 2007/2008. During his tenure, Samuel led and championed many initiatives that raised the stature of architecture ikncluding the curation of Alberta Architecture as part of Alberta’s government presentation at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC.

Throughout his career Samuel has demonstrated excellence in design and in service to the architectural profession and the community. As design architect, he has worked on many significant projects while he was with FMA Architects Southern Africa, IBI Group and Kasian Architecture. His exemplary leadership is demonstrated through his unique contributions to projects such as the International Law Enforcement Academy in Southern Africa for the Government of the United States of America, the Alberta Legislature Centre Redevelopment Master Plan where he led and contributed to capturing the spirit of Alberta’s most significant heritage site in variety of creative and innovative forms. Similarly, within a short time as Government of Canada – PWGSC Western Region’s prime architect, Samuel led the establishment of a new functional Architecture and Engineering Centre of Expertise aimed at strengthening the role of architecture in generating responsive, flexible, innovative, economical and fit-for-purpose solutions for tax payers.

Samuel was recently featured in the March 2013 edition of the Government Executive Publication in Canada addressing the challenges of managing a modern public service. A quote from the feature sums up Samuel's attitude to some of the contemporary challenges highlighted in the article:

"Undeniably, I have a strong trepidation and zero-tolerance for mediocrity. As such, anything that does not have the semblance of a genuine quest for excellence, or doesn’t harbour the ability and passion to consistently perform our responsibilities to the highest professional standard, will definitely keep me awake."

Samuel has served as Visiting Lecturer to the department of Architecture at Durban University of Technology and the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He was a Chartered Architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) from 2000-2007. Having successfully led and managed several significant projects and initiatives in both private and public sectors with an expansive career and proven track record of measurable successes in Canada and internationally, Samuel has made (and continues to make) transformational contributions to the architectural profession and his community in various leadership capacities. His accomplishment is an inspiration to Africa and Africans.


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