People

Declan Kennedy is an Irish architect, urban planner, permaculture designer, ecologist and mediator.

Kennedy is a former professor of Urban Design and Infrastructure at the Architectural Department of the Technical University of Berlin, Germany; a founding member of the Permaculture Institute of Europe; former Country Coordinator for Germany of the Global Action Plan for the Earth (GAP); and Chairman of the Board of the Global Eco-Village Network (GEN). In 1996, he functioned as an "ambassador" to the different UN commissions, following up the GEN proposal to the UN, "The Earth is our Habitat".

Since the early 1980‘s, Professor Kennedy has worked internationally on the integration – based on permaculture principles – of ecological design into horticulture and agriculture, a concept he learned in Australia in 1981 and which he introduced to Europe immediately following. He has designed and implemented major projects around the world, especially in Australia, Brazil and Germany.

Together with his wife, the architect Prof. Dr. Margrit Kennedy, he had architectural and planning offices in both Hanover and Steyerberg, Germany. Their book, Designing Ecological Settlements, was published in German in 1998 and in English in 1997.

Prof. Kennedy's preoccupation with permaculture and ecovillage design led to his engagement with Gaia University as founding chairman of the advisory board. Professor Kennedy's current foci are spiritual healing, nature conservation and conflict management. Please visit www.declan.de for more information.