Initially established himself as an architect on the Austrian Northwestern Railway. Settled in Varnsdorf in 1880 and entered a number of competitions for public buildings in northern Bohemia. After arriving in Brno in 1885, he joined with Heinrich Schmid to found the construction company of Schmid & Alber, which built a number of apartment buildings. After 1893, Alber had his own architecture studio and was also active as city architect.