Faculty of the Built Environment

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Browsing Faculty of the Built Environment by Subject "Architecture"

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    Architectural education in sub-Saharan Africa: an investigation into pedagogical positions and knowledge frameworks
    (Routlegde, Taylor and Francis group, 2020-09-08) Olweny, Mark R.O.
    Formal architectural education in sub-Saharan Africa was established in the 1920s, initially in South Africa, and later in Kenya and Nigeria during the 1950s. The first postcolonial schools in Ghana and Sudan were also inaugurated in the 1950s, triggering debates on the form architectural education should take for a postcolonial Africa. The origins of architectural education as a practice that was imposed across the region have had an unwavering impact on the current state of education in Africa. As the state of architectural education is increasingly discussed in global terms, the need to tell the story of sub-Saharan Africa has never been more urgent. Although this is often obscured by discourse from other parts of the world, it remains especially significant in relation to growing debates on decolonising and transforming education. This article engages with discourses of architectural education in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing from a wider study of architectural education across the region, it offers crucial insights into the pedagogical positions and knowledge frameworks that have defined (and to an extent continue to define) how architectural education is perceived and practised. The article investigates historic and contemporary discourses of architectural education that are informed by the recognition that architecture is a sociocultural phenomenon. The cases presented may further destabilise the status quo and the embedded hierarchies in architectural education. In the final instance, they are testament to a growing penchant for change, as they acknowledge alternative forms of knowledge and break from the hegemony of ahistoric educational approaches.
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    People's perception of 'New' architecture: a diaogue between the architect, the architecture and the consumer
    (Faculty of the Built Environment, Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda, 2013) Ndibwami, Alex
    While the design process is meant to be participatory, the limits to how many (potential) users are involved and how the design team interprets their needs is perhaps often substituted by empirical evidence, architectural theory and/ or logic. It is by no surprise that buildings the world over generate debate, some more than others; suggesting what else people think or would have preferred. Indeed, the issues raised may point to the overall aesthetic, how relevant, functional, sustainable or context specific projects are. These same issues at times get mixed up with tendencies to associate and view architects as having an elitist approach to their profession. Nonetheless, it is evident that the root cause of such concerns may be specific to a given culture. This paper focuses on four buildings located in East Africa on the Uganda Martyrs University campus. These buildings were conceived, designed and built between 2003 and 2010, the second decade of the University’s existence. They include: the terraced Houses (2005), by the main entry to the University, the Thomas Moore Office block (2007), the Onyango Registry Building (2008) and the Anna Montana Building for Health Sciences (2010). These buildings were identified because they stand out in terms of location and uniqueness in their context. The choice of buildings was prompted by the debate they have since generated. The paper set out to obtain pertinent feedback from the community and how the original intentions of the design team successfully or not, manifest themselves. Ultimately, the study sought answers to three key questions: (i) What is considered ‘architecture’ in this context? (ii) How are local architecture trends informed (or not) by contemporary global practice and architectural history and/ or theory? (iii) What are some of those things architects probably miss or take for granted during the design and/ or construction process?