Faculty of the Built Environment

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Adoption of appropriate technology in construction: A pilot study of compressed earth blocks uptake in Kamuli District – Uganda
(2016) Niwamara, Thomas; Ndibwami, Alex
The use of compressed soil blocks (CSB) in the construction of housing in Uganda can be traced back to the slum upgrading projects of the early 1990’s (DCDM, 2003a; 2003b). 25 years on, the propagation of a technology that has seen improved supply of housing in India, South America and Southern Africa has had little impact on the supply of housing in Uganda. Basing itself in the diffusion theory, this study provides insights into how failure of adoption can be managed or reduced. In an effort to better understand how current and future innovations may be better conceived and rolled out, the level to which the perception of critical adoption dimensions affect diffusion are queried in the propagation of compressed earth block as a building material. The study was undertaken based on the innovation decision model, querying identified opinion leaders in communities where CEB technology has been utilised about their opinion on the technology. The study found that perceived economic advantage of a technology is a decisive factor for its adoption in spite of awareness of promising alternatives. The study identified that while interpersonal communication channels are important in the formulation of opinions, these present a limited opportunity for awareness of a critical number for adoption to gain momentum. The study having tested methods of identifying opinion leaders, forwards the notion that awareness drives focused on these individuals, emphasising the lifecycle cost benefits of CEB has the potential to lead to an increase in demand and adoption. Furthermore increase in demand can lead to a reduction in price of CEB through a greater sharing of fixed overhead costs.
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.
Demystifying fired clay brick: Comparative analysis of different materials for walls, with fired clay brick:
(PLEA, 2016) Ahimbisibwe, Alex; Ndibwami, Alex
Low-income tropical housing in Uganda today is a complex issue that extends beyond the physical dwelling and encapsulates psychological notions, i.e. human ideals, needs, wants, aspirations, and economic ability. Rural construction continues to expend significant quantities of energy and environmental resources in production of fired clay brick, the locally favoured choice. Regrettably, the notion that this material is cheap escalates negligent handling during production, transportation and construction, which then generate large quantities of waste. This paper presents a study that seeks to evaluate people’s perceptions of the production and usage of fired Clay Bricks, then to propose viable alternatives. People are a crucial entity in the struggle to: improve fuel efficiency at local Kilns, increase reuse/ repurposing of construction waste, then raise awareness about material embodied energy and subsequent energy demand on communities. Despite evidence of associated negative impacts of brick production like deforestation, excessive soil extraction, energy intensive production, and high waste, there is still rampant unregulated production. Cost, being a primary consideration for many construction stakeholders, is interrogated as part of this search for a viable alternative. The alternative shall endeavour to minimize production energy and construction waste, and possibly save up to 20% on the building cost. This study culminates in a student lead design-build project. The Display Space at Uganda Martyrs University is a built attempt to investigate alternative wall materials as well as building cost. The Space was designed and shall be built by students of the Faculty of the Built Environment. The building structure is a combination of rammed earth walls and site produced stabilized soil blocks to replace the commonly used brick. Since precedent success stories reveal that a creative force emerges when all the residents, stakeholders and consultants come together as a collaborative community. It is envisaged that a creative force shall emerge from community involvement in this project with the hope of disseminating concerns that shall propel the community residents towards shaping more regenerative environments.
Determining the Unit Cost of Higher Education:
(2011) Olweny, Mark R. O.
While the growth in private universities in Africa has met a pent-up demand for university education and are meeting and fulfilling a social function, the economic realities of operating a university cannot be ignored. It is therefore no surprise that within two decades of their founding, private universities are now faced with the reality of the interstices of global economic forces, national societal functions and, for many, ideological mandates that now compel them to rethink the models that the institutions were founded upon. Increasingly, private universities are discovering the dependency complications related to a reliance on a single income source, which is on the whole unsustainable, as they are operating in an environment characterized by much uncertainty. There is a need for private universities to know how to generate additional income to fund not only their operations, but also to ensure an annualised profit as a buffer against any inevitable fluctuations. This paper provides an overview of the cost of associated with teaching in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the Uganda Martyrs University. While the faculty offers a twenty-first century curriculum with an innovative teaching pedagogy, the faculty faces a challenge in using a higher education program financing model that does not acknowledge varying educational pedagogies, as is necessary in a professional program. Under the current model, the faculty is unable to achieve parity in its budget. The proposed model is based on an appreciation of the different inputs in architecture education, and while they are debatable, it does provide a starting point for dialogue of teaching inputs. The paper concludes by giving some proposals that may be useful to help manage expenditure in individual faculties.
Educating built environment professionals:
(Faculty of Building Technology and Architecture, 2006) Olweny, Mark R. O.; Nshemereirwe, Connie V.
In 2000, the Uganda Martyrs University introduced a new built environment program, a Bachelor of Science in Building Design and Technology (BSc BDT), marking the first time a private institution had entered the field of built environment education in Uganda. It was also the first new built environment program to be introduced in Uganda since the introduction - in 1989 - of the Bachelor of Architecture program at Makerere University. The BSc BDT program is directed at graduating young men and women who can fill a gap that exists between Architects and Engineers on the one hand, and Construction Workers/Artisans on the other. In addition it is intended that, the BSc BDT fulfils the prerequisite requirements for entry into a two-year graduate entry Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) professional degree. This represents the first time a two-tier architecture program has been offered in the East and Central African region. A central objective of the BSc BDT and the BArch programs is to train budding professionals in contemporary methods and practices in order to solve problems in the built environment. This paper outlines some of the issues that were faced during the development of the BSc BDT curricula, and in the implementation of a new integrated teaching and learning approach that emphasised Problem-Based-Learning (PBL). In addition, using examples derived from the experience of the authors, the paper will discuss some of the challenges and limitations faced by staff and students during the implementation of the initial program and during the change to PBL.
Embodied energy of low income rural housing in Uganda
(PLEA, 2016) Niwamara, T; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Ndibwami, Alex
Embodied energy is an important consideration in discussions related to the sustainability of the construction sector. As part of this dialogue, this paper presents a developing country context of how these can values of energy for construction. The study investigated different housing sizes and typologies. Data collected from various embodied energy databases was the basis of an initial investigation, followed by serve to enable a transition in energy related discourse. In East Africa, the energy related discourse is largely concerned with the reduction in the use of wood fuel, which is the predominant energy source for cooking, with little attention to the an in depth exploration of values for specific building materials used in a typical rural building, with two materials, fired clay bricks, and cement standing out. The investigation of the fired clay bricks current and future impact of the buildings themselves, that is, lifetime energy consumption. The primary goal of this study was to determine the embodied energy (EE) of low-income tropical housing to better appreciate the relative suggested slightly lower embodied energy values that found in the literature, although it is evident that the sources of energy used for the processing of the bricks is of concern for embodied carbon.
Estimating the difficulty of A'level examination subjects in Uganda
(University of Twente, The Netherlands, 2014) Nshemereirwe, Connie V.
In order to gain access to institutions of higher learning in Uganda, including universities, all students sit a national examination at the end of A’Level, the scores of which determine their selection into various institutions of higher learning, including university. For most university degree programmes, entry is determined based on the A’Level scores irrespective of subject, essentially implying that the same scores in the different subjects are comparable. In order to investigate this comparability, a generalised partial credit item response model was fit to the A’Level examination results data for the years 2009 and 2010. Science and non-science subjects were hypothesised to load on two separate dimensions of the latent ability scale, and subject difficulty and discrimination parameters were estimated. It was found that science subjects were relatively more difficult than humanities and language subjects, and that they also provided the largest amount of information, although this was for the higher end of the ability scale. Some other subjects like Art and Kiswahili were not only relatively easier, they also provided very little information on the ability scale underlying the other subjects. These findings bring into question the comparability of scores in the different subjects at A’Level, and if student ability based on examination performance can be better represented by integrating information on difficulty levels.
Ethical Positions in Built Environment Education
(2010) Olweny, Mark R. O.; Olweny, Charles L.M.
Architecture has among its goals, to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of society. It is therefore inevitable that ethical decisions are made in the process making architecture. The perceived value of the product, ‘shelter’ is often, taken for granted – until something goes wrong. It is only then that questions arise about quality of the product, the values of practitioners, and as a matter of course, to discussions about ethical positions forged as part of the education process. Contrary to common belief, ethical positions are not intrinsically inherent in society, but are learned as pat of the formal and/or informal education process. As part of the five or six year architecture programme, students are exposed to a multitude of ethical positions, from basic value judgements related to beauty and aesthetics - good and bad; to investigations of historical attempts to portray truth and purity; to the more pragmatic and contemporary issues dealing with context, sustainability and social equality. This paper looks at educational context within which architecture education is situated in Uganda, and how this may have an impact on the eventual ethical positions taken by professionals.
Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?
(Elsevier, 2020-01-10) Schweiker, Marcel; Maíra, Andréu; Al-Atrash, Farah; Al-Khatri, Hanan; Alprianti, Rea Risky; Alsaad, Hayder; Amin, Rucha; Ampatzi, Eleni; Arsano, Alpha Yacob; Azar, Elie; Bannazadeh, Bahareh; Batagarawa, Amina; Becker, Sussanne; Buonocore, Carolina; Cao, Bin; Choi, Joon-Ho; Chun, Chungyoon; Daanen, Hein; Damiati, Siti Aisyah; Daniel, Lyrian; Vecchi, Renata De; Dhaka, Shivraj; Domínguez-Amarillo, Samuel; Dudkiewicz, Edyta; Edappilly, Lakshmi Prabha; Fernández-Agüera, Jesica; Folkerts, Mireille; Frijns, Arjan; Gaona, Gabriel; Garg, Vishal; Gauthier, Stephanie; Jabbari, Shahla Ghaffari; Harimi, Djamila; Hellwig, Runa T; Huebner, Gesche M; Jin, Quan; Jowkar, Mina; Kim, Jungsoo; King, Nelson; Kingma, Boris; Koerniawan, M. Donny; Kolarik, Jakub; Kumar, Shailendra; Kwok, Alison; Lamberts, Roberto; Laska, Marta; Lee, M.C. Jeffrey; Lee, Yoonhee; Lindermayr, Vanessa; Mahaki, Mohammadbagher; Udochukwu, Marcel-Okafor; Marín-Restrepo, Laura; Marquardsen, Anna; Francesco, Franscesco; Mathur, Jyotirmay; Mino-Rodriguez, Isabel; Montazami, Azadeh; Mou, Di; Moujalled, Bassam; Nakajima, Mia; Ng, Edward; Okafor, Marcellinus; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Ouyang, Wanlu; Abreu, Ana Lígia Papst de; Pérez-Fargallo, Alexis; Rajapaksha, Indrika; Ramos, Greici; Rashid, Saif; Reinhart, Christoph F.; Rivera, Ma. Isabel; Salmanzadeh, Mazyar; Schakib-Ekbatan, Karin; Schiavon, Stefano; Shooshtarian, Salman; Shukuya, Masanori; Soebarto, Veronica; Suhendri, Suhendri; Tahsildoost, Mohammad; Tartarini, Federico; Teli, Despoina; Tewari, Priyam; Thapa, Samar; Trebilcock, Maureen; Trojan, Jörg; Tukur, Ruqayyatu B.; Voelker, Conrad; Yam, Yeung; Yang, Liu; Zapata-Lancaster, Gabriela; Zhai, Yongchao; Zhu, Yingxin; Zomorodian, ZahraSadat
People’s subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results col- lected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are inde- pendent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collabo- rative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from ther- mal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability.
Household energy use in Uganda:
(The Architectural Science Association and The University of Melbourne, 2015) Drazu, Candia; Olweny, Mark R. O.; Kazoora, Goodman
This paper details patterns of energy consumption for domestic buildings in urban areas of Uganda. The paper shows the range of energy sources employed by households, the level of consumption of energy, as well as common appliances and equipment in use. The findings suggest strong demand for energy, but largely from solid fuel sources, with most households making use of firewood or charcoal for cooking. While currently low by world standards, electrical energy use was largely for lighting and entertainment. Efforts at increasing access to electricity to reduce pressures on dwindling forest resources, although a noble goal, has significant challenges, linked to limited and erratic availability of electricity, approaches to building design, as well as lifestyle transformations that contribute to a growth in energy demand. The study itself contributes to discourse on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings, filling the gap in the availability of information and geared to informing future policy and interventions.
Introducing sustainability into an architectural curriculum in East Africa
(International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2018) Olweny, M. R. O.
This paper reflects on the transition of a school of architecture to incorporate sustainability as a core of its programme. The paper offers a brief overview of the processes undertaken and outcomes of the transition to an integrated problem based learning approach, with sustainability at its core. While successful making the transition to an integrated programme with sustainability as a core part of the curriculum, this did not come without challenges. The myriad of conflicting and contradicting opinions derived from views of formal education concretised over the past century, led to resistance to anything breaking from the status quo. Resistance from students and professionals - linked to preconceived ideas of what constituted architectural education, serving to raise questions of the value of the transitional process. Nevertheless the programme serves as testament to what can be achieved with strong will power, and determination. The paper contributes to discourse on sustainability in architectural education, examining the transition taken by an architectural programme in East Africa to incorporate sustainability as a core part of its curriculum. As the first architecture programme in East Africa to seek to incorporate sustainability into its programme, this student provides some guidance on the challenges of this transition, and could serve as a benchmark for other schools seeking to make this transition.
Introduction - Radical Discipline.
(Folio, 2020-08-15) Olweny, Mark R. O.
It has been a privilege to work on the Radical Discipline section of FOLIO Vol. 2, dedicated to endeavours that inform and (re)define architecture as a discipline in the context of sub Saharan Africa. ‘Radical’, in this context, concerns explorations that challenge the status quo, and seek to define ‘paths of change’. The lens of enquiry is through architectural education, appreciating that ‘if you wish to understand why professions develop as they do, study their nurseries, in this case, their forms of professional preparation.’¹ It is through these explorations that we address the types of education necessary to ensure architects are prepared for the myriad challenges across the region. Radical explorations are Olweny, M.R.O. (2020). “Introduction - Radical Discipline.” Folio: Journal of on temporary African Architecture, Vol. 2 Noir Radical, pp145-147. not alien to architectural education in sub-Saharan Africa, and were a core element of the establishment of the architecture programme at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (then the Kumasi University of Science and Technology), the first postcolonial school of architecture in subSaharan Africa. Responding to the aspirations of newly independent Africa, John Lloyd, inaugural Dean of the School, suggested that, for architecture to ‘. . . truly contribute to the future of the [African] continent, [it] must drastically redefine a new the task of an “architect”’.² Similarly, at the University of Nairobi, South African-educated Selby Mvusi, was an advocate for the decolonisation of the programme there. According to Magaziner, ‘Mvusi theorized what would happen if Africans’ contemporary “thoughtprocesses” were taken seriously instead of being dismissed as either inauthentic or archaic. Contrary to those who saw only binaries such as developed/underdeveloped, rural/urban, African/Western, or traditional/modern, Mvusi insisted, “Underdevelopment is not monolithic. Neither is it exclusive nor static. It is itself active and dynamic, and is forever pacing development.” To be poor and rural and African was not to be behind, but rather to be.
Investigating the Comparability of A' level Subjects as a Basis for University Selection in Uganda
(West African Journal of Education, 2015-01-01) Nshemereirwe, Connie
In order to gain access to universities in Uganda, all students sit a national examination at the end of A ‘Level, the scores of which determine their selection. For most university degree programmes, entry is determined based on the A ‘Level scores irrespective of subject, essentially implying that the same scores in the different subjects are comparable. In order to investigate this comparability, a generalised partial credit item response model was fit to the A ‘Level examination results data for the years 2009 and 2010. As was expected, it was found that science subjects were relatively more difficult than non-science subjects; however, it was also found that science and non-science subjects load on two separate dimensions of the latent ability scale, and that further, science subjects generally provided more information on student ability, especially for the higher end of the ability scale. Conversely, some humanities subjects like Art and Kiswahili were not only relatively easier, they also provided very little information on the ability scale underlying all the A ‘Level subjects. These findings present a challenge to the justifiability of using A ‘Level scores indiscriminately in the university selection process, and advocates for the integration of information on subject difficulty in an enhanced weighting system.
Investigating the drivers of energy transitions between communities, local governments and non-governmental organisations.
(UNESCO, 2016) Ndibwami, Alex; Candia, H
Embodied energy is an important consideration in discussions related to the sustainability of the construction sector. As part of this dialogue, this paper presents a developing country context of how these can values of energy for construction. The study investigated different housing sizes and typologies. Data collected from various embodied energy databases was the basis of an initial investigation, followed by serve to enable a transition in energy related discourse. In East Africa, the energy related discourse is largely concerned with the reduction in the use of wood fuel, which is the predominant energy source for cooking, with little attention to the an in depth exploration of values for specific building materials used in a typical rural building, with two materials, fired clay bricks, and cement standing out. The investigation of the fired clay bricks current and future impact of the buildings themselves, that is, lifetime energy consumption. The primary goal of this study was to determine the embodied energy (EE) of low-income tropical housing to better appreciate the relative suggested slightly lower embodied energy values that found in the literature, although it is evident that the sources of energy used for the processing of the bricks is of concern for embodied carbon.
Investigating the variation in student performance in the A'level examinations in Uganda:
(University of Twente, The Netherlands, 2014) Nshemereirwe, Connie V.
Student performance in the A’Level national examinations in Uganda is the main criterion for selection for higher education, particularly university. About 2000 merit-based scholarships are available annually for the best performing applicants to public universities, but in recent years the majority of the recipients of these scholarships have come from only a handful of the best performing secondary schools in the country university. This reflects a wider issue of the widely differing quality of secondary schools in Uganda, and motivated the current study. In order to investigate the nature of the school effect within the A’Level performance, a multilevel modelling procedure was employed. Covering a period of five years (2005-2010), it was found that up to 30% of the variation in student performance at the end of A’Level could be attributed to the student’s A’Level school. Almost one quarter of this school effect was explained by four school characteristics: ownership, boarding status, gender ratio and whether it run the free universal secondary education (USE) programme. Of these, single-sex boarding schools that did not run the USE programme had the highest performance advantage. The performance advantages attributable to the type of school which students attend at A’Level can partly explain why the majority of students enrolled at universities in Uganda come from such a small proportion of secondary schools.
Leadership is critical in mainstreaming sustainability in professional education
(Building and Cities, 2021-01-28) Olweny, Mark R. O.
Mark Olweny (University of Lincoln) comments on the B&C special issue EDUCATION & TRAINING: MAINSTREAMING ZERO CARBON. Leadership in Global South demonstrates the positive transformation of architectural education. The Uganda Martyrs University implemented a new curriculum to integrate sustainability into the architectural curricula. Change occurred due to staff dedication, commitment and stamina - although overcoming resistance at several levels was not easy.
Monumental through Design, Identity by Definition: The Architecture of Uganda prior to Independence
(The University of Adelaide, 1998) Olweny, Mark R. O.
“Throughout history monumental architecture has been employed to embody the values of dominant ideologies and groups, and as an instrument of state propaganda.”1 To an extent however, the presentation or representation of national identity through architecture has been an invention of sorts, particularly in the former European colonies of Africa, where unified national identities has never existed. The function of this representation was twofold; firstly to provide a visible symbol of economic and political development, and secondly to provide a recognisable symbol to which people could eventually identify. This paper will explore the issues of ‘identity’ and ‘monumentality’ in relation to state architecture in Uganda particularly during the decade prior to its independence from Britain in 1962. The issue of identity arising from the notion that architecture can be used to communicate values, aspirations and ideologies, thus expressing a particular identity, with monumentality and monumental architecture defining architecture of high significance, and in most cases manifested through state buildings. These issues will explore in relation to three questions in particular; i) Why were these buildings constructed? ii) For whom were they built? iii) Who do they represent?
Online architectural education: reflections on COVID-19 emergency remote learning in East Africa
(Sage, 2022-08-18) Olweny, Mark RO; Ndibwami, Alex; Ahimbisibwe, Achilles
This paper investigates how students in two schools of architecture in East Africa, engaged with educational activities during the early phase of the COVID-19 lockdown. The COVID-19 lockdown and shift to emergency remote teaching and learning raised a number of questions for architectural education. These relate to access, equity and pedagogical approaches, which emerged through this study. The paper presents the findings of the study carried out in the University of Rwanda, and Uganda Martyrs University, along with the implications of the findings for architectural education. Making use of an online questionnaire distributed via QualtricsXM, the study attracted 70 student participants. The paper concludes with some suggestions for architectural educators as they rethink the embedded pedagogical traditions of architectural education, and how these must adapt for the future in order to cope with future shocks and disruptions.
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?
Research and the future of architecture educaton in East Africa
(2013) Olweny, Mark R. O.
Research in architecture education in East Africa has for the most part been presented in what can best be described as a “silo” approach, presented in a stand alone “Research Methodology” courses that are separate from perceived core of architecture, the design studio. Research was (and is) not regarded as part of architecture, thus having a separate life outside the ‘design process’. Architecture education in this context became the in the all too familiar situation in much of Africa, “the presentation, the transmission of packaged, or pre-digested, information – education as instruction administered to the ‘ignorant’ by experts” (Mills and Lipman, 1994: 214), and largely unchallenged by the receivers of the knowledge, and taken to be apolitical, thus universally relevant (Owolabi, 2007). For faculty in the [Named School] at [Named University], this approach was not judged to be the most appropriate for architecture education for future professionals.

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