Necessary transgressions in Architectural Education in Uganda

Abstract

Acknowledging that architectural education in many parts of the world is built on specific traditions, there is little argument about its embedded epistemologies. The strong adherence to tenants of the past is regarded as the success of architectural education. However, it is here, beyond its evident virtues that the limitations become apparent, more so when considered in the context of the global south, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Here, historicized perspectives compel instructors to buy into pedagogical approaches that often sideline indigenous built environments, an act that serves to alienate local traditions and exacerbates the challenge of seeking contextually appropriate and sustainable architectural solutions. Through the transformation of an architecture program in an architectural school in Uganda, I challenge norms related to what constituted an appropriate architectural educational approach often applied without question. Through examples derived from transformational activities, the chapter suggests how architectural education in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa can be revised regardless of ever-present professional and bureaucratic constraints. Building on the lessons derived from these experiences, the chapter concludes with a call to architectural educators to explore possibilities that will define the decolonizing processes in architectural education.