Localtalks 01.24 - Architectural Education: Nurturing East Africa’s Architects of the Future

This session explored the topic of appropriate architectural education for East Africa. It was held as a hybrid event hosted at Localworks’ office in Kampala and online. The event speakers were three experienced architectural academics: Dr. Mark Olweny, Dr. Hermie Delport and Garret Gantner. Mark is a Senior Lecturer in Architecture in the School of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Lincoln, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of the Built Environment at Uganda Martyrs University. Hermie is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town. Garret is an architect, urbanist and the director of the architecture programme at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Our speakers explored various examples of attempting to find a locally appropriate, future-proof and sensible approach to architectural education. The topic was addressed in the context of the climate crisis and the need for local architects to adapt, as well as in light of changing professional requirements of the private sector. Following speaker presentations, a Q&A session was led by a panel including Arch. Davy Mugamba, Dr. Connie Nshemereirwe and Stephen Muwanguzi.