Description

Kyambogo University emerged after the amalgamation of two institutions, the Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo, and the Uganda Polytechnic, Kyambogo. The latter had originally been situated at Makerere and was named Makerere Technical College. The Technical College was moved to Kyambogo to make room there for the new Makerere University College. The university
received funding from the Government of Uganda and the British Government for its operations and development. The Faculty of Education was commissioned by the Ministry of Education to Carl Bro International A/S Consulting Engineers and to Peatfield & Bodgener Architects. At the time, the office already had a number of important buildings to its name, including the National Theatre (1959), the Uganda Legislative Building (1960, today Uganda Parliament), the Uganda House (1974) and the Uganda Commercial Bank (today Cham Towers, 1976). The architects’ appointment was cancelled halfway through the project, so that the final executed works were an interpretation by the project engineers (Curtin, 2021).
The building sits on the western side of the university campus on a fairly steep, sloping site. It has four blocks: an administrative block to the north, lecture blocks on the east and on the west, library and laboratories and an auditorium in the centre, all linked together by covered walkways. The blocks are further joined by common facilities which include ablutions and the stairwells to the different levels. The blocks were stepped to follow the slope of the site. The lecture hall on the east is the highest and the lecture halls on the west are the lowest, with the auditorium and the administrative block sitting on a high plinth to accommodate the level differences.

With the exception of the panels designed to reduce direct radiation onto the building, not much consideration seems to have been given to the solar radiation on the east- and west-facing blocks. The glazing is directly exposed to the morning and harsh afternoon sun with no roof overhang. However, passive ventilation was integrated throughout, with carefully placed openings above the windows to allow for constant cross-ventilation through the building. A few large trees also provide shade to the building on the east. The circulation was originally designed to allow users to enter from all directions. Meanwhile, the exits have been closed off, leaving only the main access open. The main access for the building leads from the parking lot and through the administration block to the inner courtyard that measures 8 by 5 metres.

The most striking feature of the building is its materiality. The façade is clad predominantly with a precast, rough-cast rectangular concrete modules. The modules have weathered into a brown colour that contrasts with the white-painted columns. The module has two design types, the first is used to close off the building, the second with a hollow section for light and ventilation. The module was employed on at least two other buildings on the Kyambogo University Campus, Campus – namely, Pearl Hall of Residence, completed in 1987, and the Faculty of Agriculture, completed in the same year. One building at Makerere University – Africa Hall of Residence – also makes use of the concrete module. This choice is indicative of one of the Modern Movement’s principles: the modular standard of prefabricated construction. The buildings’ main component are reinforced concrete panels used as infill walls; a system that was employed for other buildings as well (e.g. Bogolobi Flats). Timber is used for the handrails and doors. The window frames are made of aluminium.
The Faculty of Education building falls in the category of buildings that were designed using the same grid as the other two faculty buildings while being responsive to their respective sites. The approach to the materials, size, resolution of the spatial issues is similar in the three campus buildings mentioned (Africa Hall of Residence, Pearl Hall of Residence, Faculty of Agriculture), albeit with differences in orientation and response to the site terrain. These buildings have not undergone considerable alteration, standing as a testament to their original interpretation of the clients’ needs.

References
Curtin, P. (2021). Inquiry on Faculty of Education. Interviewed by Timothy Latim.

Kasirye, J. (2021). “Surveyors Clarify on Disputed Kyambogo Land”. Newvision. [online] 29/11. https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/surveyors-clarify-on-disputed-kyambogo-land-NV_115949

Kyambogo University (2005). Prospectus 1997/98 – 19998/99. Kampala: Kyambogo University.

Olweny, M., Latim, T., Mukasa, L., et al. (2021). “Uganda“. In: P. Meuser and A. Dalbai (eds.), Architectural Guide. Sub-Saharan Africa (Vol. 5: Eastern Africa: From the Great Lakes to the Indian Ocean). Berlin: DOM Publishers, pp. 130–223.

Mukhaye, D. (2021). “Mengo Disowns contested 137 acres Kyambogo Land”. The Monitor. [online] 28/11. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/mengo-disowns-contested-137-acre-kyambogo-land-3565486

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Originally published in: Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões, Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Birkhäuser, 2024.