Architects are challenging Ugandans to rethink who gets to shape the country’s cities, arguing that decisions about buildings, public spaces and urban regeneration cannot be reduced to drawings, construction contracts or the commercial value of land.
The intervention comes as the proposed redevelopment of part of Kampala’s Constitution Square has pushed architecture, public space, heritage and urban planning into a national debate. President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Minsa Kabanda, to study a business proposal to develop about two acres of the square into an eco-friendly mixed-use complex incorporating a hotel, shopping mall and other commercial facilities.
Kenneth Amunsimiire, the President of the Uganda Society of Architects, says architecture should be understood as a continuous process involving planning, design, construction, quality control, maintenance and the relationship between buildings and the communities around them.
Amunsimiire says an architect’s responsibility does not stop at producing drawings, placing the profession at the centre of questions that extend beyond individual buildings, including construction safety, regulation of professional practice, the future of Kampala’s open spaces and the way public projects are procured.
Parliament also raised the matter on September 30, with the Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, questioning whether Parliament and other relevant authorities should have a greater role in determining the future of one of the city’s remaining green spaces. Government responded that the proposal was still being studied.
The Physical Planning Act requires physical development to be guided by approved plans and gives planning authorities powers to preserve land designated for open spaces, parks, urban forests, green belts, environmental areas and public facilities. The Act also establishes a hierarchy of national, regional, district, urban and subcounty physical development plans.
Constitution Square also has a distinct heritage dimension. It was declared a protected object under the Historical Monuments Act through the Historical Monuments (Declaration of Protected Objects) (Constitution Square) Instrument, 2007. Amunsimiire argues that green space should itself be regarded as urban infrastructure.
He says Constitution Square provides relief within a heavily built-up part of Kampala and can serve as an emergency assembly point while contributing to the quality of the urban environment. Research by UN-Habitat on the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area has documented environmental pressures associated with rapid urban expansion, including the degradation of wetlands, forests and other environmental resources.
Verna Mbabazi, a principal architect at Evolution Edge and an official of the Architects Registration Board, says Uganda currently has 411 architects on the register, of whom 285 are practising. She also cited a ratio of approximately one architect for every 175,000 Ugandans, compared with a global ratio of about one architect for every 6,000 people.
If maintained by the regulator, the figures illustrate the scale of the professional capacity challenge facing Uganda. The Architects Registration Board’s published 2025 register confirms that the profession maintains a formal national register of practising architects.
Mbabazi says the work of architects depends on collaboration with planners, engineers, surveyors, developers, contractors, local governments, regulators, communities and citizens. She describes architecture as an expression of society rather than a preserve of architects.
Amunsimiire says Uganda’s architecture should draw more deliberately from the country’s social and cultural diversity instead of simply reproducing foreign architectural styles. He argues that Uganda’s languages, cuisines, music, arts, regional identities, climate and patterns of social organisation provide material from which a distinctive architectural vocabulary could emerge. Amunsimiire says architecture’s contribution is difficult to isolate because it is embedded in construction, housing, infrastructure, commercial development and the creation of communities. He says many Ugandans still confuse architects with engineers or physical planners. Part of the problem, he says, is that architects have traditionally worked in relatively closed professional environments.
The profession is also confronting technological changes that could alter how buildings are designed and delivered. Pacific Nakure, a pre-sales specialist at Elite Computers, says digital tools are increasingly becoming central to architectural and construction workflows, while artificial intelligence can reduce repetitive tasks and allow professionals to concentrate more on design and problem-solving.
The Uganda Society of Architects says it is creating specialist clusters around urbanism, housing, sustainable architecture, green buildings, energy efficiency, ICT, project management and alternative dispute resolution. The Uganda Society of Architects is marking 60 years of existence, while the Architects Registration Board marks 30 years since its establishment.
The two institutions are due to hold a joint symposium on Friday, October 2, 2026, at Kabira Country Club in Kampala under the theme, “USA at 60 Years and ARB at 30 Years: Reflecting on the Past Achievements, Seizing Today’s Opportunities and Addressing the Future.” The symposium will examine the evolution of architecture in Uganda, the profession’s achievements and the challenges facing the built environment.
The Uganda Society of Architects traces its formal establishment to 1966, while the Architects Registration Board was created through the Architects Registration Act in 1996. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa is expected to be the guest of honour, while Makerere University Vice-Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, an architect and one of the key figures associated with the development of architecture education at Makerere University, will deliver the keynote address-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
