Advocating Architecture in Kampala - Bartlett International Lecture Series

About

Streamed live on The Bartlett School of Architecture's YouTube channel, this event will be a discussion between co-hosts Yip Wing Siu and Guang Yu Ren, and speakers Doreen Adengo, Franklin Kasumba and Nina Peters. 

This event forms part of The Bartlett International Lecture Series Spring 2021.  

Abstract

Situated in Kampala, Uganda, and based on the pioneering work of Adengo Architects, this event examines key issues confronting architects in a rapidly evolving local urban landscape subject to the forces of global change. 

Drawing on experiences from practice and pedagogy in Uganda and other international collaborations, the founder Doreen Adengo reflects on Adengo Architects' work as advocates for the comparatively young profession of architecture in a city experiencing profound socio-economic transformation. Doreen will discuss their efforts from championing affordable housing to reimagining wetland landscapes burdened by Uganda’s quasi-colonial past. 

As ancient settlements in the African Great Lakes region, transformed by the paternalism of British protectionism before achieving independence and now confronting rapid urbanisation brought by regional and global finance, Kampala presents a rich and complex site of architectural opportunity and apprehension. Doreen will discuss her experiences at the nexus of the local and the global and negotiating the relationship between community, ecology and socio-economic justice.

Speaker biography

Doreen is an architect based in Kampala, Uganda. Her practice, Adengo Architecture, is grounded in research and multidisciplinary collaboration. After completing her undergraduate and graduate studies at the Catholic University and Yale respectively, Doreen worked for design firms in in London, Washington DC and New York. She has taught at The New School and Pratt Institute in New York and at Uganda Marty's University, and until recently served as a visiting critic at University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture.

Much of Doreen’s work is focused on communicating the value of design in African cities. In a context where non-designers often build their own homes and other structures, she believes it is critical to make the case that architects and urban planners can improve people’s everyday lives, helping cities to develop sustainably.

More information

• Visit Guang Yu Ren's research profile

Image: Adengo Architecture