Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

In the rural northeast of Uganda, the ethnic Karamojong are experiencing unprecedented pressures to change their ways of life. As semi-nomadic pastoralists, these peoples are dependent on the health of their herds which is an extension of the health of their land. As land health has deteriorated due to climate change, over-grazing and lack of mobility there are increasing interventions by outside actors seeking to improve public health while making reoccurring calls to transform Karamojong culture towards sedentism and farming. While appropriate in select cases, this overwhelming call towards cultural transformation undermines the traditional ways of life and is at odds with the capabilities of the land. As a response to this context, this thesis proposes a heritage-based architectural response to mitigate the increasingly harmful effects of globalization upon the traditionally semi-nomadic societies of northern Uganda. To investigate this claim, this thesis presents an Institute of Animal Science to speculate new futures for traditional building techniques. Speculative adaptations to the built environment must include large structures to accommodate programmatic needs of schools, government offices and communal gatherings. Re-use strategies must be employed to reduce collecting loads on the environment. Strategic integration of modern technology will improve public health outcomes and reduce foreign interventions. Most importantly, technical innovations must be made to improve the legitimacy and durability of traditional materials to promote their future use in support of a semi-nomadic way of life.