Modern Buildings at Kyambogo University
ArchTour Route
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Before this modern buildings tour began, we made the distinction that UNISE (Uganda National Institute of Special Needs Education) and North Hall were not strictly modern buildings. Instead, they embodied critical regionalism—an architectural approach that adapted global modernist ideas to local contexts. If you had ever wondered what modern buildings would have looked like if they were designed with an ‘African’ place in mind, these buildings provided an answer. They were a vernacularization of modernism.
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Beyond their architectural significance, they also stood as exemplary case studies of inclusive design, making them well worth a visit.
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What Makes These Buildings Modern?
Modernism is defined by both time period and design ethos. The time period in question, for modernism in Africa is the 1950s to the 1970s, with buildings characterized by:
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Rectilinear forms and clean geometric compositions
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Concrete, steel, and glass as primary materials
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Distinct facade treatments, often featuring repetitive modular elements
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Functional spatial arrangements, prioritizing efficiency and openness
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Kyambogo’s campus was particularly interesting because it featured multiple buildings with similar stylistic approaches. Some shared a common aesthetic—such as the School of Education, Faculty of Agriculture, and Pearl Hall, which used precast concrete panels for easy replication. These were designed by Peatfield & Bodgener in the 1980s. Another cluster of buildings—Kulubya Hall, the School of Art & Industrial Design, and the Barclays Library—dated back to around 1965, firmly placing them within the modernist period in Africa.
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Why Did This Matter?
If your first reaction was, "This is just colonial heritage," then this tour wasn’t for you.
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For those still interested, modern buildings offer invaluable lessons. Designers learn best by experiencing architecture firsthand. A themed tour immerses you in the thought process behind a style—why certain choices were made, what challenges they responded to, and how they shaped the built environment.​ The challenges of 80 years ago were vastly different from those of today. By studying how these buildings were conceived, what worked, and what didn’t, we gained insights into how to build better for the future.
Perspectives on the Modern Buildings at the ArchTour
In this next part, we'll share bits gleaned from conversations at the ArchTour among those present—researchers, architects, landscape designers, product designers, and students—some of it is from academic journals, some passed down as stories from older generations or found in old journals and other materials. All perspectives were received.
Barclays Library
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Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
Images: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
Building 01. Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Building 02. Francis Ssempijja (2025)
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At Building 03. Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
This building complex was an Independence gift from Barclays Bank to Uganda. It was opned in 1963. Building 01 has a distinct serrated roof finish. A faculty member who worked at the university in the 1970s—when it was still a technical institution—mentioned that many of the older buildings were constructed en masse whenever funding became available. For example, these three complexes—the School of Art & Industrial Design, Kulubya Hall and Barclays Library—share the same serrated roof language. A similar pattern emerged in the late 1980s with three precast buildings: the Faculty of Agriculture, the School of Education, and Pearl Hall, designed by Peatfield & Bodgner and funded through British Fund Loans.
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Regarding the serrated roof finish, it is a reinforced concrete roof consisting of a series of butterfly roofs—or rather, repeated gable roofs; a style that was common with British designers at that time.
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A cantilevered porch articulates the entrance in front of Building 03, though the roof over it appears to be a later addition.
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Building 03, the East End Main Hall, has a cool breeze and remains comfortable. It is oriented with its longer side along the North-South direction, while the openings are positioned to take advantage of the prevailing wind patterns, allowing for passive cooling through cross-ventilation.
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The Barclays Library and East End Main Hall, like several modernist projects around Kyambogo University, share design details with the modern buildings at Makerere University. This includes the washed dry dash finish, large cut-stone tile veneers, and intricately designed concrete breeze blocks used for screening. One observer remarked that if you want to identify an old (modernist) building, just look at the finishes. If it features materials that don’t require painting—such as stone, brick, or exposed concrete—it’s likely modernist. In contrast, newer (contemporary) buildings are almost always finished with paint.
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The concrete staircase - with precast cantilevered steps, steel balustrades, and a wooden handrail with curved ends where one grips the post - is very typical of modern architecture.
Faculty of Agriculture
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
Image: Franklin Kasumba (2025)
The foundation stone at the entrance of this building states that the project was completed in 1999—years after the modernist movement had ended. This building uses the same precast concrete panels as the School of Education and Pearl Hall. The washed pebble dash finish on the concrete panels is also very similar to the finishes on the buildings of Makerere University and one of the buildings Kitante Primary school (built to educate the colonial government's children).
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The team at Geoffrey Bodgner designed this in 1988, leaning heavily towards the Bauhaus style of design similar to their other projects—Parliament, the National Theatre and Mary Stuart Hall at Makerere Univerisity.
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The general consensus is that this project is more of a modernist homage, sparking questions such as: Are those precast concrete panels, or merely veneers plastered over blockwork to mimic the modern aesthetic? Unlike older modern buildings featuring this design language—where posts and beams are seamlessly integrated into the precast panels—this structure reveals its exposed structural systems in select areas.
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The balusters also seem somewhat mismatched. Traditional modernist buildings from the 1950s–60s typically feature concrete steps, sometimes precast, with steel railings and mahogany handrails with rounded edges. In contrast, this building incorporates steel elements in the balustrade, but the handrail appears to be a much lighter wood—possibly pine—painted over, deviating from the expected material choices.
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An observation was the downpipes: the architects were intentional about making them part of the building’s visual design. One downpipe, however, was a bit too well-maintained—it was so clean that one could assume it had been installed the previous week!
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On the subject of precast panels—if they were precast at all—it must have been very difficult to execute the intricate designs of the building. In 1988, architects were still drawing by hand. The question is, would one have the discipline to design based on prescribed sizes? Rooms, walkways, and other elements would all have to correspond to the panel dimensions.
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A common theme we see is that these buildings are oriented so that the longer sides face North-South, while the shorter sides, which receive more heat, face East-West to minimize heat gain. Furthermore, they take advantage of cross-ventilation by placing openings in the direction of Kampala’s prevailing wind flow (South-East to North-West), helping to keep the building cool.​
School of Art & Industrial Design
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Images: Francis Ssempijja (2024 & 2025)
Image: Franklin Kasumba (2025)
The main entrance of this building announces that it was funded with British Loan Funds. When such loans were provided, they usually came with conditions on who could design the project. For a building funded by a loan, was the design a bit excessive? The roof appears to be made of 20cm reinforced concrete. One wonders whether the design elements could have been leaner or if it was simply a way to inflate the loan and perpetuate servitude to the departing colonial masters.​
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The serrated roofs also raised speculation—are they precast? These days, architects are discouraged from designing roofs that pour water into buildings, such as butterfly roofs because of quality of workmanship and materials available on the market. Across the Kyambogo campus, we noticed alterations to modern buildings that originally had flat roofs. Over time, the waterproofing layer fails, leading to multiple leaks. The common intervention has been to install pitched roofs—though not the best solution, as it disrupts the aesthetic composition of the forms. A mono-pitch roof hidden behind parapets would have been a neater solution, wouldn’t it? And more in keeping with the modern style of many of these buildings.
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These roofs have gutters that pool water at their joints, from where it is directed through the columns into manholes within the verandah at the outer end of the building and out into the surrounding drains.
Main Hall, West End
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
​This building benefits from excellent natural ventilation—an important feature for a main hall. This can be attributed to its orientation, with the longer sides aligned along the North-South axis, and the strategic placement of openings to maximize airflow.
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Another notable feature is its open, column-free interior despite spanning large distances. This structural achievement is made possible by deep drop beams, visible in select areas.
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The dramatic staircase detail also highlights a notable aspect of modern architecture: the absence of barrier-free design considerations. This reflects the era’s limited focus on accessibility—an approach that would not meet contemporary building regulations standards.
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Fun fact: ​Restoration designs were commissioned circa 2021 to be done by Oubuntu Consulting.
Mandela Hall
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
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Image: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
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Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
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Images: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
This is one of the oldest buildings on campus, finished with clay brick veneers that are deteriorating due to dampness, particularly in the toilet and bathroom areas.
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The walkways connecting the various blocks are covered with reinforced concrete and supported by hollow cylindrical pillars. One observer remarked that such a structure would never receive approval today—the cost alone for just a walkway would be impossible.
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The roofs of these buildings have been redone. The original flat roofs, characteristic of modern design, have been replaced with pitched roofs—many without regard for the historical significance of the modern style—resulting in a clumsy appearance. The challenge with flat roofs in tropical regions is that waterproofing fails over time, which is what happened with these modern buildings.
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We also wondered about the precariously hanging overhangs designed for solar shading. Would one trust them if they were built today? It’s hard to imagine the same level of care going into them as with the original construction. Given the state of concrete craftsmanship today, we’re not sure we’d trust the structural integrity of today's overhangs—standing under one might be a bit risky!
UNISE & North Hall
Images: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
UNISE. Franklin Kasumba (2025)
UNISE. Jonathan Kplorla (2023)
North Hall. Jonathan Kplorla (2023)
North Hall. Franklin Kasumba (2025)
Constructed by Scandinavia company, Skanska 1993-1995. Project funded by DANIDA.
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This complex consists of two types of buildings, the lower end an educational facility housing the lecture rooms where those being trained to care for and teach special needs people learn, and the upper end residences, open to everyone at Kyambogo university. The architect demonstrated that special needs persons are not a lost cause with the architecture; the complex is a testament that with the right facilities in place, special needs people can live with independently with dignity.
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To begin with, the blocks are organised along a long axis; with change in texture along the paths to signal change for visually impaired. Vertical circulation has both ramps and staircases to provide options for mobility-impaired people-- the challenge for many people with mobility problems is designers insist on long ramps, which tire out the users. One would rather have short steps to climb. Attention was also given to things like light switches. they are placed at about 800mm from the ground level- an intervention specifically to accommodate the little people.
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Some things could be done better- for example, there are not enough resting places along the walkways; the few benches and designated seating areas are on the grass, so, people with wheelchairs can not comfortably use them. Also, there are no handrails or grab bars for extra support.
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The buildings in the complex sprawl along it- likely to take advantage of passive design strategies for ventilation, but one questions if that was the most efficient use of space. The jury is out on that one; compacting buildings would imply ramps, and those would cause difficulty for the mobility-impaired. This sprawl eliminates the need for vertical circulation across two or more floors.
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On the subject of green design: the project was designed such that it has very low maintenance- the fairfaced veneers, exposed concrete surfaces, and raw timber all have low maintenance properties. Even the trenches for surface run off are lined with perforated bricks, contributing to the softscaping of the entire complex.
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North Hall, the residential part of the complex, features split-level buildings that sit harmoniously within the sloping landscape. Each building has an open skylight, allowing light to pour through the roof and wash over a central space. At the bottom of the space is a small garden, no more than 2x2 meters, nestled within a staircase. The effect is refreshingly welcoming. At the lower ground level, there's a garden that unfortunately didn’t thrive—likely due to poor drainage in that area. Interestingly, the rooms on the upper ground floor are designed for wheelchair users. It's also worth noting that there’s a noticeable smell of dampness within the buildings, which might need to be addressed soon.
Pearl Hall
Architect: Geoffrey Bodgner circa 1980s
Image: Franklin Kasumba (2025)
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Image: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
School of Education
Architect: Geoffrey Bodgner circa 1980s
Image: Francis Ssempijja (2025)
Image: Christine Matua (2022)
West End Library
Image: Franklin Kasumba (2025)
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Image: Timothy Mukiibi (2025)
Image: Amos Ogwal (2025)
We think it's important to clarify that the Geoffrey Bodgener buildings-- the Faculty of Agriculture, School of Education and Pearl Hall were not done as part of the firm Peatfield and Bodgener; but as independent projects.
Contributors:
Written by Christine Matua; with edits by Franklin Kasumba and Francis Ssempijja
Perspectives of all present at the Feb 22, 2025 Modern Buildings ArchTours by Heritage Lab+