Anza magazine issue #3- My city

ISSN 1821-8695

AN Z A

AN Z A E AST

AFRICAN

imprint Managing Editor: Comfort Badaru Art director: John Paul Senyonyi Co-ordinator: Anitah S. Hakika Workshop supervisor: Wetaka dickson Publishing director: Comfort Mosha Cover: Sketch depicting east african landmarks (Richard Musinguzi) Collaborating team: Kezia Ayikoru Emmanuel Gamassa Franklin Kasumba William Davis Abella Mutalemwa Bahati J. Zongo Fadina Chikaha Franklin Kasumba Kanyiwan S. Kanyiwanyi Khalid Mussa Mtoni Paul K. Bomani Steven Missaga Publisher: Bracom Associates P.O. Box 6139, Dar es salaam, Tanzania. t +255787225936 +255713665800 Block 46/Plot 31 Kijitonyama

Advertising, Sales: Subscriptions: Marketing: info@anzastart.com info@anzastart.com t +255788289716 t +255689634711 +255787992083

It was not possible to find all copyright holders of the illustrations used. Interested parties are requested to contact the editors. The publisher makes no representation express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omission that may be made. Š 2012 All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

ANZA magazine is a student published magazine produced bi-annually, dealing with issues concerning people and spaces.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation for all the support in making this magazine possible.

Anyone who would like to sponsor or partner with Anza magazine is warmly welcome.

Interested advertisers in any field of the construction industry, financial institutions, Real estate, distributors.

Please contact us: info@anzastart.com www.anzastart.com fAnza Magazine, Fans of Anza Magazine

A RCHITECTURE

editorial When we were planning this edition of ANZA in March, and decided that our theme would be MY CITY, none of us could ever have dreamed that we would have so much and even more to tell about East Africa. Nevertheless, and true to our name, we went all out and dug deep into the plans, possibilities, past and power of all five east African cities.

ANZA combed through all those areas that to some may be familiar and yet to others might still be a mystery. We reveal markets, streetscapes, landscapes, the urban plans and so many other parts of the cities to find those attributes and features that make your city, your city.

This issue takes you on the ultimate multi-stop journey, reaching down into the slums of Nairobi, the past and possibilities of Kigali, Kampala, the unknowns of Bujumbura and the celebrated Dar es Salaam. We also have an interview from a prominent urban designer from one of the cities.

As usual, ANZA loves to explore, we take a trip to Maputo and Addis Ababa explore the social lifestyles of the people in those cities through images and an article respectively.

This time round, however, we took the exploration to a whole new level. We travelled to London to trace east african footsteps. We set out to see whether east africans managed to take home wherever they moved, and vice versa.

Together with all the submissions in this issue, our contributors remind us that every city has a tremendous and fascinating story to tell visitors as well as inhabitants of all socio-economic backgrounds. ANZA-My City issue is all about Discovering East Africa’s Metropolises.

Enjoy the issue!

Comfort Editor

PEOPLE

EAST AFRICANS: WHERE IS OUR IDENTITY?

By Bahati Zongo

Kasubi Tombs in Kampala Tembe house for the Gogo tribe in central (semi-desert) Tanzania

Kikuyu Houses in Kenya

A Kikuyu woman

East African Flora Rwandese women

Coastal women A Masaai woman

BUILDINGS

EAST AFRICAN CITIES: DURING AND AFTER COLONIALISM

Kariakoo Market in Dar es Salaam

KICC Building in Nairobi Ministry of Education in Kigali

EAST AFRICAN CITIES: PRESENT Day

Dar es Salaam City

Nairobi city

Kampala city

Kigali city

Bujumbura city

POOR ARTICULATION OF FACADES (lack of shading devices) POOR SITE ANALYSIS (building orientation) LESS ATTENTION TO THE USE OF LOCAL MATERIALS (less exploration of the locally available materials) LITTLE OR NO SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATION (rain water collection, waste water recycling, waste paper recycling) No respect for LAWS & REGULATIONS (building codes misconduct) LESS INFORMED CITY ACTORS (not enough knowledge on sustainability)

WAY FORWARD: THE BETTER FUTURE

+ Synchronizing sustainable locally available buildings materials with current technology

+

SUSTAINABLE

+

Colourful Ornamental

= EAST

AFRICAN CITIES

Contextual (Tropical Architecture)

CITIES

Most of the new developments in East Africa have the following charecteristics:

CONTENTS...

32 34

Tracing east african footsteps in London-Emmanuel Gamassa Understanding how east Africans have made London feel like their respective native cities

Learning from...

The third world; social lifestyle affecting an urban form.- Brooke Abebe The society itself used to be the architect that plans and estimates the construction material, settlement distribution, arrangement of building and land uses.

37 22

An olympic state of mindLouise mansfield &allistair Macdonald

The recent success of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has brought a new state of mind to the capital

Nakasero Market- Brenda Kaira I would like to see a more socially, environmentally and urban conscious design for the redevelopment of Nakasero market, other than proposing its relocation.

24

Cities as scenes of folklore and expression-Alex Ndibwami While architecture delivers the development that people see, it should seek to achieve the intangible qualities

28 4

16 36

21st century rwan

While productive, haphazard driven could be thus a ci

Kilburn and nightingale interview- comfort mosha Building in East Africa.

A city of many faceslambert gahungu Bujumbura has several faces with large ways marking breaks in the urban continuity...

10 03

Street Paving and Roller skating -Maria Hook.

While the world bank is writing policies for slum upgrading, the children unaware of the top down discussions are strapping on their roller skates.

East africans-where is our identity?-Bahati Zongo Social and Geographical context transforming East African Architecture

is a city of very clear duality. Out of this 13 Dar duality is a fade section between the informal Describe Dar’s Urban Character- Kezia Ayikoru

and formal spaces.ourselves in a wider narrative that we are not only inheriting but also creating.

anda- mEERA SHARMA

the last decade of the city’s urban development has been largely more by spontaneity and necessity than a larger vision of what the city ity that looks modern and provincial at the same time.

08

MYCITY- nicholas calvin …cities are gigantic mirrors before us reflecting what we as a species can collectively achieve…

15

Polishing the streets of east africa- Anitah s hakika How many times have you required the services of a shoe shiner in the last month?

5

AN Z A

article

If you ask me what is a city? I will tell you my own version of a story: cities are gigantic mirrors before us reflecting what we, as a species, can collectively achieve.

Cities are mirrors to reflect our aspiration—the best and the worst of us. Whatever perspective we choose to scrutinize our cities—the energy that runs them or it’s architecture; entertainment, traffic jam nightmare, or economic differences between those having much and those without even a home—what we are looking at is basically the spectrum of our own inclinations, our egos our love to make things work for our comfort, and the level of ignorance and ingenuity we are capable of.

photo on the previous page by ALEMI TAYO in Uganda

CIT People and spaces

Physicist Luis Bettencourt and Geoffrey West in an interview for the RadioLab’s episode ‘Cities’, observe that the most basic defining entity of a character of a city, more significant than it’s geography and local history, is its population size. West says, “size matters; size is the largest determinant of all characteristic of a city.” Things such as crime rate, number of colleges, income, GDP, cultural events per capita; he says, “All these things are correlated in a quantitative and…predictive fashion.”

Luis Bettencourt adds that the specificity such as local history and geography of the city are insignificant and are overwhelmed by the generic laws of urban scaling and that the population is more of a determinant of the cities’ characteristics more than any other factor. In essence our number is the defining entities in shaping a city; and even more, giving identity to it.

Whenever we increase in number beyond the resources readily available at our disposal, naturally, we face a challenge in the daunting pursuit of having a constant supply of food, ways to properly dispose the waste we produce, to educate our young ones, provide secure homes to live, and energy to run our lives. This in turn necessitates putting in place infrastructure and shaping of an order of things so as to meet these needs. Such an order is our collective invention working as a group; a functioning engine of any city.

Looking deeper still to the origin of cities something universal starts to appear in the tale of city formation.

What we see is that however varied the factors that have led to the formation of any city in the world, at the core of it all the most fundamental origin of cities is our individual desire to better our condition in life. The rest emerges from this universal desire. Our coming together and establishing ourselves in geographies friendly to our survival: near water sources and in fertile localities to shape a living for ourselves and craft a way of life for those descending from us. Ultimately creating cities so large and transcendent of our own span of existence for posterity.

As excellent praise singers, cities hail the ingenuity of the creative powers of human mind in crafting structures— physical and mental—to function both as modified spaces

8

MY

TY

by Nicholas Calvin

“With a careful ear you may hear these stories hidden in some corner of a city.”

“Cities are mirrors to reflect our aspiration-the best and the worst of us.”

to live in and as an expression, a statement of some sort, calling attention to our own existence as creative beings. Like a showman in a carnival, it’s as if through cities and through their monumental scale, structure and systems—architecture, art, economics, education, and infrastructure—we boldly hail of our greatness. Like in a great poem Ozymandias, cities are pedestals upon which appear the image we long to conjure in the imaginings of those that behold our endeavors, shouting to the world, look at our works; behold what we have brought into existence.

As storytellers cities recount the vast tale of human survival. From their humble beginnings as small fishing villages and small trading centers they have seen countless families moving to their comfort of provisions.

With a careful ear you may hear these stories hidden in some corner of a city—an old building telling of those that are long passed, a statue, a monument, or sites of memories silently testifying of the gone generations that here under the selfsame stars once lived and died.

Cities are places of extremes; of an astounding variation in cultural expression and an immense gap between wealth and poverty; of a different array of architecture and art, and of heterogeneous collection of people. The fast pacing life of Monday morning rush hour and busy airwaves of emails and phone calls is a daily reality of cities. Monthly bills, shopping trips and endless circles of business meetings are part of its recurring dreams and nightmares. This space, bustling with activities and speeding interactions of people and machines and ideas is what I and millions of other individuals call

“My City.”

Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda Illustration by Omari Shegilla

9

Street, PaVing R oller - S kating & O

nly a few years ago the streets in Korogocho slum in Nairobi were narrow and muddy. They were frequently used, but inappropriate for comfortable transportation or movement. Today they are wide, paved and accessible to both pedestrians and vehicles. All this is part of the Korogocho Slum Upgrading Programme (KSUP). KSUP is a programme that was started by the Kenyan Government together with the Government of Italy and UN-HABITAT. The area has taken many steps towards providing better living standards for its residents.

Korogocho is congested and unemployment rates are high. Previous attempts to upgrade the area had failed.

KSUP focused on the four main streets, a footbridge and a community house. Sidewalks, a drainage system and streetlights were included in the construction.

The process was fast and encouraged the residents of Korogocho.

The improved infrastructure has made the streets more accessible to pedestrians and motorcycle taxis. This has, in turn, translated into more customers for the street vendors. Despite the fact that only a small group represented the community the residents appreciate the upgraded street. A questionnaire survey, carried out at the beginning of 2012, states that the facilitated transportation possibilities generated by the street upgrading are highly appreciated.

However, many tenants and structure owners have had to be evacuated to give space for the new streets. Many of them have nowhere else to go and so KSUP has not been without its share of negatives.

“A street in a slum is a place where various activities take place and, therefore, accommodates different age-groups.”

Traffic accidents are cited as the most negative effect and children are noted as vulnerable as they often use the streets as a playground. By providing more space for pedestrians and clearly marking the roads, some accidents can be avoided. A Street in a slum is a place where various activities take place and, therefore, accommodates different age-groups.

Using street upgrading as a slum upgrading method has shown to be a useful tool since most slums lack proper streets. Streets are the backbone of a city- essential for accessibility and connections to surrounding areas. In Korogocho, the streets are not only transportation routes; they are meeting places, working spaces, playgrounds and courtyards used by the community.

For the children, the streets have provided a place to build a talent – roller-skating. Each Saturday they gather and they roll down the streets doing pirouettes, zigzagging

10

between cones and jumping over speed bumps they’ve made out of the surrounding garbage. Roller-skating has saved many children from criminality and inspired them to fight for equity, education and a decent life. KSUP has given the youth hope by simply making the streets decent.

While the World Bank is writing policies for slum upgrading programs, the children in Korogocho Slum are not sitting idle. They are strapping on their rollerskates and preparing for the weekly roller-skating session unaware of the top-down discussions. The children of Korogocho slum gather each Saturday to enjoy each other’s company, while practicing to become the best roller-skater in Korogocho.

Written by: Maria Höök, Pia Jonsson, Emma Skottke and Marlene Thelandersson Master students in Landscape architecture from SLUAlnarp, Sweden. The article is based on the publication ‘Korogocho Streetscapes – documenting the role and potentials of street upgrading in slum settings’ that the authors have written in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, 2012.

“Nairobi city”

11

The famous dala dalas...

A

few weeks before we started the Anza Issue three workshop; I read a great book with the title “Now you know” by Dough Lennox. Under the trivia section, a question read, “How do statues of men on horses tell how the rider died?” I had never imagined there was any message through these kind statues. All I knew was that Statues of horse and rider are exclusively of monarchs or great warriors and are usually found in places of honour.

As I read on, I found that a statue of a horse with all hooves on ground depicts the rider died of natural causes.

If one hoof is raised, the raider’s death came later from wounds incurred during battle, and if two hooves are in the air, the rider portrayed in the statue died on the battlefield.

There were many other sections in the book regarding things that we come across in our everyday life and yet we never take time to unravel. Some those things include the famous “dala dala”, I tried to ask some of my friends if they knew how the term Dala dala evolved but I couldn’t get the answer.

I decided to do some research to see if I can find anything about how the term Dala dala evolved, for those outside Tanzania and East Africa who don’t know the term Dala dala. Dala dala are buses which are used as the main mode of transport in Tanzania especially Dar es Salaam. In Tanzania bus services were one of the first to be privatized.

The name Dala dala came from the price of the ride, which by 1983 was 5 TZS, by that time 5 TZS was equivalent to 1 US dollar. Dala is Swahili, which means dollar. Since a dollar was equivalent to 5 TZS, dala referred 5TZS. Conductors would shout out “dala dala” along the way to try to attract passengers which means the fair is only 5TZS. In 1983, when the transport problem became critical informal buses called Dala dala came into greater use, individuals also began to use their private vehicles known as taxibubu illegally giving people rides for small fee. The passengers and drivers of these cars were liable if caught.

In 1986, three hundred buses were registered by the government bus company hence they became legal. All this was due to desperate economic situation and the existence of informal sources of transport. However, after 1986 even private transporters like owners of pickups

12

The name Dala dala came from the price of the ride, which by 1983 was 5 TZS, by that time, 5 TZS was equivalent to 1 US dollar, dala is Swahili, which means dollar.

By Kanywan S. Kanywanyi Photo by Franklin Kasumba

trucks were allowed to carry passengers by a fee if they were registered by the public transport authority and met various safety requirements.

By 1988, there were only 100 government owned buses while privately owned buses decreased to 183 due to the high agency fee which they were required to pay, by this time the city needed minimum of 750 buses to meet the needs of its residents.

By 1991, the number of Dala dalas had increased although most of them were operating without licenses. Out of 600 Dala dalas, 400 had no licenses, so the government temporarily suspended the Dala dala buses because they had put the government owned buses UDA (Usafiri Dar es Salaam) out of business. However the fact that the dala dala didn’t follow strictly any routes, certainly made them favored by passengers.

With the booming population of Dar es Salaam today, the dala dalas are now overcrowded especially during morning and evening time when people are moving to and from work.

The beauty of these dala dala buses is that they are cheap. With them you can go around the city and even further at a much cheaper cost compared to other kind of transport. And the package gets even better; you can drop off wherever you want just by saying the magic word “msaada” which in Swahili which means help.

describe Interview by Kezia Ayikoru

DAR’s URBAN

CHARACTER

Dar-es-salaam is a city of very clear duality, that means a city with a formalized part and in-formalized part. Out of this duality there is a fade section which is coming up between the informal and the formal. Very informal areas like Oyster bay are receiving a lot of informality such as Toure street, Chole road.

The re-development of these areas is also being carried out haphazardly without any proper planning. On the other side the informal areas are being formalized.

Dr. Lekule:

The second dual situation: High rise vs Low Rise.

We see what is happening in the city center, we see the eradication of History from the contemporary glass buildings and amidst this particular situation, we see very low rise buildings.. In regard to the low rise, people do not understand their value in the city.

However, now we should do the interpretation of the single storey building. If a single storey building in the city occupies a piece of land for 33 years or 60years and only one family owns it, is it valuable? Could we say we translate that into wastage? Maybe we should have 3 or 4 families should occupying that very land by having three or four storey buildings. The High rise buildings which are coming up may not have the essence of what the society needs in terms of re-development however, the society is now at a point which can be directed where we say the people can start building three to four storeys.

Context vs architecture.

It is true that some of the buildings in the city centre have very nice architectural value built with consideration of the context. They were respectful of the corners of the street, addressing both the street and a particular society. The Europeans lived in a particular area and the buildings are collapsing. However the Asians were able to build through their cultural element and therefore they could actually put a stamp of their culture on the city because building is culture.

Then we come to the African part, we look at the Swahili house, which never grew to anything but remain the same low rise building. Africans do have the Urban culture, but when we look at the built environment we have to ask ourselves what the African city looks like because as much as we do not see it, it was and is there. Most of us however do not recognize it and we do not even know whether it makes any sense to us. Therefore the other part of the African Architecture in the Urban Dar city has disappeared over time.

After Independence, politicians grabbed the modern architecture and said ‘This is where we should be going’.

However, in my opinion, this modern architecture does not serve the majority of the society.

Kezia Ayikoru: With reference to the urban character, Where do you see Dar-es-salaam in the next 20 to 30 years? What projections are there for the Dar-es-salaam?

Camilius Lekule: The first thing to consider is to create guidelines to preserve the History of the city, that is Historic architecture in the city centre considering that the city is growing very fast.

Secondly, based on the duality I have talked about, we need to create or re-create development partitions for the informal areas especially the saturated ones. We should give them a new direction using these informal areas to serve the majority in terms of rental housing and units of a particular nature, because most of these informal settlements are placed in very strategic areas. Over time they have gentrified and the value has gone up. Therefore we need to utilize this value to create suitable places for urban dwelling with cultural in-put.

The periphery areas should be re-developed to incorporate what is there already but also leave more consideration for the environment.

The city centre is very congested so we have got to shift some of the commercial activities to areas such as Mwenge, Kijitonyama , Sinza, Ubungo, Buguruni and this is a major step. Therefore a shift of these facilities will re-direct the city from having one strong core where everyone goes to but rather have people go in different directions for commercial services.

Also, transportation system should be re-directed to be more public. The need for people to travel by private means to the city centres should be reduced by 40 to 50 percent. It is a question of improving the quality of the public transport system.

We also need to make the city clean. It is time for Dares-salaam to wake up and clean the city. Sorting of waste should be done so that we can re-use or re-cycle waste material.

I saw, in the papers recently, in Temeke, a punishment is going Dr. Camilius T. Lekule to be carried out on people who Dip.BD(ARI), carelessly dump waste anywhere B.Arch(QLD), M.Arch but this can not work if the people do not know where to dump the & PhD. Copenhagen waste, especially if there is no Registered Architect space allocated for this.

Senior Lecturer at KA: If there was one thing you Ardhi University would change about Dar-esC.E.O of AFRI-ARCH salaam , what would it be ?

ASSOCIATES CL: **(laughs) Change?? I do not

13

AN Z A

People and spaces

INTERVIEW

want to be Obama, when we talk of change** . Umm….It would have to be people’s attitude : people’s attitudes towards living in the city, to make sure that it is ‘My city’ / ‘Our city’. People should change their attitudes to be responsible for the city. To do that , we must be able to understand that the cities are no longer for the Europeans but these are our cities. It is really astonishing to see that what is happening in Dares-salaam is happening in Kampala, Lusaka, Lilongwe(Malawi) and SouthAfrica. We have lawlessness where people do not actually follow the rules and regulations. Kevin Lynch said in His book, ‘‘The world has continued to study the cities of the developed countries and forgotten where the majority of population of the world lives’’.So let us organize for the people but also, let us get people organized in terms of changing their attitudes.

KA: What is Dar-es-salaam’s biggest achievement over the years? What does the city have to boast about?

CL: Over the past 30 years, we have seen the city changing very fast to accommodate the people. It might not be very official but people in Dar-es-salaam live very comfortably.

So, this is peaceful living, the essence that people can live in the city with minimum fear. So, from the political point of view, they have done a good job.

In terms of education, when you move around, you see so many primary schools, much as there is still improvement if the schools to be done but there is a good achievement of spread of education. Now, they are trying to have secondary schools at ward level.

We may not have succeeded in terms of services such as water but when you think about it, services have been well spread both in informal and formal areas. Every body uses water and everybody can get electricity.

However, the issue of more organization, better control is what we need to think about.

KA: With regard to social behaviour and character , how would you describe the people of Dar-es-salaam city?

CL: There is togetherness, a good relationship among people. For

example in the informal areas , everyone greets each other ‘Mambo’ Bor ‘Shikamoo’. Then they would ask each other about what is happening. That is the city itself. This is how they spread of good and bad information then they work together.

Look at what happens in situations of funerals everyone has to participate, no questions asked. There is closing of streets so that the people at a home can spill over to the street.

When there is a funeral at a home, it

is no longer and individual’s home but rather a communal home belonging to the society.

Also when it comes to a wedding, a home belongs to the society.

It is nowadays when we are taking funtions to reception halls around the city where people converge. This is creating nodes of convergence and landmarks in the city. So the big picture is changing because of weddings and sendoffs and this is the behaviour of the people.

KA: Finally, what major challenges do you face as an urban designer?

CL: That is a very good question and is very central to me. First of all, Urban design is not well known . It is not a profession which you can talk to people about and they understand you straight away . It is only few of us at the university who have decided to understand urban design.

I am very sorry to say that the urban planning field is very devoid of urban designing principles. They talk of

planning and urban design but it is not really urban design. They go back to the normative and functional way of seeing a city but not the urban design that we really think of that should be the quality of the city. The main challenge is to create capacity towards urban design understanding, not only Dar-es-salaam but in Tanzana: not only Tanzania but in East Africa and not only in East Africa but Africa in general.

H

ow many times have you required the services of a shoe shiner in the last month? Is shoe shining the only service offered, as the name implies,? Take a minute and observe your regular round the corner shoe shiner for a minute and you will acknowledge the multi-disciplinary services that he may offer.

A smile followed by a greeting is the first service one would get. How many times have you gone through a day without receiving a smile? They say it is in a smile that laughter may begin.

“What can I do for you?” We often go to places where such a question should be asked but unfortunately many times it isn’t. Time is wasted because initial understanding between a customer and service provider has not been made. With a shoe shiner, this isn’t the case. Many times, he will be straight to save time.

My worry is one might get too comfortable with them and tell them all of their secrets. From then on,

P olishing the streets of E ast A frica

By Anitah S. Hakika

the bridge divides. The effect he might have solely depends on the initial interaction with him. Six out of ten people would go to a shoe shiner for a simple shine of their footwear. What they always fail to anticipate is that during the waiting, they welcome the shoe shiner into their lives.

Many times, he would begin with a regular topic about life which he thinks the customer might relate to. This may continue until he finds the right topic for him to talk to you about as he performs his duties. From personal affairs to issues influencing a huge number of people in our communities, shoe shiners can create any conversation.

Michael, a civil servant makes it his daily routine to discuss headlines of his favourite newspaper with the shoe shiner opposite his office building. Not only can the shoe shiner discuss different issues with different people, he also has the opportunity of hearing their views and experiences about life. Who else is better equipped in an interesting conversation than this person?

Julius, a doctor who has been married for five years has befriended the shoe shiner on the ground floor of his apartment building. Not only does he need him to unwind whenever he argues with his wife, the shoe shiner also alerts him whenever his wife is near their house when he is with his mistress. There are times when Julius has to give the shoe shiner money to give to his mistress, when she visits him and he is unavailable.

Tumaini, a single mother of one who has just started school at a day care centre, finds the shoe shiner at the corner of the road towards her house very useful. She cannot afford to pay for a maid and therefore requests her son to stay with the shoe shiner until it is time for her to return home. Sometimes, when there is an emergency, she would request the shoe shiner to keep an eye on her house as she would have left her son alone at home.

Do you still think the world can do away with shoe shiners? Ask Themba, a sociology student who is constantly consulting a shoe shiner, whom she befriended him at Mwenge bus stand about six months ago, for research information regarding her masters’ thesis.

Since the shoe shiner cannot read or write, the only way to get information from him is to pretend to have a regular conversation with him since he possesses a very powerful tool, he has the trust of many people who use his services.

From personal affairs to issues influencing a huge number of people in our communities, shoe shiners can create any conversation.

How about to the community at large? How useful are these shoe shiners? Political leaders use their services during political campaigns and rallies to despatch information to their followers.

Even activists need the influence of shoe shiners to begin movements.

Do you still think you can pay enough for the services they are providing? I once saw a woman crying and complaining at a shoe shiner stand. She had visited the shoe shiner for him to polish her shoe and then she saw her husband with another woman in his car.

Of course she did not expecting for the shoe shiner to run round the place to help her look for her husband All she wanted was a person to listen to her.

Whether it is shoe shining, providing directions to a place, conversations with people regarding issues they encounter in life or provide a place to rest after a long walk, shoe shiners have in so many ways made life very interactive and easier to live with their brush and polish.

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

21 st CENTURY

RWANDA ReMAKING KIGALI

by Meera Sharma

A 21st century Rwanda, built by Rwandans, is a task that extends far beyond high rise towers and freshly paved roads. The country is still rebuilding philosophically and physically after a genocide that decimated 20% of the population. In 1994, over a period of 100 days, nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were brutally murdered in a state-orchestrated attempt to efface an entire populace. The genocide relied on the identity categories of Hutu and Tutsi, once peacefully coexisting, ethnically alike social groups that were strategically pitted against each other during Belgian colonial rule.

A

16

Rwandan filmmaker described those months in ’94 to me as such: “It was the apocalypse. We thought it was, at least. It rained violently every day, bodies were scattered everywhere, blood was everywhere, social order was nonexistent. How could we think otherwise?” After the genocide, Kigali was a broken city, a dead city.

The writer John Berger suggests that apocalyptic events do more than destroy they also reveal “the true nature of what has been brought to end.” When the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ended the genocide, they also revealed the sick, twisted mechanisms that allowed the genocide to happen. At the end of this apocalyptic event, this revelation also brought the concrete possibility of resurrection. Near-complete destruction made reinvention necessary, and inevitable.

And this was the fundamental challenge of the post-genocide government how to, from utter wreckage, create something alive, and something new. The architecture of everyday

View of Kigali, Rwanda Image from Flickr:http:// www.flickr.com/photos/ oledoe/264341670/lightbox/

life the social, political, and physical architecture had to be rebuilt from the ground up, on ground that had just been pulled out from beneath the country’s feet. Inseparable from building Rwandan apartment blocks and paving Rwandan roads was building a new Rwandan identity.

In 1994, at the time of the genocide, Kigali was a village a big, sprawling village but still provincial. The whole city consisted of what is today the compact city center and the predominantly Muslim quarter of Nyamirambo.

Today’s numerous outer neighborhoods and residential areas Kimironko, Kaciyru, Remera, Kacukiru were rural farmland and uncultivated bush. Then, the population was about 350,000; today, it stands around a million and is increasing rapidly.

The swell in size and scope can be largely attributed to the vast number of former Tutsis who had escaped during the war or had been living in exile in Europe or elsewhere in Africa since as far back as 1959 (when state-sponsored massacres prompted a mass exodus of Tutsis). After the genocide, they began to return to Rwanda, to a homeland that they had been actively denied, that until then had been an unreachable destination.

Because many of these returnees had spent their whole lives abroad, their connection to Rwanda was more symbolic than tangible; they didn’t have fields to return to, and they knew little about living in the country. Thus the capital city was the logical place to begin building a life in this new Rwanda.

Kigali quickly became an experiment of sorts, where the international diaspora converged with the existing population to simultaneously heal and reconstruct the nation. The urgency of moving forward from the events and aftereffects of ’94 set a fast pace for development.

But the returning and native Rwandans (and their tiny,

resource-poor country) couldn’t sustain this pace themselves.

Foreign reinforcements — international architecture, engineering, and construction firms with access to materials, infrastructure and technology — had to be called in. And they came readily, eager to invest in one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and work with the newly stable, powerful Rwandan government.

The extent to which the urban face of Kigali has transformed in the past two decades is astonishing. The attitude towards development is reminiscent of a place like Singapore, or even Dubai. In fact, Rwanda is often referred to as “the Singapore of Africa, ” and the parallel rings unnervingly true. The streets are remarkably clean, rules are implemented quickly and followed obediently, security forces blend into the background of every street, traffic jams are minimal, the strong hand of the government is capable of swift, sweeping changes to the physical as well as social landscape.

Until very recently, though, comprehensive urban planning hasn’t guided the development of Kigali.

While productive, the last decade of the city’s urban development has been largely haphazard, driven more by spontaneity and necessity than a larger vision of what the city could be. What has resulted is a city that looks modern and provincial at the same time.

The new Kigali City Tower, an impressive glass-and-steel skyscraper that curves like a sail at its peak, sits on a dusty tract of undeveloped land. The high-end housing of Gacuriro, built in a formerly rural area, still lacks basic urban amenities. And as open-air markets find themselves adjacent to gleaming banks and hotels, the contrast between extreme wealth and poverty is increasingly stark.

The master-plan

In 2009, the Rwandan government commissioned Denverbased OZ Architecture and the Singapore-based firm Surbana to design a conceptual master plan for the city of Kigali. The Kigali Master Plan is the first attempt to treat the city as a cohesive whole. The plan seeks to redesign, densify, and expand preexisting and new neighborhoods, as well as create conservation land and areas for tourism and recreation.

In the promotional video for the plan, an all-purpose British female voice guides the viewer through computergenerated animation that depicts a futuristic-looking city devoid of any telling local characteristics.

Modern skyscrapers fill the business district, markets are transformed into shimmering shopping malls, poor informal settlements are “reorganized” into modern single-family homes. The mantra: “the city of the future.” The plan is seriously ambitious, and predictably controversial.

I sat down to talk about it one afternoon with Amelie, a soft-spoken, shrewd third-year architecture student of the Faculty of Architecture and Environmental Design, (FAED) at Kigali’s most popular café chain, Bourbon Coffee. As usual, the café was bustling with well-dressed Rwandans and seemingly every NGO worker in the city.

Bourbon’s Rwandan founder modeled the café directly after Starbucks after working at the company’s Seattle headquarters; he is steadily turning Rwandan coffee into an international industry and convincing tea-inclined Rwandans to drop $4 for a mocha latté.

Bourbon is a clever experiment: take a successful model like Starbucks and adapt another culture to it. It’s also remarkably indicative, as Amelie pointed out, of how the Rwandan government is approaching urban development.

“They want to bring in foreign models and impose them here, even if they make no sense for Rwandans. They have no interest in creating new models.”

For example: in recent years the government has employed the common practice of razing slum neighborhoods in central areas of the city and moving dwellers to high-rise apartment blocks miles away from their original homes. Of course, there is some logic to this.

Makeshift homes lacking in formal utilities like plumbing, potable water, electricity, and sewage are breeding grounds for disease; in government-funded housing, residents’ quality of life could substantially improve. And in formal housing, residents are more likely to be treated like formal citizens, as opposed to faceless slum dwellers living on society’s fringes.

“But more matatu [shared taxis] or bus routes haven’t been added. So the people [relocated from the slums] are cut off. They can’t get to work, or the market, or to the places they need to go. The government doesn’t think about this,” said Amelie.

She also explained how culturally, Rwandan homes are one level, centered around a courtyard, and filled with extended family members and multiple generations.

By sharing living space that is designed to be communal, families remain deeply connected. They also live in close communion with their neighbors, and take part in communal work days and neighborhood decision-making — features of Rwandan society that have been integral to post-genocide reconciliation.

Suburban sprawl, which threatens to destroy the selfsufficient neighborhoods and fragment extended family compounds, constitutes a fundamental change in the way people live.

Amelie also told me about another new policy, which enforces the demolition of traditional housing made with mud and roof thatch. From the government’s perspective, mud houses with thatched roofs connote rural, primitive, backward Africa an image Rwanda is ardently attempting to shed. The government, and many local architects, prefer instead to construct skyscrapers, shopping malls, and housing developments out of imported, and more importantly “modern” materials.

Understandably, a mud-walled, thatched-roof shopping mall may not work. But for smaller-scale construction, these materials are renewable, cheap, and responsive to Rwanda’s climate, and can be used in tandem with imported materials in innovative ways.

“I know we’re modernizing,” said Amelie. “But there’s no need to do it so harshly, force people to abandon everything they know. There’s one idea of what modern is, and it is New York, it is Dubai, it is glass and steel, materials Rwanda doesn’t produce. They don’t believe that you can have modern and Rwandan at the same time. So the city will look so generic, it could be anywhere in the world.”

Perhaps it is a foreign-designed utopian fantasy, a Dubai-esque house of cards, a blatant affront to the urban poor, or a forward-thinking model of what is possible in 21st century Rwanda. Regardless, elements of the master plan — zoning neighborhoods into commercial or residential areas, relocating communities, restructuring transportation, building hulking new skyscrapers — are already underway.

Architecture for everyday life

Peter Rich, a South African architect whose work is driven by collaborating with communities and engaging in intense local research, recently gave a lecture entitled “Learnt in Translation” to the FAED community. Rich highlighted the ways in which local communities organize space constructing along the curves of nature, building houses that reflect the culture of the inhabitant, utilizing materials that complement rather than confront the surrounding environment.

“This is architecture,” he said, “though no architects were involved.”

Failing to recognize the importance of local knowledge, he argued, is what breeds the generic, inhumane modernism that dominates contemporary architecture, particularly in the developing world.

In a workshop that Peter Rich led with 3rd year students at FAED and a group of students from the University of Arkansas, the budding architects did extensive interviews with inhabitants of Kimisagara, a poor, under-resourced part of the city, and examined the ways in which people and communities organize space intuitively, out of necessity.

What they found was that this neighborhood, despite its poor infrastructure, derived strength from a profound sense of community. Residents knew every winding alley and backstreet, every family, every tailor shop or fruit seller or medicine man. They loved the physical closeness of the neighborhood — how everyone traversed the same routes and crossed paths in the same public gathering places. People were in constant, face-to-face contact with one another, and this was integral to everyone’s well-being.

They did express a desire for more living space, but only slightly larger. Camaraderie, and public space, was more important than privacy. The residents did want better access to basic resources like clean water, electricity, healthcare, and sanitation facilities. They also wanted better schools for their children, and houses and roads that were stronger and less susceptible to destruction by the frequent heavy rains.

What they didn’t want was a drastic change in their way of life — something that would prompt a loss of this communal, idiosyncratic, people-centered social structure that they had developed, organically, over time.

If architects were to actually enter the picture in Kimisagara, residents would want them to work with, rather than replace, what the neighborhood had already created. This kind of small-scale, community research done by the FAED students produced information that could be incredibly useful for architects working on urban housing in Rwanda.

But by nature it is slow and subjective, two characteristics that the government and local architects tend to find uninteresting. Drastic change, they argue, has its own merits.

Place-centric architecture.

The Rwandese architects who grew up and studied in the diaspora hold different views about the direction the city should be taking.

Jean-Marie Kamiya, an established Rwandan architect thinks that there is no such thing as Rwandan culture and therefore Contemporary architecture should be fully embraced in Rwanda.

However, Frederick , a half-Rwandan architect does not feel inclined to align himself with one extreme: either the local-centric architecture school or the ruthlessly modern inclined government.

Perhaps his road is the most realistic: embrace the will and energy of the government, and find clever ways to work

within the system to realize your ideas. And also, ‘‘Let go.

No matter what we do, cities are living forms. They’ll build themselves. Trying to control that is like stopping the flow of time. It’s impossible. They’ll outdo us.’’

I wondered, then, whether it was unwise or unnecessary to even consider the idea that architects, in building 21st century Rwanda, could actually shape 21st century Rwandan identity. What Frederic was saying was that this would happen anyway, regardless of what architects do.

Identity will reflect the city, and the city will reflect identity they create each other.

As Peter Rich pointed out in his lecture, everyday people are the primary architects of the places they inhabit, intuitively. People give bare buildings life, infuse them with personality and identity.

“What we can do,” he continued “is to build spaces that improve people’s lives, and encourage people to love their home, their city. But this can look like many different things.”

Of course, there is the need for balance. Local doesn’t necessarily mean only using traditional materials; “tradition” is not antithetical to the “21st century.”

Rwanda isn’t filled with ancient, monumental structures — its architectural references are subtler, embedded in people’s everyday lives, and discovering them requires a creative, considerate eye.

Local is about being site-specific – about learning from the land, and the time-tested ways in which the land has been used. Grass roofs keep houses cool; cactus fencing creates semipermeable, neighborly boundaries (and is medicinally useful). Local knowledge exists, and should be utilized; there’s no need to reinvent the wheel entirely.

Placing a high value on culture — new, old, and in flux — might be the first step in encouraging a place-centric kind of architecture.

The full article was produced through the glimpse correspondence program and first publishedin May 2012 by the online magazine, Matador network.

19

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

Nakasero Farmers’ Market

By Brenda Kaira

photo on the previous page by ALEMI TAYO in Uganda

Images by: Grace Sana & Alemi Tayo

O

ne of my favourite places in Kampala City, the capital of the Republic of Uganda is Nakasero Farmer’s Market. I like to go shopping through the stalls of the open air market that sells a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The image presented is colourful and tempting while the vendors are friendly and helpful. In Kampala, this market is fondly referred to as “Nakasero”, a name it adopted from one of Kampala City’s legendary seven hills it is built on. I say this tongue in cheek because today’s Kampala City sprawls over more than seven hills.

Nakasero Farmers’ Market, founded in 1927 is located right at the center of Kampala’s Central Business District. Nakasero Market at 85years is Kampala’s oldest market. Covering two city blocks, Nakasero Market was planned as a square (Market Square), an urban design element that is fast becoming extinct under the wave of urban renewal. It was originally planned for 60 vendors who over time have exploded to perhaps four times or more than that number. Divided into two sections; the open air market sells fresh produce and the partially enclosed market sells dried food, spices and legumes; fresh meat; crafts and household items. Nakasero Market over a period of time has grownW beyond its original boundaries to include small single storey “dukas” (lockshops)

that are arranged around it and sell hardware, sanitary ware, ceramic tiles and other household sundries. These “dukas” were not part of the original plan, but rather grew out of necessity for the shopper’s convenience and businessman’s ability to recognize and capture a viable opportunity. Among all these “dukas”, is the Capital Shoppers Complex, owned by one of Nakasero Market retail shop owners who once ran a lock shop with groceries.

Nakasero over the years has not only charmed the residents of Kampala City and the surrounding suburbs but the tourists as well.

It is has been mentioned by several tourist and travel sites and bureaus as an attraction worth experiencing. Nakasero Market’s charm lies in the diversity in merchandise and service offered at low prices to residents within the city center and in the suburbs. The rich variety of fresh fruits and vegetables sold create a kaleidoscope of irresistible colour, enhancing the experience of Kampala City.

Nakasero Market serves the surrounding posh uphill residences of Nakasero and Kololo .

Several of Kampala’s posh hotels, restaurants and people who work but live in the surround suburbs, shop from here. Nakasero Farmers’ market sells fresh fruit and vegetable, both local and imported. This benefits the local

farmer, trader and boosts the well-being of the community at large. For example one may want a fruit lunch on a particular day instead of the common fast-food diet one is so accustomed too. The fruit in the market are fresh and cheaper than what is served in the several eating places located in the city. People from all walks of life; income brackets, ethnic group and sex, patronize Nakasero Farmers’ Market. It makes shopping probable through its simple welcoming ambiance that appeals to all income groups.

Like everything else its popularity has a downside that has led to both human and vehicular congestion as well as huge amounts of piled up solid waste produced daily. Through the years weak shortsighted management has led to overcrowding of vendors, poor collection of solid waste, blocked drains, congestion of human and vehicular traffic that its appeal is more of a nuisance for the city and its users.

The terrible traffic jams experienced daily mar the appeal of Nakasero Market and its colourful variety of fresh fruits and vegetables sold. Several times there have been talks of redevelopment; the possibility of its complete removal and relocation to another place.

Carrying out this plan would change the historical landscape and urban character of Kampala City, because it can only be replaced with one of those multi-level complexes lacking architectural value and aesthetics that are taking over the city centre. After 85 years, in the international wake of urbanism, one would think that a national treasure like Nakasero Farmers’ Market would require redevelopment that seeks to conserve its historical integrity and social appeal to all residents of the city regardless of their status, race or creed. It is one place anyone can go without censure.

I would like to see a more socially, environmentally and urban conscious design for the redevelopment of Nakasero Market, other than proposing its relocation. Let’s consider the high human population as a design indicator for introducing pedestrianisation around the two blocks that make up the Market Square. The roads and parking spaces planned in the early 1900s can no longer accommodate the current vehicular population. Eliminating cars in the area will bring so many benefits; a comfortable and safe shopping environment and allow the introduction of softscape. In addition to this street furniture such as benches, waste bins, garbage collection points, lamp posts can also be included. This makes crossing from the open air market to the semi-closed section, Capital Shoppers Supermarket, Tourist Hotel, Hindu Temple, the surrounding shopping complexes and ‘dukas” safe and comfortable for the pedestrian. The area also connects to Kiyembe Lane famous for retail and wholesale shops that sell a variety of

Variety of fruits and vegetables.

Source: K Bennet

fabrics. The cars can be relegated to the next streets with more parking such as Kampala Road, Luwum Street, Snay-bin-Amir Street and Entebbe Road. This move will also promote physical exercise and general well-being.

The buildings and stalls should be renovated but kept at the single storey height making the environment human friendly. The heavy hardware and sanitary ware shops could be confined to one street that allows shared street concept, through calming traffic design. That garbage can be confined to one collection point and collected during the early or late evening hours, when there are less human and vehicular traffic. Limiting the number of vendors is reccomended for better management of current infrastructure and services.

Busy congested day at Nakasero market.

Market spaces in Uganda

Nakasero Market in the 1960’s

23

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

CITIES AS SCENES

of FOLKLORE

AND EXPRESSION

By Alex Ndibwami

24

Above: Proposed Site Layout of a section of Kampala’s CBD Above right: Sketch concept showing spatial quality.

Courtesy of Pamella Akora, Joseph Kasimbi, Goodman Kazoora and Harriet Tumusiime; Sketches by Richard Musinguzi, Uganda Martyrs University

T

here is this place in Uganda we refer to as ‘the village’, a place we travel back to over Easter, Christmas then on occasion to meet a chosen bride’s family and on a sad note, to pay tribute and lay a beloved lost one to their final rest. It is in ‘the village’ that we experience what it means to live relatively simply. Our abode is a simple dwelling within a homestead, our thirst replenished from a well/spring; a subsistence garden and a market provide us food; sustained by a modest health centre, a church/mosque, a cultural/touristic quality and lately a network of NGO based activities.

The time spent in ‘the village’ is close to our hearts simply because in its simplicity it offers us, the sanctity of what it means to stay in touch with people, and the serenity of the countryside. Now, in haste I will say we pause and quickly reflect on where we are, who we are and what we do. A considerable number of us reading this article spend more than half our time in the city or have to do business within the city. Nonetheless, the generalised depiction of a ‘village’ is also typical of a city; the only difference is the scale of things and pace at which they occur. Unfortunately, cities especially in developing countries are often associated with congestion, filth, dust and crime.

Uganda’s Capital Kampala is no exception and will be the focus of this article, suggesting solutions to how it could be transformed into a more organised, liveable and safer city; one that can showcase its rich heritage. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the population of Kampala is approximately 1.7 million and almost doubles by day simply because Kampala is a primate city, the centre of commerce and trade in Uganda. Should this discourage any possibilities of making it a friendlier place to be, one where citizenship is valued and identity a virtue?

The article will draw parallels with one particular city and contextualise some planning concepts with regard to citizen engagement, pedestrianisation, mobility and the image of a sustainable city.

With regard to citizenship, I will start with a very theoretical point of view of what it means to be a citizen. In a paper delivered at the 6th Annual Architects Symposium organised by the Uganda Society of Architects, Aaron K. K. Mukwaya of the Department of Political Sciences and Public Administration at Makerere University asserts that citizens aspire to nobility, a sense of ownership and cultured personality.

In order to facilitate this an environment that promotes participation, respects human rights, engages free thinking and a government

founded on democratic values and freedom of association is needed. While architecture delivers the development that people see, it should also seek to achieve the intangible qualities Mukwaya suggests. These qualities are what make architecture work, enabling people to respond to it. Moulding domiciles within which people can express themselves and from which people can attach meaning is inescapable, lest the identity we desire will elude us.

Architecture and Urban Design are at the centre of it all, forming both the backdrop and fabric of community and city development and ought to be weaved into the multi cultural set up of society. However, to do this successfully we also have to recognise the ongoing sense of mistrust about private and personal space at a corporate and individual level as a result of the global view on terrorism. The tendency to erect perimeter walls, install barricades and misplace security checkpoints in buildings and public spaces is now common practice.

Security generally and terrorism specifically are planning and design issues that can be addressed right from inception of a design, planning or development proposal. The current practice of mishandling citizens in the pretext of security may be the only thing that inhibits citizen engagement physically and perhaps ideologically, however the failure to address it at a planning and design level is inexcusable.

Pedestrianisation is another way of facilitating citizen engagement. Jaime Lerner an Architect and former mayor of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil hints on where part of the problem actually may be by satirically suggesting, “A car is like your mother-in-law: you have to have a good relationship with her, but she cannot command your life.” Kampala is such an unfriendly place in this regard; it is extremely difficult to find one’s way around without watching your back, lest a car or boda boda (popular name for a motorcycle used as a means of transport) knocks you down. Part of the problem is as a result of the degree of mobility in the city: how freely, safely and efficiently one can move within the city or from one part to another.

Jaime Lerner took on the problem head on by persuading a few shop owners to have their streets designated as pedestrian zones and

after seeing the increased benefits of pedestrianising that part of the city other shop owners came on board. The realisation of a very efficient bus transportation system in Curitiba perhaps also made it more enjoyable to walk.

What I like to call the image of a sustainable city has to do with how architects, planners or development consultants as innovators translate their professional roles into civic duties. These duties involve mobilising resources and personnel; and through a participatory process, advocating for better representation, more awareness, free thought, free speech, and free association. It is not an easy task, but the view that Mukwaya suggests provides some answers that can help the built environment professional refocus the noble planning and design principles that we all are familiar with into understandable, acceptable and sustainable solutions.

So how exactly can we transform Kampala into a friendlier city: one that respects the pedestrian and the environment and showcases/engages the history of its people in its fabric? First, lets acknowledge the fact that cities are inevitable, as such be more optimistic about them. Jaime Lerner suggests, “cities are not a problem, cities are a solution.” Remember, the city is comprised of diverse ethnicities and cultures that contribute to the way it is perceived. Suffice to say that the onslaught of urbanisation, globalisation and the curse that is consumerism have brought to the forefront competition between and amalgamation of different cultures. In order therefore, to help people identify with the city and to be able to devise long lasting solutions it is useful to always reflect on how people live, work, relate, think and consume.

Currently, the city is suffocated in corporate lingua and signage in the name of advertising to the extent that buildings and landscapes have become part of the corporate facade.

While the affluent CBD seems all glitzy, the less affluent downtown Kampala, and Kampala’s suburbs have to endure floods, poor garbage handling practices and congestion. This is partly a consequence of the power of consumerism as people respond to the cacophony of standardised merchandise and the misrepresentation that development is tall buildings, glass façades, the automobile, trade and encroachment on designated open spaces in the city. I believe Kampala’s image is redeemable and it will take some bold steps with far reaching impact and a ripple effect in the form of easily implementable sustainable solutions.

As was done in Curitiba, let us start by considering: greening the city by involving citizens (and corporate organisations) in planting millions of trees; solve the city’s flood problems by diverting water into lakes in newly created parks; lift some children from poverty by paying teenagers to keep the parks (and streets) clean. In

addition, we need to come up with solutions of our own.

So, say we boldly remodel the cityscape by recognising the prudence in breaking: first, the monotony in what the city offers predominantly in the way of commerce and second, its mundane character Ivan Kato, a 2012 Year II Master of Architecture student of Uganda Martyrs University focused on a solution for downtown Kampala (see figure 1). The project proposal: A New Leaf for Kampala; Redevelopment proposal for the Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium proposes the introduction of better designed socially and economically feasible recreational spaces; open spaces for public parks that sustain the eco-system; and spaces in between buildings that uplift people.

We could also go ahead to designate parts of the city as pedestrian zones. An example is a proposal (see figure 2) by the 2012 Master of Architecture I students of Uganda Martyrs University that set out to: While it is smart to offer and implement quick solutions

A New Leaf for Kampala; Redevelopment proposal for the Nakivubo War Memorial Stadium; view to the Stadium showing St. Balikuddembe Market and the new Urban Park. Courtesy of Ivan Kato, Uganda Martyrs University

to parts of the city in dire need it is prudent to ensure that each solution is part of or predictably will contribute to the bigger picture–the sustainable city. In tandem, lets dare to dream! In all this our biggest challenges remain: how to deal with the politics of planning, the land tenure system and the apathetic urban folk. It really matters who we engage and at what level we do it; a few of us have the power to think innovatively, but it also helps and perhaps is the only way to undertake a participatory process, one that listens, educates and persuades. As such, the avant-garde for an architect, a planner and a development consultant on top of being innovative ought to be a good mobiliser and advocate lest all will be in vain.

Transform the urban landscape of Kampala by recognising that Uganda consists of several ethnic groups each as diverse as the natural landscapes they hail from, and seeks to fuse these into an urban landscape. As Uganda celebrates 50 years of Independence, this proposal seeks to create a better connection between the Constitution Square and The Independence Monument, two sites that carry a part of Kampala’s history and deserve more prominence in Kampala’s urban setting. Using UMOJA, a Kiswahili word for oneness of people, as the theme for this design proposal, they have created a sequence of pedestrian-oriented streets with eateries, shops, craft markets, and cultural institutions such as a museum. A mix of activity creates transformed street scenes and convivial places as diverse as Uganda’s people and rural landscapes. (Pamela Akora, Joseph Kasimbi, Goodman Kazoora and Harriet Tumusiime, Uganda Martyrs University)

27

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

Bujumbura, a city in perpetual change Photography by Fabrice Gatore

A city of many faces, Bujumbura

By Lambert Gahungu Bujumbura has several faces with large ways marking breaks in the urban continuity like the golf area or military grounds of Musaga; It is a well-equipped center, structured, organized, with an appropriate hierarchy of channels, aired by wide avenues and public spaces.

The surburbs of the city are separated by natural breaks (stream) and major road allowances to industries, major equipment or military lands. The outskirts of the city Bujumbura are also characterized by quick development of squatter settlements on highrisk areas likely to face floods and erosion.

These neighborhoods are very compact and densely populated, with few amenities and often undersized and have very little green space for recreation.

Bujumbura and Lake Tanganyika.

Bujumbura has no competition on Lake Tanganyika: it makes up most of the main town, but its central positioning depends on complementarities with other cities: Uvira, Kalemie and Kalundu (DRC), Kigoma (Tanzania) in Dar Es Salaam connected by rail or Mpulungu-Mbala (Zambia) connected to the railway line Tazara (Tanzania-Zambia).

However, the potential of the lake is underutilized by Bujumbura.

The edges of the lake, are very nice, but are hardly developed and yet we still here statements like “Recreational areas and green spaces are very rare in Bujumbura�. The large open space dedicated to golf in the city center is not accessible to all. The area is increasingly occupied by private activities, which should not be the case. That area is now described as "collective good" because economic activities such industries are slowly extending into it.

That space ought to be treated as ecological buffer zone as well as reserved for other recreational activities.

The lack of green space is felt in the city center as in the suburbs, where the majority of land was assigned to the habitat. Needless to say, areas of high standing where population densities are much smaller than in the popular neighborhoods.

AN Z A Project

KIVUKONI FRONT URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT, Dar es Salaam

By Caleb Kimaro,Ardhi University

THE NEW BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION, NAIROBI KENYA

By Kilburn Nightingale Architects The complex brief for this major Foreign Office project required offices for the different functions of the organisation (diplomatic, commercial, consular and development) along with public reception spaces, conference rooms and exhibition spaces. Ancillary buildings comprising a restaurant and bar, pool, workshops and staff housing complement the main building to form a co-ordinated ensemble on a fine landscaped site overlooking Nairobi.

The building employs passive means of thermal control - solid stone cladding with deep window reveals and a heavy structure eliminate the need for air-conditioning in the offices.

“Through careful siting and inventive use of local materials the New British High Commission is able to take advantage of passive environmental control strategies, providing a model for responsive architecture that learns from the past with integrity and never descends into pastiche.”

— Catherine Slessor, The Architectural Review, July 1997

Won in competition: East African architecture students’ competions-2012 Proposed Urban Lounge Student project at Kivukoni Front

Won in competition: 1989 Building completed: 1997

Main Concept: To create an urban place that magnetises the entire city.

Client: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Project undertaken with executive architects in Nairobi (Hughes and Polkinghorne) Project value: c £9 million.

The Concept: Developing the marine terminal as a magnet. The two marine terminals attract transportation functions while the intermediate facilities attract recreational functions.

The objective: is to create both day and night shift of activities.

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

30

31

photo on the previous page by ALEMI TAYO in Uganda

AN Z A

LEARNING FROM...

Tracing East African footsteps in London.

By Emmanuel Gamassa The theme ‘My City’ is meant to explore how east Africans live in their native cities, however, there is no doubt that they are well spread all over the world. In representing Tanzania at the London Festival of Architecture, Anza was tasked with tracing the footsteps of east Africans in London, understanding how they made London feel like their respective native cities. Almost predictably, they have settled at different cardinal points in London as if to mimic the main east African cities. The east africans in London have not forgotten their native ways but incorporated it within the British life style.

At Milton Keynes, a Tanzanian dominated community, arrays of African style barbers shops and women salons are on display including shops selling items that are the clear indicators of unforgotten roots.

The Ugandan community has made home at Forest Gate in the North East London, the cargo shippers store provides delivery services to East Africa showing that the people back home are not forgotten. At these points people send money and other goods to relatives and friends and vise versa, hence keeping them connected. One will also wander into a store playing Ugandan music with traditional Ugandan foodstuff and Ugandan folk speaking their native dialects.

Nyamachoma, ugali, maandazi are some of the traditionally East African food found in communities where they dwell. Kenyan Africana restaurant at southall, will give you a taste of Africa with a variety of foods.

At the Africa center in Central London, Africa’s cultural diversity that is barely seen outside the continent is promoted. Here people gather for African cultural events including traditional dances, films, fashions, art and literature. People from different parts of Africa including the East Africa meet and socialize.

Embracing their own culture and yet living another lifestyle is probably what is keeping the East Africans communities together around the world.

Photos by Emmanuel Gamassa & Bahati Zongo Top:Grocery store selling East African food in London.

Bottom(Left to right):African Restaurant in Southhall, Cargo office and Streets in Southhall and Forestgate, London with East African identity.

33

The third world: Social lifestyle affecting an urban form By: Brook Abebe Urban social life style is very much integrated with the urban form in the third world. The society itself used to be the architect that plans and estimates the construction material, settlement distribution, and arrangement of building and land uses. Social lifestyle, then, could be deducted from the form they erected.

Form and space are byproducts of an active social life style. They are edges shaped based on certain functions.

Once these functions are put into consciousness of society then the creation of the spaces will be made depending on the values.

Due to that unplanned beginning, most of the settlements in the Addis Ababa are slums today. The lifestyle of the first settlers shaped the informality of the city. The unplanned streets, the over dense settlements reveal the basic lifestyle of the society. Although this could change with external influences like the introduction of technology, mix of culture and economic and political change, still the life style of the past residents is put hidden in the present urban form of the city.

Social lifestyle vs. urban form: how they shape one another 1-Forms are arranged according to certain needs.

2-Spaces are byproduct of culture, history and values.

The society shapes a place in a way that it fits its beliefs and tradition.

Especially the third world informally arranged neighborhoods must have a hidden reality on how they are formed in context to these beliefs.

3-Spaces reveal the basic lifestyle Spaces are shaped based on daily human activities and interactions.

For example, paths in slums of Addis Ababa are both public and private.

They serve as a path for passengers and daily activity such as washing and cooking.

The size and shape of the spaces could have indirect relation to the life style one has. Their arrangement could be seen as the spatial arrangement of furniture inside a residential house. The density, quantity and proximity of this furniture reflect the status, belief, thought of that family.

4-Forms are bi products of time.

In order to understand the current forms one should refer back to the development process that it has passed through. Rural settlers with rural life style founded Addis Ababa.

This means Addis was less dense, greener, agriculture based ‘city’. The transfer through time could show the process, adaptation mechanism and the reason for the change. This will give an insight for how the future should be shaped.

5-Streets and spaces are both private and public in the slum areas.

The spaces inside the neighborhoods are arranged based on the daily lifestyle of the society. Almost all of the Addis Ababa neighborhoods have half of their population dependent on the communal kitchens and toilets. These are provided near to the users residences, usually, inside the courtyards where they are easily accessible. The open spaces are also directly connected with the residences. The women in the some houses used their outdoor space for selling the Ingera (Ethiopian baked food) that they baked inside the houses. They also use the open

spaces as a Gult (small open market) to sell fruits and vegetables or for cloth washing places or social gathering. The society gathers frequently to celebrate occasions and holidays and for condolence. Spaces under linear forms usually used for taxi stop, sitting place for beggars or advertisement spaces.

Piassa, one of the slums, has different type of streets that differ in size and function. The density of cars not only depends on the size of the street but also on its accessibility and its adjacent activities. The pedestrians are also attracted to the streets because of the services on the street adjacent buildings and for transportation. The high density of pedestrians on the main streets is distributed in the neighborhoods and the taxi stations. On the rush hours the street serves larger number of both vehicles and pedestrians and on the rest of the day, the major roads serve mostly the public taxis and buses.

Conclusion Generally, urban structures and social lifestyle have an impact on one another. History dictates that today’s form is the output of the values of the past generations. In addition to this the life style of the society is shaped through the economic, social and cultural attitudes. The future urban intervention methods should hold the past and the present social values under their fabric. The future should also study the basic structure of the society and its lifestyle before any urban proposals. The spaces and form should be shaped according to the possible interaction of the society with them. This would create reality that the society will live in harmony with the urban forms.

AN Z A

INTERVIEW

Kilburn &

People and spaces

NightigalE: Building in E.A Interview by Comfort Mosha

Refer to projects page for information about Kilburn and Nightingale projects

Ben Kilburn and Richard Nightingale are two inspiring architects who have ventured and left their architectural print in East Africa. They have successfully implemented the tropical design principals into their east African projects. The ANZA team met up with them in July and got an understanding of their work in East Africa.

Comfort Mosha: Give us a brief History of your beginnings and tell us a bit about your projects.

Kilburn Nightingale: What happened is that is about 20 years ago we were shortlisted for a design competition for the new British High Commission in Nairobi, which we won and that was a big break for us. Before, we were a very small firm.

Later on we also won a competition for the British high Commission in Kampala about ten years ago which is a similar project. More recently we won a competition for the Heart Foundation at the foothills of mount Kilimanjaro in Kasese, which is a small but interesting project.

One may wonder how we can work in totally different areas of the world.

It is because we are not the kind of architects who have a perfectly preconceived idea and drop it wherever we see it fit such as in the Richard Meier sense.

We are much more involved and our process is more messy. Surprisingly, what is interesting to see is that sometimes coming from the outside, you can see what is valuable in a place and what is locally available that the local people themselves can’t see.

Another good thing is that we treat every project as if it were an international project regardless of whether it is in Kenya or wherever.

We do not have a dogmatic approach to design but rather we look at the local context to see what is going on. Though, working in one area also informs the work in a different area especially if we meet similar situations, generally we tend to start every project with a fresh approach

for example in Nairobi, we took advantage of the stone while in Kampala, we took advantage of the red brick .

CM: What is your experience with the African professionals in the building industry? How can people from developed countries for example people from Europe interact better with the African locals in building projects?

KN: We are always in the hands of our African counterparts. We work very closely with African local architects, service engineers and other professionals.

In Kampala’s case, all the working drawings were done from Uganda though the design work was done in London and the light fittings were made in Nairobi.

Much as we could send emails, use skype or pick the phone and call, when it comes to making important design decisions, you still can’t beat a good old-fashioned meeting.

Quite interestingly in this particular project, the engineer of the design team in London was a Ugandan and the engineer in Uganda was a Brit.

CM: With the projects that you have done in Africa, have you got any feedback from the locals and has it influenced them in a positive way?

KN: People have appreciated the use of locally available materials because of their cheapness.

In instances, when we use mud mortar instead of cement, we save a lot because the cement is expensive while the mud is cheap. This is a

direct and simple way to do things.

Also, people get a chance to be directly involved hence learning a lot . The materials for example are processed in local workshops.

Therefore we don’t have to wait for things to be imported. Instead we embrace the situation and trust the local people to work something out.

CM: Do you have a strategy to involve the right people because you really don’t know these people you are choosing to trust.

KN: This is part of the experimentation process .In a way, that is more possible with smaller projects, because there is less at stake and also, you do things as they happen.

However in the case of a big project like the British High Commission in Kampala, the stakeholders mainly the British Council had to first accept that it was okay to do the experimentation process with the different bricks of clay and other materials.

Therefore it is really important to us that our buildings wherever they are should enjoy our buildings.

We have noticed that in Africa, what matters most is the interaction with people as opposed to the technical drawings and bringing the drawings to life. Rather it is a process of working with people to achieve the desired results.

An Olympic State of Mind: Lessons for Engagement & Localism he recent success of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has brought a new state of mind to the capital– one that is full of optimism and a belief in the positive contribution that communities can make to the city.

As with London’s two previous turns as Olympic host city in 1908 and 1948, these were the ‘austerity games’. The capital is thought to have won the 2012 Games in large part on the

spectrum of opinions, including scepticism regarding the role and benefits of the Olympic Games and London’s ability to deliver them with success.

These Olympic narratives of austerity and collective spirit part-mirror and part-transcend the wider social, political and economic Zeitgeist associated with the economic crash of 2008 and the subsequent double dip recession.

There has been a change in attitudes and confidence in all aspects of society, manifest in a more austere approach towards spending, chiefly in national and local government.

This collective spirit and shared sense of responsibility is being promoted at a national level through the Localism Act 2011, which is designed to make the planning system more

strength of the Olympic Legacy plan, which set out a strategy for regenerating a deprived part of east London through the redevelopment of a swath of former industrial land with new homes and shops and the creation of London’s first major public park for over a century. This community focus to the Games was strengthened by the involvement of over 70,000 volunteer Games Makers from across the country, who helped to deliver events and prompted a new term – the ‘people’s games’.

The current optimism in London mirrors the reaction to the host city announcement seven years ago, but not necessarily the mood which followed that initial jubilation. Both the general public and media commentators voiced a full

democratic and effective. Local communities are encouraged to take on the management and ownership of community spaces where public funding is limited and are given a more active role in shaping their local areas through consultation and engagement and Neighbourhood Forums, through which they can develop their own spatial plans.

To date, the tenets of Localism have yet to be fully embraced by the general public, and yet the London 2012 experience has provided a successful example of a positive grassroots response to a major regeneration project, albeit an extremely high profile one, unlikely to be matched in scale and ambition for some time.

The challenge now is to harness this spirit and

T

Above: Visitors enjoying the Olympic park (copyright Allies and Morrison)

By Louise Mansfield & Alistair Macdonald Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners

AN Z A

People and spaces

article

ensure that communities’ contributions have a genuine role to play and a meaningful impact through planning and regeneration projects.

The importance of community engagement has been recognised for a number of years and communities are now familiar and comfortable with being asked for their input and opinion. However, it has proved harder to deliver regeneration and development schemes during the economic downturn and communities are beginning to grow frustrated at the lack of action following their contribution.

It is this challenging economic environment which creates potentially competing priorities for the new planning system. Whilst optimism regarding the Olympics and community matters has increased, confidence in the economy has understandably dropped dramatically.

In part as a result of the recession, the controls of the redesigned planning system have been pared back to

prevent them from hindering the construction industry, which could play a key role in kickstarting the economy.

These lighter controls naturally have less clout in enforcing high levels of architecture and urban design quality and in securing public benefits – just the type of things that local communities are likely to ask for through their new found voice.

Meanwhile, what next for the Olympic Park, due to be relaunched in 2013 as Queen Elizabath Olympic Park?

The London Legacy Development Corporation intends to nurture the optimism of the Games through a programme of events and meanwhile uses whilst other areas are redeveloped or landscaped in line with the Legacy Masterplan. This would maintain people’s connection with the park and help to strengthen the community involvement that has been central to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and has also been placed at the heart of the country’s new planning system.

EPILOGUE...

By Kezia Ayikoru

‘My city’ should mean the city of not only the elite and privileged but also the lowest person.

Our city should be able to serve the least person in the society. Does the majority live in a comfortable place? Do they travel easily? What do they do during the day and even during the night? Generally, what do they do in the city?

We should direct our efforts towards helping the majority of the city dwellers. We should direct the resources we have to serve the city dwellers more especially the young ones.

There is a Swahili saying which refers to a house as ‘Mji Wangu’ meaning ‘my city’.

38

Each and every person in the city also should consider their homes as ‘their cities’. So everyone should take care of their home and it’s surroundings as this is ‘My City’. And when this

concept is multiplied, then this can become ‘Our City’. In other words, the ordinary man should be at the center of ‘My City’.

Unfortunately we are still following planning principles that bring up segregation such as low density/high density, high class/low class. We should find a way to make those differences serve the society as opposed to demolishing the society.

We should contribute more to the society.

We need to understand how the people want to live, as opposed to telling them how to live.

Of course, this is not to say that we should not provide better living conditions but rather that we should understand societal values before planning for the cities. All in all, we need to look for better ways to serve the majority as opposed to thinking of things, which will benefit the upper half of our society mostly.

This will hopefully lead to better East African Cities.

Initiation of ANZA 3Rd issue FoundingmembersofAnzaMagazine&Camenzind

AUTHORS

Anitah S Hakika Brenda Kaira Bahati Zongo Kanywan S Kanywanyi Alex Ndibwami Nicholas Calvin Meera Sharma Gahungu Lambert Kezia Ayikoru Comfort Mosha Brook Abebe Maria Hook, Jonsson P, Skotte, E.. & Thelandersson M Emmanuel Gamassa

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: INDIVIDUALS LaurenMcKirdy,VickyRichardson,LaurenMcKirdy,DorotaDrajewicz,WilliamDavis,TamaraHorbacka, Jo Bacon, Kaisi Kalambo, Emilie Lemons, Romy Berlin, Hugh Pearman, Patrick Myles, Katie Richardson, Melanie Abrahams, Ben Kilburn, Richard Nightingale, Jeremy Cross, Ruth Talbot, Hassan Wanini Ali- African Restaurant, Camenzind

Advisory Board:

Dr Huba Nguluma, Gunter Klix, Mwanzo Millinga, Peter Stocker

Partners

Allies and Morrison Architects Riba Journal 100% Design The Africa Centre

Sponsors

British Council-London Printing by Pureprint Group Limited, London

Anza #4: From the Ground Up!

Possible guiding questions may include:

Specifications and contact:

The art of construction implies a formation of the mind (ideas and memories), the putting together of parts (objects and buildings), and the structure of language (discourse).

The next issue of ANZA is all about exploring construction as experienced and done from an east africans’ point of view.

Every part of the world has a special and unique way of dealing with buildings from the ground breaking to completion. Its all about the materials, the techniques, It involves discovery of construction as carried out in both the rural and urban areas.

We also explore the possibility of architecture without architects today commonly known as “fundis”.

What influences the construction methods of East Africa?

What are those materials that should be used in East Africa and why should that be the case?

What is new technology or method of construction in East Africa? Does it fit into the context? What is its impact on the construction?

They say old habits die hard. Are we still using the methods and merely manipulating the techniques in new ways?

A 200-word abstract will be required by 31st January 2012 Full articles, no longer than 1500 words will be required by 28th February 2013. (Please include photos and illustrations where necessary).

Text should be saved as Microsoft word or RTF format, while accompanying images should be sent as TIFF with a resolution of atleast 300dpi. Figures should be numbered in the text. Image captions and credits should be included in the submission.

It is the responsibility of the author to secure permissions for image use for both print and electronic publication and to pay any reproduction fees. A brief author bio (2 sentences)may accompany the text.

Language: English.

All contributions and enquiries should be sent by email to: info@anzastart.com www.anzastart.com

Call for contributions Anza invites you to write interesting and well-illustrated articles on innovative construction techniques from within and around east Africa.

Contributors are required to carry out an investigation of materials, processes and the very idea of building in East Africa. Feel free to also recommend interesting already done projects and tell us why it is so unique in terms of construction techniques.

Type of Contributions:

Anza is looking for a wide range of contributions to this extensive and pioneering issue, texts as well as images (such as photographs, sketches, artistic impressions, plans, instructions etc.) Anza is not looking for scientific papers but for articles that are readable for a large audience which demonstrate the highest standards with regards to content while remaining enjoyable to read.

from the ground up! anza #4