Questioning the Invented Traditions in Architectural Education in East Africa

This chapter looks into the historic and taken for granted traditions of contemporary architectural education that emerge from embedded ontological and epistemological positions. These influence teaching and learning in architectural education in many parts of the world, but are rarely questioned as they are an inherent part of the culture of architectural education, where derived from European traditions. For much of East Africa, seven decades after the first post-independence architecture school was established, two things are evident: first, the approach to architectural education is still tied to its historic origins, and second, it is largely undertaken as a top-down approach, with students largely perceived as empty vessels, to be filled with pre-determined knowledge, reinforcing a hegemonic approach reminiscent of colonial education. Interrogating these invented traditions provides scope to rethink architectural education in this context, taking bold alternative approaches that could reframe architectural education across the region