The year 2022 has been a successful one for the Uganda Society of Architects (USA) as far as achieving its goals is concerned.
The USA brings together all professional architects in the country, with one of their aims being to organise and unite architects in Uganda and to foster and strengthen friendly, intellectual, artistic, cultural, educational and scientific ties among architects and the architectural fraternity.
According to the USA president, Arch. Dr. Emmanuel Ssinabulya, this year has been a busy season for the society, with several activities being conducted.
Among these activities, he highlights their first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sports gala held on June 18, 2022, where different professionals in the built industry gathered to fundraise for a children's skilling project in Bulimu village, Kyampisi Mukono district.
"The project is a safe haven for children as well as has space where the activities to skill the children after school activities can be conducted. This CSR project is estimated to cost Shs200 million," Ssinabulya says.
Furthermore, he noted that the society held several Professional Continuous Development seminars throughout the year.
These seminars, according to him, were aimed at ensuring that the profession is upholding society's goal of fostering growth in members and the profession.
Ssinabulya congratulated all graduate architects who sat and passed this year's professional exams.
"I welcome them to the other side of the profession. We continue to encourage those that did not make it this time to try next year and keep the spirit of professional growth active," he noted.
Also worth noting is that the society got representatives elected to international and regional engagements, including Andrew Amara, who was elected Chair Communications Board of the Commonwealth Association of Architects and Ssinabulya, who was elected First Vice President of the East African Institute of Architects.
Shaping Uganda's built environment
According to the society, this year, they have successfully surveyed the contemporary condition of the country's built environment.
This, according to the society, is evidenced by several innovative build solutions that have been established in the sector.
One of their key innovative highlights is the Next Media Park, an 11-floor skyscraper launched in September.
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The constructed media park provides space, indoor and outdoor, for working, video and audio recording, conferencing, performing, museum, entertainment, onsite food and beverages in their 24-hour cafeteria, gyming, gaming, meditating & praying.
According to the society, the architects that undertook the construction of the Next Media Park delivered a great architectural performance due to its performance platform, which can be viewed as far as 3km away.
They say the Park was perfectly built to satisfy the client's requirements, including building a place of many beautiful places.
"To design a building(s) where each square meter was an opportunity for a set, where any of their cameras would capture a beautiful background (both active and passive)- a place of many beautiful spaces," the society states.
The society adds that due to a high millennial (and generation-z) demographic within their staffing, the client wanted an environment with lots of variety to sustain and/ or retain this fluid demographic, something they say was perfectly delivered on.
Next Media Park is home to 10 of Next Media's 11 brands: NBS, Next Radio, Next Com, Sanyuka TV, Sanyuka Prime, Nile Post, HillCom, Afro Mobile, Next Production and NBS Sport.
