Uganda has just 285 practising architects serving a population of roughly 50 million people, about one practising architect for every 175,000 Ugandans, according to figures presented by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
The Board says the figure is a professional gap that should force a broader national conversation about who designs, regulates and ultimately shapes the country’s rapidly urbanising built environment.
Verna Mbabazi, a principal architect at Evolution Edge and an official of the Architects Registration Board, says the regulator currently has 411 architects on its register, but only 285 are practising.
USA President Kennedy Amunsimire in (white center), Verna Mbabazi of ARB and Kamal Kupur of Mapei during a press conference on Wednesay
The numbers become more striking when placed against the region
Kenya had 2,151 registered architects by 2024, according to data from the Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors of Kenya (BORAQS), while Rwanda’s architects’ professional body reported more than 200 members around 2025–26.
Tanzania’s available professional-register data indicate about 693 architects in 2026, although Tanzania’s regulatory system and classification of architectural professionals differ from Uganda’s.
Using recent population estimates, those figures translate roughly to one registered architect for every 26,000 people in Kenya, 70,000 in Rwanda and 97,000 in Tanzania, compared with approximately one practising architect for every 175,000 Ugandans.
Uganda’s figure cited by Mbabazi is for practising architects, while the Kenyan and Tanzanian figures include broader registered populations, and Rwanda’s available figure is a membership count. They nevertheless expose the scale of Uganda’s professional-capacity challenge.
Mbabazi’s question is therefore bigger than the size of the profession. “What spaces are we creating as Ugandans? What spaces are we destroying?”
That question goes to the heart of a country experiencing rapid urbanisation, growing construction activity and increasing pressure on land in Kampala and other urban centres.
It also comes at a moment when the future of Constitution Square, one of Kampala’s prominent public green spaces, has become a national debate over development, heritage, environmental value and the competing demands of a growing city.
The architects’ argument is that Uganda cannot afford to treat architecture as a luxury service concerned principally with producing drawings.
It is, they say, part of the infrastructure through which the country determines how people live, move, work, trade and interact.
A profession too small for the scale of the challenge?
Uganda’s official 2025 Architects Registration Board register confirms that registered architects with valid practising certificates are the professionals authorised to undertake architectural design, prepare building plans and supervise construction works.
The Board also warns against using unqualified persons for design and supervision.
But the gap between the number of people who hold professional registration and those actively practising raises a fundamental question of how much of Uganda’s construction and urban development can realistically receive sustained professional architectural input?
Mbabazi’s figure of 285 practising architects suggests that the answer is potentially far less than the country’s construction ambitions might require.
An architect may be involved in site planning, design, building approvals, construction supervision, contract administration, materials verification, environmental considerations and the eventual performance of a building.
When the number of professionals is limited, access to those services becomes a question of public policy rather than merely professional economics.
It can affect the quality of housing, schools, health facilities, offices, commercial buildings and public infrastructure.
And it raises another question: what happens to communities that cannot afford or cannot access professional architectural services?
The East African comparison
The EAC now comprises eight Partner States; Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with an estimated population of 331.1 million and more than 30 percent of the population living in urban areas, according to the Community.
Architecture is already recognised as a regional professional service under the EAC integration framework.
The EAC’s services-trade strategy says Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have liberalised their markets for architectural services, subject to national registration requirements. It also records a 2011 Mutual Recognition Agreement involving Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, intended to facilitate recognition of architectural qualifications and professional mobility.
The agreement is significant because it means Uganda’s architectural capacity cannot be viewed entirely within its national borders.
An architect qualified in one participating Partner State may potentially seek recognition to practise in another, subject to national procedures and regulatory requirements.
The EAC says the Common Market Protocol is intended to support the free movement of labour and services and mutual recognition of professional qualifications.
That creates both an opportunity and a pressure point for Uganda. A small domestic professional pool can potentially be supplemented through regional mobility.
But it also means Ugandan professionals operate within an increasingly competitive East African market where countries with larger pools of architects can supply expertise across borders.
Approximate comparison using different national registration categories and recent population estimates; it should not be treated as a harmonised EAC statistical series. Kenya’s 2,151 figure is reported from BORAQS data, while Tanzania’s 693 figure comes from a 2026 register count compiled from the regulator’s online records. Rwanda’s figure is reported as a professional membership count.
Kenya’s 2024 cumulative BORAQS data put registered architects at 2,151, up from 1,869 in 2021.
Uganda’s 285 practising architects therefore represent a much smaller professional pool despite the two countries having broadly comparable population scales.
That does not automatically mean Kenya’s built environment is better planned or that Uganda should replicate Kenya’s model. But it does demonstrate the scale of the human-resource challenge Uganda faces if it wants professional architecture to become a routine part of urban development.
East Africa is already trying to make professionals more mobile. The regional dimension could become increasingly important as EAC integration deepens.
The Community’s architecture MRA was designed to establish conditions under which architects from participating Partner States can have their qualifications recognised and become eligible to practise in other participating countries. It also provides for cooperation around education and professional standards.
For Uganda, the implication is two-sided. Its architects gain access to a larger market.
At the same time, the Ugandan market becomes more accessible to qualified professionals from elsewhere in the region.
The challenge, therefore, is not simply to produce more architects but to ensure that Uganda’s professional education, regulation and working environment enable its architects to compete and contribute effectively across borders.
Architecture cannot be separated from urban planning
Mbabazi says the low number of architects should also force society to reconsider what it expects architects to do. Architecture, she argues, is not simply the design of individual buildings.
Architects can contribute to the design of settlements, neighbourhoods, open spaces and the relationship between buildings.
That distinction becomes crucial in Kampala. A city is not merely the sum of its buildings.
The location of buildings determines how people move. The relationship between roads and buildings affects congestion. Drainage and impermeable surfaces affect flooding. Green spaces affect environmental quality. Building density influences infrastructure demand. Public spaces affect social interaction.
A building can therefore be technically sound and still contribute to a poorly functioning city if it is considered independently of its surroundings.
That is why Mbabazi describes architecture as an expression of society
“Architecture is not the preserve of architects.” The statement places responsibility beyond the profession.
Developers decide what gets built. Government determines policy and public investment. Parliament creates the legal framework. Local authorities approve development. Engineers and planners contribute specialist expertise. Contractors construct. Financiers determine what projects can proceed. Communities live with the consequences.
The architect is one actor within that system. Constitution Square becomes a test of that system
That broader understanding of architecture gives the Constitution Square debate greater significance.
The proposal to develop part of the square has generated questions over commercial development, public space, environmental value and the city’s long-term planning needs.
Government has said the proposal is still being studied rather than approved.
For architects, Amunsimiire says, the issue illustrates why urban decisions should not be approached simply as questions of land value or development potential.
“Green spaces are part and parcel of the identity of an urban area. They are not arrived at by chance.”
He argues that Constitution Square provides environmental relief in a heavily built-up part of Kampala and could provide an emergency assembly point.
Uganda’s Physical Planning Act provides for planned urban development and recognises open spaces and environmental areas as components of physical planning.
Constitution Square also has heritage significance: it was declared a protected object under Uganda’s Historical Monuments framework in 2007.
That makes its future a multi-dimensional planning question. The issue is not simply whether Kampala needs more commercial space.
It is whether the city can increase density and economic activity while retaining public spaces that provide environmental, civic, cultural and emergency functions.
Density is coming, but what kind?
Amunsimiire argues that the architects do not oppose urban density but notes that the population growth and increasing land costs make denser urban development increasingly necessary.
The question, therefore, is not necessarily development versus green space. It is whether Uganda can achieve well-planned density.
A city that pushes development inward can reduce some forms of urban sprawl and travel distances.
But density without adequate transport, drainage, water, sanitation, public spaces and social infrastructure can simply concentrate problems.
This is where the shortage of professional capacity becomes important.
Uganda’s architects say the problem begins before construction. Amunsimiire says architects are also being misunderstood because their work is often reduced to the drawing that receives a local-authority approval.
He argues that the profession’s real value lies in the process.
That includes choosing a site, analysing its characteristics, developing alternative concepts, coordinating other professionals, selecting appropriate materials, supervising construction and ensuring that what is built reflects the approved design.
The Architects Registration Board’s own public guidance states that the design, preparation of building plans and supervision of construction works fall within the responsibilities of registered architects holding valid practising certificates.
But Verna Mbabazi adds an important boundary. The architect should not automatically be blamed for every construction defect.
“The key role of an architect, particularly in contract administration, is to administer the contract between the client and the contractor.”
The contractor remains responsible for fulfilling contractual specifications, while the architect checks compliance.
That distinction is important in a construction industry where clients and builders sometimes operate without formal contracts.
Without clear contractual responsibilities, disputes over defective materials, workmanship, delays and costs can become difficult to resolve.
The profession’s shortage also intersects with the public perception that architects are too expensive.
Amunsimiire rejects that perception. “The idea that architects are inherently expensive is a myth.”
His argument is that the cost of professional advice should be assessed against the cost of poor design and defective construction.
A cheap design that results in structural problems, alterations, delays or premature deterioration may ultimately cost more than professional services would have cost at the beginning.
But the affordability challenge remains real
If Uganda has only 285 practising architects, and those professionals must serve a rapidly growing population, professional services are unlikely to reach every household in the same manner.
Mbabazi therefore proposes expanding architectural capacity within the government. Many ministries and cities have architects, she says, but numerous municipalities and districts lack architects within their public-service structures.
That could become an important policy intervention, bringing professional capacity closer to local governments where planning and development decisions increasingly take place.
The professional shortage is occurring alongside an attempt to update the regulatory framework.
Mbabazi says the Architects Registration Act, enacted in 1996, is undergoing an amendment process after a regulatory impact assessment.
The existing law established the Architects Registration Board and provides for the registration and regulation of architects.
But the profession has changed significantly since 1996.
Architectural assistants, interior designers, landscape architects, environmental specialists, digital-design professionals and other specialists now contribute to the built environment.
Mbabazi argues that future regulation should better reflect that ecosystem. The issue is not simply whether more people should be registered.
It is whether regulation can keep pace with a profession increasingly organised around multidisciplinary teams.
Amunsimiire identifies public procurement as another area where Uganda could make greater use of architectural expertise. He advocates for properly regulated design competitions for major public projects.
His argument is that architecture is inherently creative and that procurement processes designed principally around price can struggle to capture the value of design quality.
“It would no longer simply be a question of who the lowest financial bidder is.” The proposal would have to operate within Uganda’s public-procurement laws and safeguards.
A poorly designed public building can impose costs on taxpayers for decades through inefficient maintenance, energy use, overcrowding and future modifications.
A well-designed building can potentially reduce some of those costs while improving the experience of citizens who use it.
AI adds another layer to the capacity debate
Technology is simultaneously changing the profession.
Pacific Nakure, a pre-sales specialist at Elite Computers, says digital tools are becoming increasingly important in architecture and construction, with AI capable of reducing repetitive work and allowing professionals to concentrate more on creativity and problem-solving.
Amunsimiire similarly sees AI as an instrument rather than a replacement for professional judgement.
“It is a tool. It is not an end in itself.”
Mbabazi, however, asks the accountability question that may become more important as AI-generated designs proliferate:
“The question is who is going to check?”
That question is particularly relevant in architecture because errors are not merely digital errors. They can become physical structures.
An AI-generated design may look convincing on a screen while failing to account adequately for site conditions, materials, local regulations, climate, construction methods or the needs of the people who will occupy the building.
The technology can therefore increase productivity while simultaneously increasing the importance of professional verification.
The regional competition is also a regional opportunity. The shortage of architects presents Uganda with another strategic choice.
The EAC Common Market is intended to facilitate movement of professionals, while the architectural MRA provides a mechanism for recognition among participating Partner States.
Uganda has expanded architectural education over the past three decades, and Amunsimiire points to the growth of university-level training as one of the profession’s major achievements.
But training more graduates does not automatically produce more practising architects.
The transition from education to professional registration and sustainable practice requires experience, mentorship, employment, access to projects and a functioning market.
The next 60 years may be about more than buildings
The debate comes as the Uganda Society of Architects celebrates 60 years, while the Architects Registration Board marks 30 years since its establishment.
The two institutions are due to hold a joint symposium on October 2 at Kabira Country Club in Kampala under the theme: “USA at 60 Years and ARB at 30 Years: Reflecting on the Past Achievements, Seizing Today’s Opportunities and Addressing the Future.”
The timing is significant. Uganda is urbanising. Kampala is under pressure. Construction is expanding. Climate risks are intensifying. Public land is becoming more valuable. AI is entering professional practice. East African professional markets are becoming more integrated.
All of those forces converge in architecture.
And the profession’s own figures raise an uncomfortable question.
If Uganda has only 285 practising architects for tens of millions of people, who is shaping the places where the majority of Ugandans will live?
It is a question for the government, Parliament, local authorities, developers, investors, engineers, planners, communities and citizens.
Because the shortage of architects is ultimately not only a shortage of professionals. It is a question of capacity; accountability and the quality of the physical legacy Uganda is creating for the next generation.
And as the Constitution Square debate demonstrates, the decisions made today will determine not merely what Kampala looks like tomorrow, but how the city functions, what it remembers and what it leaves behind.
