Architect Kamulegeya Younus Tamale is the Managing Director of Kamulegeya & Associates. He attended the University of Nairobi from 1972-1976 where he attained a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies. In 1978, he started working with Uganda Posts and Telecommunication Cooperation, first as an architect, and was later promoted to Chief –Architect in the Department of Building Construction. In 1984, six years later after the disbandment of the Department of Building Construction, Architect Kamulegeya left the Cooperation to work with M/S Kaddu & Associates, a leading Architectural firm before starting his own company, Kamulegeya & Associates. His company was registered in 1984, but started operating in 1985 and still goes strong up to date.
Architect Kamulegeya has enjoyed the role of project manager on many of his office projects and he feels it has proved to be part of his life and in which upgrading is very vital.
Professional Experience.
He is the principle Architect and Managing Director of KAMULEGEYA & ASSOCIATES, in partnership with Architect, Mubarak Silim. With over 30 years of Architectural and planning experience, his dedication has seen him commit and complete several projects that include; Auditor Generals’ office, ( still under construction), Greenland towers, Cancer ward for Uganda Cancer Institute at Mulago hospital, Commercial center at Rweza Entebbe road, Kabuli hospital ward, radiotherapy center at Mulago hospital, 22 fish markets for fish development all over Kampala City, and Forestry Resources Research Headquarters at Kifu Mukono for National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO.)
His office works, in association with Arabic Consultating Engineers in Egypt, an international firm who designed and supervised the rehabilitation of Nakivubo channel in Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA).
Professional affiliations
Architect Kamulegeya is an active member of Uganda Society of Architects, and a certified member of the public procurement and disposals of the public assets and authority (PPDU), as well as registered with Architects Registrations Board (ARB).
Philosophy
He believes in having good work ethics and conduct, sticking to rules and regulations of the architect governing body, the architects registration board,( ARB), pay your dues and taxes as demanded , and deliverance of quality work to maintain good profession reputation. To be assertive, and always on the lookout to get jobs both locally and internationally. Newspapers are the best source of  work opportunities.
Architectural challenges in the construction industry
Hoax architects have partly affected the architect association and this has led to loss of lives, time and money. A number of semi or non-qualified persons in the construction industry have been assigned to projects of which standard they cannot meet: starting from the architects, project engineers and contractors, leading to sub standard projects. The number of buildings collapsing in the country and killing or causing permanent damages to people is partly because some clients prefer cheap input as opposed to quality, with the aim to cut costs. This in the end turns out to be more expensive than hiring qualified persons, because the building will have to be started all over again once it has collapsed.
He encourages clients to employ qualified, registered persons to undertake design, and supervision of any project instead of going to unqualified people for both public safety and accident avoidance. He singles out one of their most successful project office of the Auditor General where the most recent technique of soil nailing was applied during excavation for the three levels of the basement without any soil collapse.
Social responsibilities
Architect Kamulegeya believes that architecture is all about environmental engineering and how the site can properly be used in terms of cost and environmental effectiveness. In order to minimize these adverse environmental effects, he encourages clients to contract environmental consultancy firms to conduct the environmental impact assessment that a project will have on the environment, consisting of the environmental, social and economic impact before proceeding with it. In his experience, he also advises clients to put emphasis on creating space outside the obvious, especially by excavating under ground to create more space instead of cutting down trees for car parking services.
He also practices the utilization of cut down trees where there is no any other alternative and gets the wood preserved for other construction elements such as doors or any other wood needed in construction.
As a senior architect with years of experience and accumulation of professional skills, Mr. Kamulegaya prefers to provide his architectural knowledge on an intact land so he can implement or plan the project design while considering the importance of nature preservation. However, sometime it gets overwhelming when a client approaches him for architectural services and takes him to a site that has already been cleared with all the trees cut down and leveling already done.
Architect Kamulegeya is very optimistic about the Architectural industry in Uganda and with the ever-growing construction industry, he believes the Architectural industry is getting better.
