An Investigation into the Potential of Architects’ Contribution to Furniture Design in Uganda

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate how architects in Uganda can contribute to the enhancement of the quality of furniture produced in Uganda. The objectives of the study were to investigate the relevance of architects in the field of furniture design and to find out the extent of architects’ involvement in furniture design and production in Uganda. Data was obtained from literature, interviews with architects, furniture manufacturers and carpenters. The study revealed that furniture makers in Uganda obtain designs from catalogues of furniture manufacturers in Asia like China. It was found that some manufacturers have designers some of whom are carpenters. The researchers investigated architects’ perception of furniture design in relation to their other architectural responsibilities and found that architects agreed that furniture is part and parcel of architecture. Architects also expressed willingness to design furniture for projects because they understand that furniture is intrinsic to architecture. The level of involvement of architects in furniture design is however limited by challenges which are contractual and economical among others. The research concluded that there are design gaps in the furniture industry because the responsibility of designing furniture is relinquished to people who have no knowledge of design principles, resulting in repetition of the same design by different producers and consequent lack of variety on the furniture market. The research also concluded that architects have the potential to make revolutionary contributions to the industry through collaborating with furniture producers.

Keywords: Quality, Furniture, Design, Production, Architects, Uganda.