This project starts from a simple premise: Kigali's wetlands are not leftover space. They are part of the city, and they should be designed as such. The brief was to address the ecological, social, and urban pressures on a wetland site in Kacyiru, and to propose architecture that responds to all three at once.
The work began with analysis at city, neighbourhood, and site scale, reading the ecological conditions and the gaps in the surrounding urban fabric. From that, a master plan was developed around green networks, water management systems, and pedestrian movement, with housing, mixed-use buildings, and public amenities positioned within that framework.
The architectural intervention is a 1,300-square-metre mixed-use building with a green roof, solar panels, and a wastewater management system. The programme includes residential units (studio, 1-bed, 2-bed, and 3-bed), shops, a gym, offices, and coworking space. Children's playgrounds, landscaped gardens, and open recreational areas are woven into the ground level.
The project is designed to meet LEED and BREEAM standards. More broadly, it argues that ecological design and urban life are not in tension: good infrastructure can do both.
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