Creative Centre

Context

Participatory Design Workshop and Renovation of Ubuchange's Creative Centre

Location

Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, Uganda

Year

2026

With

Ubuchange & Everyplace & Ntinda Espoir

Materials

The project explores the transformation of UBUCHANGE’s Creative Centre through a participatory design process, with the aim of creating a space that reflects the experiences, identity, and aspirations of the refugee women who use it. A participatory workshop invited the women to discuss what beauty means to them and how they would like the centre to look, feel, and function. The discussions focused on space, identity, materials, and everyday needs. Language and the banana emerged as important representations of identity, while the women highlighted the need for improved safety, renovation, shaded areas, more space for children, and a more welcoming environment. The workshop findings form the basis for a series of architectural and spatial interventions, including a mural, garden space, and roof structure covering the exterior area. With virtually no budget available for the transformation, the project places particular emphasis on locally available and low-cost materials and simple, accessible construction approaches. Plants, soil, stone, and other materials found within the settlement are considered as resources for shaping the garden and broader spatial interventions, while existing conditions and available materials are treated as starting points for the design. The project investigates how participatory architecture can respond to the realities of displacement and limited resources. Through small-scale interventions and the use of locally available materials, the design seeks to transform an existing learning centre into a place that feels more welcoming, familiar, and connected to the women and their community.