The Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in Yumbe, Uganda is home to more than 250,000 displaced people, making it one of the world’s largest resettlement and refugee camps for Southern Sudanese people fleeing war. The urban fabric of this area is unique, as the Ugandan government provides a singular plot for development to refugees, where traditional wattle and dob houses have taken precedence. This is important as the key vernacular architecture is not lost in the displacement of people and instead continues to form one of the key identities of the key peoples. This architecture adds to the existing urban infrastructure of the settlement, which includes villages, markets, hospitals, and notably in 2022, a Performing Arts Centre. For the construction of this centre, we partnered with architecture studios Hassell and Localworks to design a landscape that addresses food security, shelter, and community engagement.
As the settlement evolves into more of an urban development, farming and water management are of important interest. Our landscape design seeks to address this, specifically how to make these considerations in dry semi-arid conditions. We used half moons to capture stormwater flow and planted a food forest to show how diversity outside of monocrop culture actually ensures food security. Mixed cropping and layering maximizes crop production. To also address biodiversity, the landscape includes green buffers within semi-arid tree species.
The Centre itself is built from locally-sourced, hand-compressed earth bricks, with a corrugated metal and polycarbonate roof that doubles as a funnel for rainwater. The usable gathering spaces adjacent to the building are planted with guava orchards to amplify shade, and traditional wooden benches are placed for gathering.
Landscape Architecture: The Landscape Studio
Architects: Hassell, LocalWorks
Consultants: Arup
Project location: Yumbe, Uganda
Year completed: 2022
Photo credits: Mutua Matheka, courtesy of to.org
