DASUDA

Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa

Integrated urban development and landscape design

National Teachers College, Mubende

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National Teachers College, Mubende

National Teachers College, Mubende

Location: Mubende, Uganda
Project type: Renovation and expansion of school campus
Year: 2018-2022
Client: Ministry of Education and Sport, Enabel
Consortium partners: BKVV, Ubuntu, VE-R

Award: ‘Popular Choice Winner’ Architizer A+ Awards 2022

The education campuses in the Ugandan towns of Kaliro and Mubende have undergone major renovation and expansion with the addition of about eight new buildings. Both campus projects are part of a national programme to improve education in Uganda by training a new generation of teachers. Besides educational facilities, also good and healthy housing, leisure activities, nutritious food and natural hygiene are part of this ambition. Offering students and teachers this broad perspective, inside and outside the classroom, creates a culture with natural engagement and balance with the living environment. Besides utilizing facilities, the project is based on a vision of ‘living the example’. The careful integration of the new buildings and the simple but well-thought-out manner of construction gives space to students and teachers and depicts the idea well of the national education programme for Uganda.

This sustainable, holistic vision was the starting point for the renovation and new construction at both locations. Existing trees and planting, working routes and rituals were integrated into the master plan for both. Wherever possible, we made existing qualities visible and strengthened them. Our guiding principles were the old cultural and physical characteristics of the site and current uses, combined with adding the most logical interventations.

The Mubende site for the teachers college was already strongly organized by the central lane. By further enhancing this to become the spine of all activity and connector of the existing renovated buildings and the new ones, the development uses the green quality of the site to its best. The buildings, existing and new, are all naturally ventilated and cooled. Precisely oriented ‘zigzag’ facades minimise the incidence of direct sunlight and heat. Wherever possible, the buildings have been constructed with the help of local craftsmen from local materials such as earth bricks and bamboo. At the Mubende site the new Resource Centre is the most outspoken building with indoor study facilities, transitional spaces under the large roof and it forms the backdrop of the central field in front as outdoor space.

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OTP OMUTIMA – Redevelopment of the Old Taxi Park

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OTP OMUTIMA – Redevelopment of the Old Taxi Park

OTP OMUTIMA – Redevelopment of the Old Taxi Park

Location: Kampala, Uganda
Project type:
Year: 2020-2023
Client: KCCA, Invest International (funder)
Consortium partners: VE-R, MOVE Mobility, Rebel group, BKVV, Movares Prome Consult

OTP has been the place of arrival for passengers coming to visit, trade, shop or sell at the numerous shops, market places and arcades around. The character of this place and the value attached to it, make clear the task to sustain OTP as the most important place in the Downtown area and to make a strong spatial and functional plan for the site. Central to the concept of this plan are the symbiotic character of main place of arrival, central public space and a bustling shopping and market area. Strengthening these functionalities will enhance the symbiosis of functions and make the heartbeat of Kampala even more powerful. Therefore, the concept of the Master Plan emanates this heartbeat. As it is named in Luganda: OTP Omutima Gwa’Kampala.

The master plan covers a larger area at Nakasero hill to Nakivubo valley including a drainage improvement in street infrastructure and water catchment capacity of the lowest valley area, to balance the densification of the urban tissue with a green and blue concept for the former railway lands in the valley.

To allow for the coexistence of different functions, OTP is envisioned as a layered complex. This conceptual gesture is further supported by the twelve meter topographical height difference between the two sides of the plot. The transportation hub is located at the top of a deck which at the same time serves as a roof of a multi-leveled shopping center.

From the three main components of the OTP Omutima plan, the first to mention is the public transport terminal. The terminal is central to a nearby network of mobility functions that include the city bus, BRT and coach station and the pedestrianized Luwum Street. Without the public transport facility and terminal, OTP would not be the Omutima, but the reverse is also true: the commercial functions make OTP a very popular destination for many.

That forms the second component of the Masterplan: By adding a shopping mall to the large array of shopping and commercial activities in the city centre, OTP also enhances its attraction as key node to enter the city centre. The complex can be further enhanced by the addition of three high-rises with flexible programme depending on the market opportunities at the moment of implementation.

Thridly, the OTP is a public transport hub not merely consisting of infrastructure, vehicles and buildings. It is first and foremost a place for people. The OTP Omutima embraces the concept of making room again for people: providing space where pedestrians are comfortable moving through, stopping to wait, to meet, or to connect to the core of the city.  Adjacent to the NMT corridor at Luwum Street, there is a comfortable space for people that offers accessibility and a meeting space that enhances social relations and exchanges.

A sound business case proofs the preliminary feasibility outcomes positive. Further in-depth development of the plan will target the development agreement with a master developer party to implement the layered complex and lift Old Taxi Park into a next century of place of arrival for many.

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Spatial Development Framework for Kajjansi Junction

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Spatial Development Framework for Kajjansi Junction

Spatial Development Framework for Kajjansi Junction

Location: Kajjansi, Wakiso District Greater Kampala, Uganda
Project type: Wakiso District, Kajjansi Town Council , ULGA Funded by RVO Netherlands via Impact Cluster Program
Year: 2016-2019
Client: Wakiso District, Kajjansi Town Council , ULGA Funded by RVO Netherlands via Impact Cluster Program
Consortium partners: VE-R, MOVE Mobility, BKVV, TwentyOne

Kajjansi is a town in Central Uganda. It is one of the urban centres in Wakiso District and part of the wider influences of the emerging metropolis of Kampala. The Kajjansi area is not only well-known because of its regional market, the area holds many different large industries, institutions, housing estates and companies. The new Junction connecting Entebbe-Kampala Road to the Southern Bypass and Entebbe Expressway created a major change and opportunity in the area. In conjunction with the planned Bus Rapid Transport System with its endpoint at Kajjansi and the recent status upgrade from a village to a town is a promising perspective for Kajjansi, At the moment the energy, waste, drainage and water issues in the area, combined with the major infrastructural, spatial and mobility interventions in the close vicinity of the market and the presence of a variety of local businesses, can become a huge challenge. However, it can also present a great opportunity to develop Kajjansi in a sustainable, circular and inclusive way, so that the area can become a growing economic engine for the community and potentially develop into the second metropolitan node of the Kampala region. This requires an integrated spatial strategy and a highly skilled and experienced team that oversees each component of the strategy.

The Kajjansi Junction Program had the development of this fast growing urban area in Uganda as objective in such a way, that it creates value for the local businesses and communities and at the same time make use of the potential this location has to become a more dense, multi-functional and mix-use Transit Oriented Development hub.

The preparation stage of the program was highly participatory, with the relevant stakeholders fully involved in the process of project identification. This was continued after this inception stage in a two fold development phase: First a thorough analysis of the local situation has been made in which mobility, infrastructure, environmental assets and constraints, current business development and obstacles and spatial opportunities were given insight and full comprehension by all stakeholders. The second phase consisted of design sessions in which the Spatial Development Framework (SDF) was drafted with the key stakeholders.

This resulted in a development plan around a new Public Transport Interchange hub in combination with redevelopment areas with raised density and mix-use functions. The SDF also hold the smaller scale of regeneration in a phased stage of the existing market, in which the current vendors are being supported and the new profile of Entebbe Road made beneficial to the market vendors, costumers, taxi’s and boda’s. The third level is the large, more regional scale, in which the Urban Accelerator function of Kajjansi Junction is explained and guided through wetland restoration and robust ecological design and new town developments like Nakigalala Eco-City.

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National Teachers College, Kaliro

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National Teachers College, Kaliro

National Teachers College, Kaliro

Location: Kaliro, Uganda
Project type: Renovation and expansion of school campus
Year: 2018-2022
Client: Ministry of Education and Sport, Enabel
Consortium partners: BKVV, Ubuntu, VE-R

Award: ‘Popular Choice Winner’ Architizer A+ Awards 2022

The education campuses in the Ugandan towns of Kaliro and Mubende have undergone major renovation and expansion with the addition of about eight new buildings. Both campus projects are part of a national programme to improve education in Uganda by training a new generation of teachers. Besides educational facilities, also good and healthy housing, leisure activities, nutritious food and natural hygiene are part of this ambition. Offering students and teachers this broad perspective, inside and outside the classroom, creates a culture with natural engagement and balance with the living environment. Besides utilizing facilities, the project is based on a vision of ‘living the example’.

This sustainable, holistic vision was the starting point for the renovation and new construction at both locations. Existing trees and planting, working routes and rituals were integrated into the master plan for both. Wherever possible, we made existing qualities visible and strengthened them. Our guiding principles were the old cultural and physical characteristics of the site and current uses, combined with adding the most logical interventations.

For the spread out landscape of the Kaliro site this meant connecting the more remote dormitory buildings with the educational halls in the central part. The buildings, existing and new, are all naturally ventilated and cooled. Precisely oriented ‘zigzag’ facades minimise the incidence of direct sunlight and heat. Wherever possible, the buildings have been constructed with the help of local craftsmen from local materials such as earth bricks and bamboo. At the intermediate open spaces of the campus in Kaliro the study shades made of bamboo are the most visible result of that.

The careful integration of the new buildings and the simple but well-thought-out manner of construction gives space to students and teachers and depicts the idea well of the national education programme of Uganda.

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Msimbazi Opportunity Plan

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Msimbazi Opportunity Plan

Msimbazi Opportunity Plan

Location: Msimbazi River Basin, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Project type: Vulnerability analysis, strategy and spatial plan
Year: 2018-2019
Client: World Bank (Tanzania) with PO-RALG
Consortium partners: Ecorys, VE-R, CDR International, Wema

The Msimbazi Opportunity Plan is a project in which the participatory design process had a central position in a series of charrettes with the stakeholders and communities that have an interest in and/or who live in the Msimbazi River Basin. This highly urbanised area in the heart of Dar es Salaam, with high percentages of unplanned development, is highly affected by flashfloods during the wet season, and draughts during the dry season.

Generally, flooding in the Msimbazi Middle River Basin is directly caused by five main factors;

  1. Insufficient hydraulic capacity of the Msimbazi River profile at certain locations,
  2. Back water effects and piling up of water upstream of structures, e.g. bridges, with an insufficient hydraulic capacity,
  3. Inadequate urban drainage infrastructure and inadequate solid waste management
  4. Decrease of ‘green areas’ in the catchment has resulted in reduction of infiltration of precipitation and a direct run off response and
  5. Settlement in the natural floodplain area.

The objective of this project is to facilitate a design process that tackles the multiple social and environmental issues that this basin is facing by aligning the different stakeholders and to collectively design i) a strategic and management framework for the entire catchment area and ii) a detailed plan for the Lower Basin within the catchment. This has resulted in the Msimbazi Opportunity Plan, a basis for all further development and implementation projects and processes in the coming years in the river basin.

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Lower Msimbazi Upgrading Plan

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Lower Msimbazi Upgrading Plan

Lower Msimbazi Upgrading Plan

Location: Msimbazi, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Project type: Feasibility study and detailed design
Year: 2021-2023
Client: PO-RALG (Presidential Office, Regional Administration and Local Government of Tanzania
Consortium partners: CDR International, VE-R, Deltares, Norplan, Deltares, Shore

The Lower Msimbazi Upgrading Project (LMUP) is a crucial initiative aimed at improving the resilience of the city centre of Dar es Salaam. The focus of the project is on the lower Msimbazi river and its tributaries which are prone to severe flooding that poses a threat to livelihoods, properties, and critical infrastructure. The consortium was hired to conduct the Feasibility Study based on the Msimbazi Opportunity Plan strategy and prepare preliminary and detailed designs with cost estimates. Objective is to make a robust flood resilient solution and to incorporate a City Park, infrastructure solutions and new floodsafe urban development areas.

The most essential flood protection principles and measures designed for the LMUP are:

Increase hydraulic capacity

Through widening and deepening the river channel by means of excavation, the overall hydraulic capacity will be increased. Furthermore, a higher and wider bridge has been designed to replace the existing Jangwani Bridge, preventing traffic disruptions, while lowering the extreme water levels upstream of the bridge.

Creating room for development by creating room for the river

It is proposed to largely restore the floodplain area to a more natural state. To achieve this, the current bus depot and a large part of the building stock will have to be moved to new areas and the sediment accumulated in the floodplain will be removed. With the dredged material from the river and floodplain, flood safe terraces will be created that are suitable for relocation, urban development and recreation. The transitions from the flood safe terraces to the floodplain areas will be fixed with bank protections.

Rehabilitation of natural hydrological system

These measures have the purpose to mitigate flooding along with associated (additional) benefits, hence making the impacts of climate change less severe. In the LMUP it is envisioned this will be mainly achieved by reforestation of the upper basin area and rehabilitation of vegetated areas. This will reduce the sediment load in the long-term while providing additional benefits.

Adaptive operations and maintenance

Operation and Maintenance activities are essential to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the proposed interventions. These activities are formulated as a set of recommendations that go hand in hand with the implementation and execution of the sediment management plan.

Feasibility study

The feasibility study served as the basis for securing investment financing. The Spatial Framework was developed as a central tool while working with a multidisciplinary team on the variety of tasks and subjects. It spans 200 hectares, including the river and tributaries, floodplains, urban agriculture, public park, sand depots and mangroves. Preliminary designs were made for embankment protections, resilient transport infrastructure, urban greening and nature revitalization and the City Park. The public park is divided in high and low activity zones and connected by a Non-Motorized Transport network. An urban plan was also set up, including diverse neighborhoods with a mix of affordable, social, mid-end and high-end housing.

The detailed designs focus on the park’s structural elements, such as the path systems, drainage systems and vegetation layers. The vegetation plan includes ca. 100 different species of trees, carefully chosen to match the specific characteristics of the site. The urban agriculture terrace will provide ideal conditions for farmers with establish coconut trees, fruit trees and water bodies to increase water security. The Non-Motorized Transport network will connect the surrounding neighborhoods to the park, accessible for pedestrians, disabled individuals and cyclists. The boulevard, between new neighborhoods and the City Park will offer a versatile space for walking, biking, running, relaxing and gathering with beautiful views over the Msimbazi basin. Reference designs were made for various park facilities, including kiosks, washrooms, sport and play fields, promoting physical and mental health and serving as gathering places for the community. The festival terrain remains a central destination that can accommodate thousands of visitors and is accessible by bus and green car-parking space.

Links: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2022/11/22/strengthening-climate-change-adaptation-and-resilience-in-flood-prone-dar-es-salaam

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