Pritzker Prize winner Francis Kéré’s firm has shared photos of their just-completed Kamwokya Community Centre project in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

Designed for the city’s informal settlement of Kamwokya, the center hosts a variety of activities and educational resources for residents in partnership with its clients, the Ameropa Foundation and Kamwokya Christian Caring Community (KCCC). 

“We wanted to give a place of quality and beauty to the people of Kamwokya,” Ameropa’s founder Nicole Miesche said. “A place where they could sit down, take a rest from their daily struggle and dream, a place also where the children could play in a safe and clean environment.”

Set on a raised platform to protect against flooding, the program includes two well-ventilated, spatially-flexible buildings, a sports field, and separate sanitary facilities. The buildings contain offices, an internet café, gaming rooms, and a music studio in addition to the education spaces. Finally, each structure is finished off with a butterfly roof to provide maximum ventilation while creating a form that connects the site within its hyperdense urban context.

Kéré called it a “lasting, innovative architecture that will provide inspiration and a public space for the community, improving the quality of life for all,” adding his hopes that the 1,600-square-meter (17,222-square-foot) structure will become a “symbol of pride” for the city of 1.5 million.

The design will be joined later by the firm’s Naume Children's Foundation, also in Uganda. A press statement from the KCCC mentioned that it “demonstrates that the marginalized communities deserve better, and it gives children, adolescents, and adults moments of hope, happiness, and sustainable solutions to their needs.”