De Zwarte Hond designs affordable housing in Kigali, Rwanda

Two of our team members travelled recently to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to visit the site of an affordable housing project. in close collaboration with our client, De Zwarte Hond is designing an urban plan for a new neighbourhood with 2000 affordable houses on the south side of the capital. De Zwarte Hond will also design the facades of the specific housing blocks.

in the coming five years, a significant amount of new housing needs to be built to accommodate Kigali’s fast growing population. With this development the client aims to offer a new type of housing with a high density and a high quality of space, yet affordable for everyday citizens.

The new neighbourhood incorporates a mix of apartments and ground-floor residences of varying sizes. There’s something for every budget, ranging from $8000 (37m2) to $32,000 (95 m2). This is the first time that housing is being developed for this price segment.

The site is located on a slope, meaning the design needs to address water drainage during the rainy season and be earthquake proof. Currently there is a hospital and several schools in the area; in the future more facilities will be added to ensure a lively neighbourhood.

The buildings will be constructed from autoclaved aerated concrete, a lightweight, durable and cost-effective material. As this material isn’t yet available in Rwanda, the client will specially ship in the machinery to set up its own production facility.

De Zwarte Hond will further develop the urban plan in the coming months.