Six family plots sharing one courtyard is a modest starting point for an ambitious city plan. The design, by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and developed with to.org, begins at that small scale as a model for bidi bidi refugee housing. It addresses a familiar problem. Emergency settlements can hold residents for years, yet their housing and infrastructure are rarely designed for the full lives that unfold inside them.
The initiative, announced on October 29, 2026, proposes a longer-term approach to housing, services, and employment. BIG‘s project is called Refugee Future Cities. Its masterplan covers Bidi Bidi, a settlement in northern Uganda. The plan remains in design, and that distinction matters when the goal reaches well beyond building better houses.
From family plots to neighborhoods
The plan for bidi bidi refugee housing grows outward in stages. Family plots form compounds, compounds form clusters, and clusters form neighborhoods. In the basic unit, six plots meet around a communal courtyard. That shared space gives a large settlement a smaller social unit to organize around.
A city needs intermediate space between a private home and a public street. A courtyard can host conversation or small-scale work without forcing every activity indoors. The arrangement addresses that need directly.
A courtyard works best when it anchors a larger shared community space, as seen in Chennai’s Eco-Centric Community Center with Barrel Vaults, a civic building designed around gathering and everyday use.
BIG identifies sun-dried earth brick, laterite stone, and bamboo among the proposed materials. The design draws on local building traditions rather than importing an unfamiliar architectural language. It also targets ventilation, weather protection, mosquito control, and solar power. Keeping insects out and air moving deserves as much attention as any striking silhouette.
The renderings for bidi bidi refugee housing are visually persuasive. Rounded, earth-colored walls gather around a large tree in one residential scene. In another, a market sits beneath branching structural supports and deep roof overhangs. The gathering places look as carefully composed as the buildings that surround them.
The program extends beyond housing. It includes a food market, coworking space, technical workshops, training areas, and a health center. Arts, recreation, and gardens also have a place in the plan. These spaces give residents somewhere to spend time that is not tied to an appointment, an obligation, or a purchase.
Bamboo is also a central material in this plan, and a Chennai project shows how far it can stretch in public architecture, spanning large roofs in Ingenious 49-Foot Bamboo Vaults in Chennai.
Money, power, and governance
The infrastructure goals are large. BIG proposes a solar-powered industrial hub with local energy generation, water treatment, and waste processing. Combining these functions could make resource management part of the settlement’s economic base. Someone will still need to maintain the systems, fund repairs, and replace equipment when it wears out. The plan should answer those questions in detail.
The financing model for bidi bidi refugee housing seeks institutional investment. Commercial activity is meant to generate returns over decades instead of relying only on short-term donations. Proposed “Opportunity Zones” would include manufacturing and agriculture. The model also depends on host governments willing to commit land, a regulatory framework, and legal rights for refugees to work. Architecture cannot supply those conditions on its own.
Connecting refugee housing with livelihoods is a sound goal. Investment returns alone, however, would not show whether the plan succeeds. The more useful questions concern residents. Can they shape their neighborhoods? Are jobs fairly paid? Who decides when commercial priorities conflict with community needs? A site plan can look generous while leaving those decisions unresolved. Governance deserves the same scrutiny as the floor plans.
The first step for bidi bidi refugee housing
The first physical step is a single-family base prototype at the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre. A single home is a sensible test if residents can use it to evaluate and influence what follows. The value of the proposal will depend on whether that feedback reaches the larger plan.
The courtyard is a promising beginning. Its success will depend on whether the people who live around it help decide what comes next.
Source: yankodesign.com
Frequently asked questions
What is BIG’s Refugee Future Cities project?
Refugee Future Cities is a project by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) whose masterplan covers Bidi Bidi, a settlement in northern Uganda. The plan proposes a longer-term approach to housing, services, and employment, and it remains in design.
What building materials does the Bidi Bidi housing plan propose?
BIG identifies sun-dried earth brick, laterite stone, and bamboo as proposed materials for the Bidi Bidi housing plan. The design draws on local building traditions rather than an unfamiliar architectural language.
What facilities beyond housing are included in the Bidi Bidi plan?
The program includes a food market, coworking space, technical workshops, training areas, and a health center. Arts, recreation, and gardens also have a place in the plan.
What is the first physical step of the Bidi Bidi plan?
The first physical step is a single-family base prototype at the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre. The article describes it as a test that residents can use to evaluate and influence what follows.
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