01
Open the workshop
Folding panels let the workshop open for performances and close again for everyday use.
Competition proposalKigali, Rwanda
Gisimba
Phase 3
A proposed arts and music hub for young people at Gisimba Memorial Center.
Winning student proposal by Tiamo Onen Benjamin, Kyambogo University
Proposed courtyard performance
The opportunity
Give young people space to make art, rehearse, perform, and spend time together.
An arts and
music hub
Gisimba Memorial Center’s original site sheltered people during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Today, the center continues to work with young people through education, care, and creative programs.
Phase 3 would give those programs more room at the existing campus. In Tiamo Onen Benjamin’s winning student proposal, “From Shelter to Stage,” folding panels open a workshop onto the courtyard. The workshop can serve as backstage, the doorway becomes a stage, and the courtyard makes room for an audience.
The competition proposal shows what the hub could become. Support can help Gisimba and Journeyman work out what it would take to build it.
The design response
Workshops and
courtyard
The plan connects workshops and a studio through a central courtyard that can serve as a place to play, gather, or watch a performance.
Proposed spaces
- 01Arts workshops and studio space
- 02Music rehearsal and performance
- 03Courtyard seating, gardens, and creative play
What guides the proposal
02
Make space for an audience
Stepped terraces give people places to sit, with garden pockets alongside the seating.
03
Connect indoors and out
The workshop roof ties the indoor rehearsal space to the outdoor stage.
From concept to construction
What comes
next
The winning proposal gives Gisimba a starting point for local review, design development, and fundraising.
01
Review the concept
Site and scope
Work with Gisimba and qualified professionals in Rwanda to review the proposal against the needs of the center and the conditions on site.
02
Develop the design
Drawings and pricing
Refine the scope, prepare technical drawings, and establish a construction budget.
03
Prepare to build
Funding and approvals
With a confirmed scope and budget, secure funding and the approvals needed before construction can begin.
The competition proposal is not a construction package. Scope, costs, and approvals still need to be confirmed.
Fundraising
Support
Phase 3
Help Gisimba take the next step toward an arts and music hub.
If you’re interested in funding the project or introducing us to a potential partner, get in touch with Journeyman International to discuss what Gisimba needs next.
Project resources
Next steps for the project
Project team
- Community partner
- Gisimba Memorial Center
- Competition designer
- Tiamo Onen Benjamin
- University
- Kyambogo University
NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION, TO BE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY IN-COUNTRY PROFESSIONALS.
View the project profile