Urban migration is one of the largest problems that Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, is facing. Refugees fleeing from climate hazards and war end up in informal settlements without proper infrastructure and sanitation.

The project aims to provide housing options for urban migrants through the connection of urban infrastructure with vernaculars qualities.

The masterplan integrates the existing fields and pathways on the site to minimise the potential for conflict between the urban migrants and the local community. An urban axis in the center of the site consists of public facilities, open and leisure spaces. The remaining spaces are then organised through a grid of superblocks.

Each superblock contains eight vertical villages centred around a shared courtyard. Mixed-use units and small stores are situated on the ground floor to enable residents to generate income and conduct public activities. Each superblock yard contains a small community building as a starting point for incoming groups of urban migrants. Various larger facilities and institutions like schools or workshops are integrated in some of the superblocks.

To house the immense number of refugees, the project provides a blueprint for vertical construction with local materials and a layman workforce, culminating in a vertical village prototype. Scaffoldings are utilised as an affordable system for the central structure of each cluster. Four to five residential units are then situated around the scaffolding core. The modular units can be extended and customized by the residents while the use of adobe bricks allows for easy buildability without advanced construction tools.

Vertical housing is currently rare in Burkina Faso and owning a plot of land has been essential to the Burkinabé culture. As such, each storey features an open space that can be used for farming and leisure and provides the desired groundfloor activities in a multi story building.