Grounding Communities
Designing for social cohesion in Windhoek's informal settlements
E.C.J. Jaspers (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
J.A.A. Woertman – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
A.C. Boerstra – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
Windhoek's informal settlements are home to more than 220,000 people, almost half of the city's population. Most residents lack household access to water, sanitation and public space. Although the municipality provides shared sanitation facilities as a temporary solution, these are often poorly maintained and can feel unsafe, particularly for women and children. The challenge extends beyond the provision of sanitation itself. It also lies in creating the social and spatial conditions that allow these facilities to be used, maintained and supported by the community.
Grounding Community explores how architecture can strengthen community life in Brendan Simbwaye, an informal settlement on the edge of Windhoek. The project combines a housing upgrade with a neighbourhood community centre. It draws on Jan Gehl's theory of public life and the VPUU safety principles, with multifunctionality as the guiding principle. A key observation from the fieldtrip informed the design: a shared water point had evolved into an informal meeting place. This everyday interaction became the foundation for a design that supports everyday community life.
The design brings together a market square, library, internet café, workshop space and gender-separated WASH facilities with 14 housing units. These functions are organised along a clear transition from public to private space. Decentralised, low-tech systems for water, sewage and energy are integrated into the architecture instead of being hidden as technical infrastructure. Steel chains, sloping roofs and sunken volumes make these systems visible and part of the spatial experience. The sloped terrain lets gravity move water through most of the system, reducing the need for mechanical pumping. The building is constructed from Hydraform compressed earth blocks, using low-tech methods that local residents can build and maintain themselves.
Rather than proposing a solution for Windhoek's informal settlements as a whole, the project demonstrates how a focused neighbourhood intervention can support existing community networks. By combining housing, shared facilities and public space, it creates an environment that encourages everyday interaction, shared responsibility and long-term social resilience.