react/review: a responsive journal for art & architecture

This article examines the rapid transformation of many Sub‑Saharan African villages into emerging small urban centres, focusing on the case of Nyandiwa, a fast‑growing settlement on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria. Despite its demographic expansion and its role as a service hub for surrounding rural areas, Nyandiwa remains an informal and unplanned settlement, where traditional social structures coexist—often uneasily—with the pressures of urbanisation. The article presents a participatory design experience developed within the Master’s Thesis Laboratory Architectures for Developing Countries at the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, directed by the author. Over the past decade, the Laboratory has engaged students in co‑design processes with local communities across Sub‑Saharan Africa, in partnership with NGOs and municipal institutions. In Nyandiwa, this approach led to a series of design proposals, including a project dedicated to the fishing communities whose livelihoods depend on the omena value chain. The project integrates architectural support structures—drying facilities, processing rooms, communal spaces, and a pier—with a contemporary reinterpretation of Luo spatial traditions, aiming to strengthen local autonomy and economic resilience. Although not yet implemented, the project exemplifies the educational, social, and transformative potential of participatory design in contexts marked by informality and structural vulnerability.