Mbarara Trade Centre
A working market for 350 traders, with cold storage, drainage and room to breathe.
At a glance
- Location
- Mbarara, Western Uganda
- Sector
- Commercial
- Value
- UGX 22bn
- Scale
- 350 trading stalls
Overview
Mbarara Trade Centre replaces an overcrowded street market with a permanent home for 350 traders. The brief was practical: shade, water, drainage, cold storage and enough circulation for deliveries, without losing the social character of the old market.
01 / The brief
The trust represented vendors who had traded on the street for decades. They wanted secure tenure, better sanitation and a building that still felt like a market — not a mall. Construction had to be phased so that trading could continue on the adjacent site.
02 / Our approach
We designed a simple steel-and-masonry shed with a high ventilated roof, deep arcades and a central trading hall. Stalls were standardised so they could be assembled off site, and 40% of the construction workforce came from the vendor community. A temporary market operated throughout the build.
03 / The result
The market opened with 350 occupied stalls and has since added a second trading day. Waste is sorted on site, stormwater is captured in a new drainage system, and vendor incomes have risen by an average of 28% since the move.
From the site
Mbarara, Western Uganda / 2021
“They understood what the traders needed, not just what the drawings said. The market works for the people who use it every day.”
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