The Ghanian Urban Food Environments Collective Impact Coalition was launched by a number of engaged professionals from Ghana and the Netherlands, under the stewardship of Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP) in 2021.

In 2019, Zanzibar and the City of Amsterdam were asked to participate in the Seoul Biennale and present their collaborative project on Ng’ambo, well suited for the theme ‘Collective Cities’. The Ng’ambo Atlas that was produced by the Department of Urban and Rural Planning and AAmatters present the outcomes of the research process in this collaboration with both organisations at the centre.

AAmatters forms part of the project team of the Uganda Museum ‘Keeping It Modern’ project aiming at developing a conservation management plan for the building. Uganda Museum, designed by the German architect Ernst May and built in 1954, is one of the first purpose-built museums in Africa and one of the first modernist buildings in Kampala. The museum is a popular landmark for local residents and international tourists, but its prime location, coupled with real estate development pressures in...

The history of cinema in Zanzibar goes back to the early 20th century. In its heydays the island was home to three permanent movie theatres visited weekly by hundreds of people hungry for entertainment and curious about the wider world. For a long time, cinemas were one of the few social and cultural venues in town that brought together people from various social backgrounds, ethnicities and genders. Today, of the three purpose-built cinemas only the Majestic Cinema in Vuga, built in 1954...

Assessment of a proposed project for a cultural centre on Lubiri, one of the royal hills of Kampala, with a rich and also tragic history. The Bayimba Cultural Centre is a combined music-dance-performing arts initiative, already active for a number of years in Kampala and beyond.

Fanjove Lighthouse is situated on Fanjove, the outermost island of the Mafia Archipelago, on the southern shores of Tanzania.The lighthouse was built in 1893 by the German colonial authorities, but abandoned at Independence in 1961. Subsequent decay and vandalization led to the building to become seriously endangered in 2013.

The Institut fur Tropenbau (Institute for Building in the Tropics) was a knowledge centre on building in the tropic, set up by Georg Lippsmeier in the 1960’s. In the 22 years of its active existence, an extensive and valuable library has been built up. This library was inherited by AAmatters and is now being make accessible worldwide in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Architecture.

Casablanca served as laboratory for European architects to experiment with modernist mass housing in the 40’s and 50’s. The visions of modernist architecture spread all over the world, suggesting new structures in housing, work, transport, and leisure.

On the western beach of Zanzibar stand the impressive ruins of a palace. It was the seat of power of Seyyid Said, sultan of East Africa and Oman and it was here that the famous Princess Salme was born. Its name is Mtoni Palace. It was a major building complex on Zanzibar and it stands at the basis of the much admired Zanzibar building tradition.

After the completion of the Ng’ambo Tuitakayo project, the collected material during the mapping phase appeared so rich, that together with the Government of Zanzibar it was decided to make it available for a wider audience.

Since 2013, the Department of Urban and Rural Planning (DoURP) of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, together with African Architecture Matters and other partners, is advancing on the heritage-based regeneration of Ng’ambo following the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape approach.

The Government of Zanzibar has recently developed National Spatial Planning Strategies and is in the process of implementing them. One of the key focuses is to develop specific policy and instruments for urban planning and maintenance based on heritage, since Zanzibar has a rich history that is still clearly demonstrated in tangible and intangible forms.

ProCredit Ghana is a micro finance bank, supporting many small and medium size businesses and in that sense contributing to the sustainable development of one of the fastest growing economies in the world.