Quality Hill / Description of Studio FH Architects.
This boutique shopping mall located along Ggaba Road in Kampala has been in existence for many years and become famous for the ‘Quality Cuts’ butchery, ‘Le Chateau’ restaurant, ‘La Patisserie’ coffee shop and a number of other shops. The mall had grown organically over the years without a formal masterplan in place; it was in acute need of an overall remodelling, streamlining circulation, improving visibility and modernising the general look.
The project was to be implemented in stages with the aim to minimise the interruption of the day-to-day business. Phase 1 comprised of the creation of a central ‘piazza’ from where, gradually, all major functions of the development will be accessed. The piazza has been paved with a combination of cobble stone and terrazzo pavers and has a water feature at the centre that helps improving the micro-climate for outdoor seating.
The second phase consisted of a complete remodelling and enlargement of both the restaurant and the coffee shop and the creation of a new deco shop pavilion. Pre-fabricated timber structures were added to the front of both grass-thatched structures. For the coffee shop they create a well-visible, elevated seating terrace; for the restaurant, they help enclosing a cosy garden space that has become the centre of a completely new dining experience. The tip of one of the five original hexagon-shaped grass thatch huts in the restaurant was cut off to create a little greened-up courtyard at the heart of the restaurant.
