DC Studios Ltd provides commercial building design in Rwanda — offices, retail complexes, mixed-use developments, hotels and industrial facilities in Kigali and across the country.
A commercial building is an investment before it is an object. The design decisions that matter most are made early: how much lettable area the plot can legally carry, how efficiently the floorplate divides, how tenants and vehicles move through the site, and what the building will cost to run once occupied.
We begin every commercial commission with an FSI assessment and feasibility study against the Kigali Master Plan, so you know what your plot can deliver before committing to a design direction. Architecture, structure and MEP are then developed together in-house — which keeps coordination tight and permit drawings aligned.
Corporate headquarters and speculative office developments — efficient cores, flexible floorplates that subdivide cleanly for multiple tenants, and daylight reaching deep into the plan.
Shopping centres, showrooms and ground-floor retail — designed around footfall, frontage visibility, servicing access and the tenant mix your location can sustain.
Retail below, offices or residential above — the model Kigali's Master Plan increasingly favours. We resolve the hard parts: separate cores, parking allocation and phasing.
Hotels, lodges and guest houses where guest experience and operational efficiency have to coexist — back-of-house circulation, room yield and public spaces that hold their character.
Warehouses, light manufacturing and logistics facilities — clear spans, truck access and loading, and roofs designed to carry solar from the outset.
Interior fit-out for offices, banks and retail units — space planning, joinery, services coordination and finishes delivered to a fixed programme.
We establish what your plot can legally and commercially support under the Kigali Master Plan — permitted floor area, height, setbacks and parking — before any design work begins. This is the stage that determines your return.
Design alternatives tested in 3D against buildable area, orientation and street presence, each with an approximate construction budget so you can compare options on commercial terms.
Detailed plans, elevations and sections with structural and MEP integrated. Floorplates are optimised for lettable efficiency and the facade strategy is resolved for Kigali's climate.
Full statutory compliance set prepared and submitted to the Development Authority and district office, including fire and accessibility documentation. We manage queries through to permit issue.
Complete drawing set, material specifications and Bill of Quantities — enough detail to tender competitively and build without ambiguity.
Site supervision, contract administration, quality inspection and defects management through to practical completion and handover.
Send us the location and plot size — we'll come back with an initial view on what it can carry and what the design would involve.
Request a Feasibility ReviewYes. We design offices, retail complexes, mixed-use developments, hotels and industrial facilities across Kigali and Rwanda — with architecture, structural engineering and MEP coordinated in-house. See our portfolio for completed commercial work.
Floor Space Index sets how much built floor area you are permitted on your plot under the Kigali Master Plan. Getting the FSI assessment right at feasibility stage determines how many lettable square metres your development can deliver, and therefore its return.
Allow three to six months from brief to permit-ready drawings for a mid-scale commercial building, and longer for large mixed-use schemes. Authority approval timelines run in parallel and vary by district.
Yes. We prepare all statutory compliance drawings and submit to the Development Authority and relevant district office on your behalf. Our building permit guide covers the process in detail.
Yes. We design to Rwanda's green building minimum compliance standards — passive cooling, daylight optimisation, rainwater harvesting and solar readiness — which reduce operating costs and support approval for larger developments.