MVRDV has designed a modular and multi-functional sports club in a shipping container for Amsterdam-based social enterprise KLABU (meaning “club” in Swahili). KLABU builds clubhouses in refugee camps and cities, supporting refugees through the power of sport and community.
MVRDV began working in partnership with KLABU in 2022 on the design of the modular sports club. The clubhouse gives people access to sports equipment, activities, Wi-Fi, music, and sports broadcasts. Housed in a shipping container, MVRDV has conceived an innovative and easily repeatable design. The clubhouse offers a welcoming, safe, flexible, and participative community space, a place where refugees can connect and play.
KLABU clubhouse version 1
KLABU clubhouse version 2
“The KLABU clubhouse design is currently in its third iteration, with the latest version soon to be installed at the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan, which is home to approximately 41,000 Syrian refugees,” says MVRDV. This installation follows clubhouses in operation in Boa Vista, Brazil, supporting indigenous Venezuelan refugees, and the M’bera refugee camp in Mauritania (the most recent KLABU clubhouse, it launched in November 2024). “Each iteration of the clubhouse is designed in collaboration with, and following feedback from, KLABU, TCHAI (the practice responsible for fabrication and fit-out), and clubhouse managers in the camps,” says MVRDV.
“Our partnership with MVRDV has allowed us to scale our clubhouse model and transform a simple shipping container into a vibrant, inclusive space where refugees can find joy and hope through sport”, says Jan van Hövell, KLABU founder. “This collaboration is a testament to what can be achieved when design meets a purpose — creating opportunities for people to play, learn, and dream together, no matter where they are.”
The KLABU clubhouse is created using a modified ISO (International Organization for Standardization) dry shipping container — the ISO container, most commonly seen in international shipments, is durable, secure, and easily transported. “By using a shipping container as the base, KLABU can deliver both the physical clubhouse structure and the necessary sports equipment in one go, forming a ‘flat-packed’ sports clubhouse,” says MVRDV.
The container offers a scalable model that can be replicated. Its vivid orange exterior provides a striking focal point and the laser-cut KLABU logo creates a recognizable and welcoming presence. A sky-blue interior consists of durable, compact, modular, and adaptable amenities that provide ample storage space. Prior to shipping, a variety of materials are preloaded onto the container and are readily accessed by clubhouse managers once mounted.
MVRDV focused on the need for simplicity and versatility in the design of the clubhouse. The new typology ensures ease of assembly, disassembly, and transportation; the design is adaptable to different circumstances and contexts around the world, extending the container’s reach and thus bringing the clubhouse to more people.
The latest design iteration now includes an open side: the container opens along its longer six-meter (twenty-feet) side in addition to the doors at either end. “This delivers greater adaptability and visibility for the clubhouse, incorporating a substantial window open to the public, a canopy, and a large television screen,” says MVRDV. The new canopy is especially useful for daytime shade and provides the opportunity for a range of other social activities. The most recent design also maintains the container’s robust and functional characteristics, helping to protect the clubhouse in a range of climate conditions.
Solar panels can now be installed on the container’s roof, delivering renewable energy. The design recognizes the role the clubhouse can play beyond sport, for example, in education — mobile and tablet devices can avail of multiple electricity and charging points and wireless internet connectivity.
“Sometimes the most powerful design comes from the simplest concept. Taking a shipping container, ordinarily the most mundane, everyday object, and transforming it into a bright, multi-functional clubhouse that provides sports opportunities for refugees has been a deeply rewarding challenge,” says Gideon Maasland, Director at MVRDV.
The studio will continue to work (free of charge) with KLABU on further iterations of the clubhouse design, helping to support the needs and welfare of refugees. KLABU’s aim is to reproduce this model in more than fifty locations during the next ten years.
Size and program: 14 square meters (151 square feet) with sports facilities and gathering spaces, including storage, lockers, a ping-pong table, TV screen, and shaded spaces.
Locations include: Ter Apel, Netherlands; Boa Vista, Brazil; M’bera, Mauritania; Azraq, Jordan.
Images show KLABU clubhouse in the M’bera refugee camp in Mauritania.
