Recreational facilities are a lifeblood for communities, but ironically, those who stand to benefit most from this integral infrastructure are chronically the most underserved. In Ghana, where public investment is limited and green space equally scarce, the existence of such spaces can have untold impact. The Backyard Community Club, a new public tennis club in Accra, is poised to do just that, and what’s more, it’s an architectural marvel. Designed by DeRoche Projects, led by Brooklyn-born Glenn DeRoche, a protégé of David Adjaye, the project boasts a remarkable civic quality that belies its humble scale.

Nestled on a compact site in the dense neighbourhood of Osu, The Backyard Community Club seeks to provide more than just a recreational facility — it’s also conceived as a community space for gathering and learning. Access is a key driver of the programming, which offers free lessons to the public while also providing youth athletes with a professional-grade training environment, including a red clay court built to international standards. When not in use, the court serves as a community space for activities ranging from group exercise to evening gatherings, such as outdoor screenings. Ancillary spaces like a changing room, shaded seating for observers, outdoor prep counters and a barbecue turn the complex into a vital community amenity.

“The architecture is deliberately open-ended, where lines between sport, gathering, learning, and rest are blurred,” explains DeRoche. “It’s in the court, the shaded walkways, and lush vegetation where life emerges, shaped not by a fixed program but by the people who use it.”

But the court’s most defining feature is the sculptural enclosure that surrounds it, which DeRoche describes as “both structure and expression.” The walls are made of four-metre-high precast rammed earth panels, whose polygonal shape creates a pleasing rhythm of triangular apertures around the perimeter, casting a pattern of geometric shadows across the site. The design helps reduce crosswinds across the court, while also balancing the need for privacy with openness.

Pioneered by DeRoche, the precast system is the first of its kind to be employed in Ghana, leveraging the local and low-carbon properties of traditional rammed earth construction without the shortcomings — namely its time- and labour-intensive nature and weather-dependency — which have precluded its use in large-scale projects. In contrast, DeRoche’s modular system is fabricated off-site for optimal quality control and tighter structural tolerances, while still tailored to local labour and transport. The resulting structure represents a fraction of the embodied carbon of concrete, yet it was delivered more quickly and with less waste. In other words, the system is a game changer for the local industry, and the project a replicable, scalable prototype.

In terms of sustainability, the building’s material construction is just one part of a robust strategy. As clay courts require a lot of water to maintain, a borehole system and redirected stormwater runoff provide irrigation while minimizing waste. And in the ancillary structures, passive strategies like natural ventilation, facilitated through the stack effect, and natural light, allow the buildings to function without air conditioning or mechanical systems, reducing energy demand.

But most importantly, the values of ecological awareness and responsibility are embedded in the fabric of the building. Wrapped in a 230-square-metre garden, the court is surrounded by 20 species of edible and medicinal plants — including guava, banana, lemongrass, peppermint, soursop, coconut, and blue pea flower — to fuel the athletes who play there, from fresh juices and post-practice snacks to community meals. As they train, the youth tend to the garden, learning self-reliance that will serve them both in their athletic endeavours and their life beyond. Through deep engagement with local builders, athletes and educators, the project is transformative both architecturally and socially, empowering its users to be active participants in shaping the community around them.