home
to education
to projects

 

African Leadership Academy
Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site
Gauteng
South Africa

In Association with Anthony Philbrick and Architecture +

http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org

Competition winning entry for a prestigious private school within a World Heritage landscape north-west of Johannesburg. We were selected because of the careful integration of the building with the topography. The school is designed as an academic village, with the main spaces opening onto a belvedere terrace overlooking the view, The masterplan allows for great flexibility within clear principles,. The buildings are concentrated in order to preserve as much of the site in its natural state, and minimise infrastructure. Classrooms are terraced into the slope, reducing their visual impact and their thermal variations. The complex will appear complete at each phase of its development but capable of growth. The process of arrival at and movement through the school has been given special attention; it is designed as a place to be remembered for the experience of both the architecture and its beautiful setting. It will be an African building, proposing a social and architectural model free from the colonial courtyard model and its attendant backward looking architecture.