A dominant grid presides over many South African townships. For most residents, it is associated with inequality and overbearing governmental control. This proposal disrupts and fragments these rigid divisions to create a new social centre for all of the community. The proposal is not a single design, but a strategy that produces different configurations from the specific conditions of each site, allowing community involvement in its development and adaptation to changing requirements.

The aim is to provide every person with access to clean water and a nutritional diet; only when these needs are met will people benefit from new health, education and sports facilities. Indeed, helping HIV positive people produce their own fruit and vegetables is the most sustainable way to ensure the wholesome diet so necessary for their immune systems.

The site is portioned into community-accessible allotments. Water collection and distribution points are located at the intersection of routes, which follow existing informal paths. Public spaces, flanked by community buildings, are developed around water points and the centrally-located pitch. These include a cinema and a public gathering / performance space, and a linear market, which it is hoped might expand to accommodate craft workshops.

Recycling is integral: drinking water is captured from roofs and grey water is used for irrigation. A power hub supplies electricity so that people can charge batteries etc.

Location