A key focus to the development of our proposal was the use of the project to draw a large diverse section of the community to the local area.
We envisaged the project as the beginnings of a rich district community hub where the support and education of HIV/AIDS-related programmes would be shared within the community to emphasize and encourage a strong local spirit and optimism through various sporting events.
The addition of a public market space to the brief creates and supports an informal meeting space and vibrant gathering spot that interacts with sporting activities on the pitch.
Interconnecting market stalls would reach out, growing from the initial ‘pods’ to school children and parents alike, gathering here to meet and participating in trade and sport on a daily basis. The pods include spaces such as a small information centre, post office and car battery recharge point each with interconnected below ground rainwater-holding tanks.
SIYATHEMBA COMPETITION:
Launched in 2004, the “Siyathemba” competition challenged the world’s designers to create the “perfect pitch,” for the youth of Somkhele, South Africa, who are three times more likely to become HIV positive than youth in other parts of the world. (Siyathemba means “we hope” in IsiZulu.) In addition to serving as a gathering place for youth between the ages of 9 and 14, the facility will double as a health outreach center. The pitch will also be home to the area’s first girls’ football league.
On World AIDS Day, (December 1, 2004), the jury, which included, Paola Antonelli, curator of the Design Department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, award-winning designer Yves Behar and Survivor: Africa winner and former pro-footballer Ethan Zohn, selected nine finalists and 16 honorable mentions. Finalists included established architects as well as young emerging designers from across the globe. Austria, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States were all represented.
The finalists’ schemes were displayed in schools and health centers throughout the area. Somkhele community members, including students, youth football players, nurses and teachers, then selected the the winning design. The team of David Mathias and Tim Denis of Basildon, England, placed second. First went to the scheme by Swee Hong Ng and the Swiss-based team of Guy Lafranchi and Dietmar Panzenböck placed third.
