Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
In redesigning a soccer pitch for the small town of Kwazulu Natal , using the concepts of skin, light & patterning, my primary intention is to create a space that encourages thought. The site places the community in both a familiar and an unfamiliar space in which there is a dialogue between tradition and modernity.

In giving all the structural elements of the park no specific purpose, but instead focusing on creating structural differences through height and form and material, the park becomes more adaptable to a diversity of uses. The park extends the local community’s familiarity of repurposing. In creating a site that accommodates the immediate needs of time, new possibilities for Somkhele community will continue to manifest.

COMPETITION:
Siyathemba offers a unique opportunity to bring together the positive aspects of sports with an innovative health outreach program in a setting designed with and for the youth of Somkhele. Football, already the nation’s most popular sport, will only gain in popularity and interest when the World Cup comes to South Africa in 2010. By emphasizing a team approach, it is hoped that Siyathemba will be a field of hope, a place where the area’s healthcare professionals and its future leaders can come together.

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 scheme. Aunali Khimji received an honorable mention for this competition.