Change the world
Architecture
After six gruelling months the project is finally complete. The outside ares will be developed over time.
The cladding presented some tough challenges, from water proofing, parapet details and grouting... we tested everything!
The trusses finally come to life and a sense of enclosure emerges.
Steel framing and timber framing, making it fit like a glove!
After alot rain we finally have trenches and the concrete cast.
Things starting to move again... our new sub-contractor Jeremy Delport Construction arrives on site and sets put the building, ready to continue digging the trenches tomorrow!
At NMU the teams making good progress with the trusses, furniture and doors starting to take shape.
The project started slowly on the NMU and the CDC sites. The site at Charle Duna presented some issues with our contractor as the structural design became more complex and with issues regarding health and safety. This was layered with terrential rains which flooded our clay soil site.
WThe final creche design at a scale of 1:10 was presented at a public exhibition. The exhibition also presented the final four proposals and additional process work. It was great to host our engagement partners, parents and fellow students at the Werk Warehouse, in the the Baakens river valley.
Hoping to set up a readers pole with our local paper on the final 4 designs... well let you know how it goes!
After spending some grooling weeks developing the final 8 the team met again today to decide on the final 4... making it through to the next round was TREE; PANELS; LANDSCAPE AND STAR. TREE imagines the new playschool as a tree structure, panels is looking at the potentials of an entirely plywood building; LANDSCAPE looks at the building as an inhabitable extentions of the playground and STAR produces distinct and connected worlds for different areas of learning.
The studio has been pushing to develop potential proposals. Starting with 17, the studio is now down to 8.
Unfeasible designs dont get built. Projects need to now align with some very real issues! Now looking to start resolving the implications of the premanufacture and construction process on the developing the detail design. And get a better understanding of the structural and budget implcations of the design.
Its been awesome having Jim and Zama from Masiyusane and Charles Duna Primary representatives, Mr G and Principle Sume in studio. Really a special engagement with extensive contributions from all parties. Really putting our heads together on this One!
Students flirted with AI and sent a single image with their prompt to the class whatsapp group.
We found it interesting for its potential to help articulate design visions as project prompts; and even to self generate “precedents”... but most likely just a fun way to mine ideas!
After field visits; the studio developed a matrix of the pre-school types. This included the "classroom" [CAP] type; the "play type [IEB]; the Work" type [Montessori] and "Daycare. The daycare, has a TV, and looks after children's basic needs. A potential upside is that "informal" approaches, with few things, provokes different kinds of imaginations often found in social cohesion, music and dance.
Thanks dearly to Mr Roy Cumberlege from NMU Quantity Surveying for coming to chat to about basic costing considerations for the CDC Project... very insightful!
What a week visiting 5 different creches in the city, affluent and disadvantaged, IEB, CAPS and Montesorri!... to get direct experience of the different types - to become more informed and to help us further hone our design brief! What insight from Masi and CDC, thanks all!
...and thanks Mpumzi for arranging all the logistics!
What a really special day engaging with Masinyusane representatives Jim, Zama and Zola; Charles Duna Primary Representatives Principal Sume and Mr G.... Mpumzi, the CLASS of 2023 and the students at the primary school!
- Formally met everyone;
- Discussed the visions for the project
- Listened to a story about a giraffe who tried to be a lion
- Ran a craft workshop with the pre-grade R class
- Played Soccer
- Measured the site
- Saw a grade 4 model building project
- Chatted to some parents who volunteer to teach at the school!
Thanks to Wesley Nash for sharing his lessons of pre-manufacturing for a mountain hut he designed and built in the Hex mountains in the Western Cape for the mountain club. Awesome!
Recently visited the creche in Airport Valley to take a prospective Masters Student who may be researching a dimension of the impact of the creche. The creche has come alive after time, the floors have been worn by many shoes, and bare feet over the last 4 years.... well used and well loved... but looking for sponsors for R 5000 for new paint and varnish!
Visited Metal Man to learn different steel products available, standard processes, hot dip galvanising and laser and fire cutting. Then headed out to BUCO North End to see standard timber planks and boards and truss manufacture.
Visiting material manufacture and supply sites, to better understand our economic, standardised readily available material sets and construction techniques.
We would like to thank Safintra, Deranco and Maizey's for accommodating us.
Studio currently investigating different modes of spatial production...