Sustainability in African common space design

My journey into the design of common spaces in Africa began in 1960: at the time, I was a qualified architect living under the strict apartheid regime in South Africa. It was then that I began to question the restrictive approaches to spaces of the time, which excluded the majority of the country's population. Having chosen to collaborate with rural indigenous African communities, I began to observe and document the ritual and everyday practices of these cultures in order to better understand how their spaces reflected their heritage, needs and aspirations, and shaped their vision of the world.

This fieldwork took the form of a fundamental study documenting the design of common spaces in southern Africa and its evolution during the second half of the twentieth century. Much of this study took place before the sociological injustices of apartheid disrupted the traditional way of life of indigenous African communities.

Although my learning began sixty years ago, this inclusive approach to the design of common spaces remains relevant to designing and building responsible contemporary African architecture that reflects diversity and a sense of identity while contributing to sustainable development.

Parameters to consider for successful ecological architecture

1. Consult and involve the population in the project as a prerequisite for conceptual design;
2. Designing common spaces in a way that is conducive and supportive of the building's use and the cultures it serves;
3. Buildings that, in the true tradition of African architecture, are not all about form, but about the creation of space, through progressive development and adaptation to changing circumstances;
4. It's not just the plan that generates an idea: the roof does too;
5. Inherent order, scale and proportion, and a regulating geometry that brings tranquility to the human experience of singular indoors and outdoors;
6. Symbolically timeless, respecting past, present and future;
7. Creating safe, accessible public spaces in a post-apartheid society;
8. A construction process adapted to the situation and with low embodied energy;
9. The importance of using locally sourced and low embodied energy building materials in terms of manufacturing and recycling in an urban context marked by waste and high embodied energy for reused components;
10. Must require a low level of maintenance over the long term;
11. Community involvement in construction;
12. The project's main government funder stipulates that a certain percentage of the construction work be carried out by unemployed members of the local population, whose construction training contributes to their emancipation and that of the community.

Learning from and collaborating with nature to create sustainable design

In 2005, while leafing through a national newspaper, my wife Diane spotted an advertisement for the design of a modern interpretation center to house the precious artifacts and relics of the Mapungubwe kingdom, including the famous golden rhinoceros.

Situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, the ancient kingdom of Mapungubwe is now part of the SANParks Game Reserve, one of South Africa's World Heritage Sites. The southernmost African example of a civilization that reigned from the 9th to the 12th century, Mapungubwe was a symbol of Africa's glory days, physically embodying, through the topography of its lands, the social hierarchy of royalty, who occupied the high ground of a mesa overlooking the proletariat. The profusion of gold, Ming and Malay pottery and beadwork found on these lands is indisputable proof of a civilization that traded and exchanged technical know-how with China, Malaysia, India, Persia and Europe over the course of its three centuries of existence.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre

In designing the center, it was essential to return to my studies of the African practice of designing communal spaces; to draw inspiration from the surroundings and to echo the cultural significance of the place. At the same time, it was my learning from Nature and its intrinsic mathematical order that would be the inspiration for the architectural concept. What I wanted to see take shape was a cavernous architecture, a harmonious continuity of the geology of the topography, but also of the biodiversity of the landscape, while evoking the sacred through its darkness and overall ambience.

The architectural expression of the cavern and the clerestory lighting are the two main elements in the design of the interpretation center, which incorporates a zigzag pilgrimage path dotted with cairns demarcating changes of movement and direction as you traverse an eleven-metre-high mountainside. The historic site featured the remains of landmarks forming a triangle, signs of the presence of native settlement courtyards, reflected in the geometry of the layout.

John Ochsendorf, MIT, and Michael Ramage, Cambridge University, UK (former tutor/student), with a wealth of research on timbrel vaults, took on the role of advisors and engineers for the Mapungubwe timbrel vaults.

Adopting the pre-industrial construction technique of timbrel vaulting, compressed soil cement tiles were assembled to build the walls and roof of the structure in a catenary curve echoing the surrounding stone formations in harmony with Nature. The special feature of this technique is that it relies on the forces of Nature to enable the creation of voluminous structures without the need for concrete or steel reinforcement. Surface stones removed from the site to enable the structure to be erected were used to line the vaulted roofs and form the cairns. By using what the site gave us without bringing in other materials, we were able to reduce the carbon footprint by almost 80%.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre

The challenge was to manufacture the cement floor tiles using as little cement as possible, while maintaining a minimum strength of 4 MPa. To achieve this, we mixed the soil from the site with 5% cement to make the tiles. The tiles then had to remain wet for seven days to create a delayed drying process to achieve the required strength.

What I didn't mention was that each tile was hand-pressed by members of the local population, who were trained in the production process and other construction techniques such as stone masonry, with the aim of stimulating employment and sustainable socio-economic development in the region.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre

Sustainable management of urban environments

When it comes to sustainable design, thinking about the urban environment is just as important as thinking about the natural landscape. The Alexandra Heritage Centre is located in one of the oldest townships in Johannesburg, South Africa. Likely founded in 1913 by 40 families looking for work in the city, Alexandra township today is home to 700,000 inhabitants from all cultural backgrounds. Most of the built heritage is made up of improvised dwellings with no municipal infrastructure, constantly adapting to changing conditions. Public space here takes the form of a dense network of streets and alleys that branch off into private courtyards.

Alexandra Heritage Centre

In 1942, Nelson Mandela rented a small room at 'Alex'. In A Long Way to Freedom, he wrote: “Alexandra holds a special place in my heart. It was the first place I lived after leaving home.” Mandela's bedroom has since been proclaimed a national monument, and the surrounding area, nicknamed “Mandela's Yard”, has been designated a heritage district. Opposite Mandela's Yard, linking two street corners, stands the Alexandra Heritage Centre.

When I was involved in designing the center, which opened in 2004, my first instinct was to explore the area around Mandela's Yard. By documenting the heritage district in its entirety, including all interiors, furniture, outdoor spaces and vehicles, I was able to understand the existing context and the importance of the organic evolutionary process that defined the township's unique character and urban grain, so as to integrate this into the center's design.

The aim of this site study was to strike a balance between respect for the urban character of the surrounding area, a small footprint to avoid demolition, and the monumental symbolism of the center. The concept of a bridged building overlooking 7th Avenue with its dwellings and open courtyards defines the perspective as you approach from the south, while the roof attempts a familiar contrast with a criss-cross of ascending and descending slopes. The building's mass and site form an almost continuous line, giving rise to a harmonious interplay between solid and void, with the ground. The bridge appears colossal when seen from afar, but as it is approached, the structure dissolves into the sky and the emphasis shifts to the urban aspect of the streets, with two public squares flanking it on either side.

L’Alexandra Heritage Centre

L’idée de durabilité se transpose dans le rude paysage urbain, où les matériaux de construction récupérés et les faibles coûts de maintenance contribuent aux économies d’énergie. L’ossature en acier de l’Alexandra Heritage Centre a été rapide à assembler. Des panneaux intégrant un emboîtement de briques en ciment de sol pressées à la main définissent les murs du centre. La plaque de polycarbonate translucide revêtant le pont est légère, filtre la lumière naturelle et résiste aux éléments, ce qui réduit les besoins en maintenance au strict minimum. Les places publiques au niveau de la rue ont été pavées à l’aide de matériaux de construction récupérés.

L’Alexandra Heritage Centre

The local population was involved in the birth of the Alexandra Heritage Centre. It was important to include them in the decision-making process for the building's design. Job creation is a key factor in the center's function, with the recruitment and training of craftsmen during the construction phase, and the empowerment of the small-scale entrepreneurs who occupy the building. The center's design is linked to a much broader vision for Alexandra, which is to bring sustainable growth to the township.

The Alexandra Heritage Centre blends into the township's bustling urban fabric, while Mapungubwe is inspired by the surrounding natural landscape. Despite the sizeable differences in the contexts of these two projects, what links them to a sustainable architectural approach is the fact that they both have a design and construction process that adapts sensitively to their environment and context, integrating locally sourced building materials and limiting their energy consumption. Equally important is the empowerment of local populations, with each project aiming to foster the region's long-term socio-economic development.

With a view to building a greener future for our industry, it's worth remembering that when it came to buildings constructed in the true tradition of African architecture, it wasn't the form, but the realization of spaces that was paramount, adapting to changing circumstances while reflecting cultural heritage and a certain sense of identity.