Designing Ubuntu
Our strong belief in Ubuntu’s mission, together with a deep understanding of the place, created the positively charged context from which we began our design of the Ubuntu Centre.
Patiently listening to Jake, Banks, and the entire Ubuntu family, was really our first design move. The voices that we heard began slowly to impart the real needs facing the community. It was from these loosely structured talks and discussions that the Ubuntu program began to unfold. And out of these collective encounters came the driving force that was to shape the design—to raise the spirit of the community and instill a sense of hope in the children of Zwide.
On my first trip to Zwide, I noticed how people moved within the township using an informal system of paths. This organic network of dirt paths spidered across the entire township, connecting every essential aspect of the community’s daily life. Transit stops, schools, market, and social hangouts were all on the way. We realized that the Ubuntu Centre needed to allow these pathways to continue right through the building, so it felt like it belonged and gave people a way to access Ubuntu’s services as a natural part of their everyday routine. We mapped and traced these pathways and our drawings of how they traversed the site formed the basis for all our plans.
Once this strong idea for the layout of the building was in place, we needed to search for a combination of materials that would be fresh and forward looking, while still being local and familiar. Concrete, which is used for infrastructure, like bridges, sent the message of permanence and solidity, while a shading screen made of wooden gum poles was woven in a way similar to the typical thatch curtains and traditional thatch roofs.
When the building was complete and Hugh Masekela gave his unforgettable performance at the opening, we felt like we had to find a way to somehow share the magic beyond the streets of Zwide. And so, the idea for Designing Ubuntu was born— we decided to write a book about what Bulali, one of the Ubuntu scholars, called, “a building that speaks”. The book opens up our sketchbooks, and shares the conversations, insights, realizations, and dreams that shaped the Ubuntu Centre.
A hard copy of the Designing Ubuntu book can be ordered here.
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