The Nex – Hope Community Centre
2020
Awards:
2023 CIfA Award for Architecture
Project Team:
Client: VPUU
Contractor: Longworth & Faul + Edge 2 Edge
QS: Grey Quantity Surveyors (PTY) LTD
Landscape Architect: TKLA
Structural + Civils Engineer: Naylor, Naylor & van Schalkwyk
Acoustic Engineer: SRL South Africa (Pty)Ltd
Electrical Engineer: IME Consultants
Photographs: David Malan
“There is a quiet confidence in the way that The Nex Indawo has been conceptualized, developed, and resolved. A deep sense of care towards the emergent urban context is evident, where despite having to include fences for security, there is an openness and generosity that speaks of a hopeful and inclusive future. Unassuming structures are placed strategically along an urban spine to allow for a hierarchy of access and privacy, with the most public buildings positioned towards the street and the more vulnerable places for children placed furthest to the back of the site. Thresholds are cleverly articulated to allow for full accessibility on the one hand and legibility on the other, with due consideration for inclement weather despite the visual connections between interior and exterior spaces. The continuity between the rounded amphitheater and the gallery in the library offers an intriguing spatial device that speaks to the intention of knowledge sharing and shared community.”