As we move along with the Football for Hope program, communities around Africa are welcoming new design fellows moving closer to their site to work hand by hand with the local consultants and center hosts to further develop the project.
Themba has just relocated to Mokopane, Limpopo in the northern part of South Africa. He is working with the local Red Cross, the center host of the project to create a space that communicates and engages with the community of Mogalakwena.
Mokopane, South Africa
Themba Mekwa, is the Design Fellow working on the Mogalakwena Football for Hope Center in Mokopane, Limpopo District, South Africa. He just moved last week to the site location to work closely with the consultants. The project is located on an extended site, crossed by several main communication paths. A master plan proposal has been developed by Themba to organize the site before deciding the exact location of the center.
The building is ordered as a series of interlinked rectangles, each accommodating specified functions. A stilted roof encloses the main building allowing for shaded communal space on the north and lighting opportunities gently rising to the south in the direction of the pitch to welcome guests.
The ultimate purpose of the intervention is place making, to create a space that allows opportunities for education and intergration of the youth to flourish through structured activities, sporting and otherwise. The FFH Centre and pitch are placed on a major pedestrian avenue that links Phola park to Dudu Madisha drive, an important thoroughfare for movement to and from Mokopane town. In this way, the community is encouraged to engage with the facility, to recognise its presence at various levels. Here a community is offered a platform to gather, socialise, discuss matters, learn and develop.
Themba Mekwa is a registered architect residing in Cape Town. A South African national, he holds a post-graduate degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and has spent the last 5 years working for a reputable local firm on various residential, commercial and education projects. He enters the Football for Hope program with a keen interest for collaborative design and youth orientated development. Other interests include experimentations in product and furniture design with special focus on the design to manufacturing process.
The site in Mokopane
The team on site
Elevations of the proposed center
Plan of the proposed center
More info on the Mogalakwena Football for Hope Center Worldchanging page.
