Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be celebrating his 86th birthday this coming weekend and the Design Indaba is honouring him with a symbolic wooden arch.
The 7th of October 2017 is an important day in South Africa. It is Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 86th birthday. The Archbishop has been an inspirational and powerful figure to South Africans for decades.
“As a leader in our faith community, Archbishop Tutu continues to speak truth to power before and after our liberation” – Patricia de Lille
His presence in South Africa has been a positive one and because of this, the Design Indaba honoured him with an Arch that is filled with symbolic meaning. It is made up of wood and consists of 14 individual arched beams that form a dome.
Each strand of wood bears a single line from the South African Constitution’s preamble, signifying the founding principles on which the country is built.
Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille, says the dome should be “a constant reminder of where we come from and the need to uphold its values.”
The structure is being installed at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on 7 October 2017 which coincides with Tutu’s 86th birthday. Johannesburg will also have the structure put up on the 10th of December 2017 at Constitution Hill for the 21st anniversary of the South African Constitution.
“Our constitution is considered one of the most progressive in the world, and similarly to how an arch relies on a keystone to avoid collapse, so too do South African freedoms rely on the constitution,” – Patricia de Lille
The arch was commissioned by Design Indaba and sponsored by Liberty. We cannot wait to see the images of it this Saturday.