Silindokuhle Preschool is made up of recycled materials, built by the community and has now been awarded a building innovation award.
Since 2014, Collectif Saga has been involved in a community project with residents of the Joe Slovo West informal settlement in the suburbs of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The team has been working on the implementation of various facilities within the area. In 2015, they completed the community hall and started plans for the local preschool.
Silindokuhle Preschool was designed to provide the children of the community with a better and safer learning environment while showing the great potential of using recycled and reclaimed materials in construction.
They used mostly recycled and refurbished items to build a centre focused on childhood development. The building has an incredible beauty about it and while it may stand out amongst the surrounding buildings, its uniqueness draws people in. It was built near a new section of RDP houses.
Patricia Piyani, founder of the preschool and soup kitchen, has been taking care of the children in her community for the last ten years. She did’t have the opportunity to go to school when she was younger. The lack of education inspired her to create an opportunity for proper education to the children of her area.
The architects designed a building that would be engaging and experimental.
“The preschool is a shelter for new experiences for the children, offering large views toward the surroundings, playing with shadows and light, showing the reality of its construction. Raw materials are assembled to form a warm learning environment, offering three large classrooms naturally ventilated, and widely open towards the broader landscape.”
“The canteen space, enclosing the outside playground, offers to the children and community members a shared space, a canvas for new tales, games and other events. Sanitation is provided, using mainly rainwater, and a large office was built for Patricia and the four teachers. The building reflects the story of the preschool, it is singular in its dimensions and aspect, it is man-made; its construction contains a multitude of collective stories, so many beginnings for new opportunities.”
Collectif Saga was awarded at the AfriSam-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture + Innovation for their involvement in Category D, known for its Sustainable Social Programmes.
The awarded projects and programmes make a positive contribution to communities and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as the reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation and the use of sustainable or renewable construction materials.
You can see the video of the preschool below.
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