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with TC DESIGN ARCHITECTS
8 000m² Nursing College, North-West University, Mafekeng
Sr Design Architect
Competition Entry, 2009
Responsibilities and Duties Performed:
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Brief formulation and accommodation scheduling through extensive research of similar precedent facilities
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Conceived and developed the design
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Prepared base models and write-ups
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Coordinated presentation material preparation
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Presented the design to the university council with Carl Fourie
The competition for the design for a new nursing college for the Mafekeng campus of the North-West University was released in November 2009, allowing a month of preparation before submission and presentation on 9 December 2009. With this project, the university intended to establish the leading nursing school in South Africa.
Conceptually the design employs unobstructed casual observation and practical exposure as its main focus. This supports the mentor principles of the envisioned program. Circulation spaces allows pause and observation of all practical teaching spaces, making learning an effortless occurrence. Accordingly, these spaces are terraced and in high traffic areas acoustic glass and audio is applied to prevent disruption.
The building is strongly integrated into its campus setting, not only by its position along a prominent axis, but through the sharing of its less specialised facilities such as auditoria and tutorial spaces with the rest of the campus. Doing so allows for the installation of state of the art audio visual facilities, ensuring optimum use of a valuable commodity, and justifying its capital cost. Campus circulation routes are directed through the ground floor shared facilities to ensure constant activity.
Like an organic spine, the ribbed cross axial plan structures the spatial organisation, and will support continued growth of the school and its facilities.
TC TEAM: Carl Fourie (Director); Chapman Leijenaar (Design Architect), Colleen Oosthuizen (presentation preperation), Warren de Bruyn (presentation preparation)