Saint-Gobain celebrated its 350th Anniversary last year and, to mark the milestone, sponsored an architectural awards programme in Mexico, India and South Africa – The Architecture for Social Gain Awards.
The awards promoted and celebrated architecture that positively effects the integration of community and environment for the long-term benefit of people and planet. In South Africa, an impressive 38 entries were received in FUTURE, BUILT & ADOPT-a-School categories
The Adopt-a-School Foundation is a non-profit organisation supporting the creation and enhancement of a conducive learning and teaching environment in disadvantaged schools. Entrants chose a school from a supplied list and submitted a design proposal, with a commitment from Saint-Gobain in association with Adopt-a-School to start the building of the winning project in 2016.
The winner in the ADOPT-a-School category was Johannesburg-based Kate Otten Architects with their proposed three step strategy to restructure Motshegofadiwa Primary School to greatly enhance its purpose as an education facility for the community of Hamanskraal.
Last week saw the official groundbreaking ceremony at the school.
The work of Kate Otten Architects has won awards from several bodies and has been exhibited and published locally and internationally.
The Architecture for Social Gain Awards proved such a success that Saint-Gobain has continued and expanded the competition to the rest of the African continent. The Africa Architecture Awards is set to become Africa’s largest architecture awards programme with the aim of celebrating design excellence and promoting an increased awareness of the role and importance of architecture across Africa.
Motshegofadiwa is classified as a primary school (Grade R – 7) that accommodates 960 learners. Located in Stinkwater, 58km north of Pretoria in Gauteng, the school community is characterised by extreme poverty and high levels of unemployment. Despite the lack of physical and educational resources, the school is run by an excellent management team and enthusiastic and passionate educators.
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