B LU E P R I N T
New TB Lab unlocks social potential A new research facility in Sunnydale outside Cape Town for the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) designed by theMAAK aims to set a new architectural precedent for building in developing areas. PHOTOGRAPHY ANTON SCHOLTZ; theMAAK
LEFT From an angle, the north-facing aluminium façade fins of the new building optically compound to form a confident new face for the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. BELOW The building is sited so that it forms an edge that creates a new courtyard of public space and unlocks the social potential of the site.
16 LEADINGARCHITECTURE & DESIGN APRIL/MAY 2019
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ridging the needs and financing of DTHF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the South African Medical Research Council, theMAAK has completed a new Aerobiology TB Research Clinic in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, for the study of the transmission of TB among humans. The building includes dedicated laboratories on the ground floor and staff offices on the first floor. These facilities enable the rigorous testing and monitoring of the transmission of TB organisms, in order to find ways to curb the disease. A key intention of the architects’ approach towards building is the
incorporation of public space that supports enhanced public life and social activity. In this project, the building is sited so that it creates a new courtyard of public space and itself forms an edge to hold the space. The building was then cut back at an angle, to a) generously give of its own footprint expanding the public space, and b) create a strong link between itself and the adjacent existing clinic building. By creating this shared ‘free space’ between the new clinic and the surrounding buildings, theMAAK was able to unlock the social potential of the site for all of its users.
