Limpopo Youth Hostel: Rural Reinvention

L I M P O P O YO U T H H O S T E L Rural Reinvention

Location: Polokwane, Limpopo Year completed: 2019 Size: 1,350m² Client: Pan Africa Today

Local Studio is an architecture and urbanism practice based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was founded in 2012 by Thomas Chapman, no stranger to Pro Landscaper’s pages. Thomas also presented at FutureScape Africa Trade Event in 2019. Local Studio is renowned for its diverse portfolio of built work comprising public buildings, urban design schemes and private homes. Over the past few years, Local Studio has expanded its project base to more rural areas, which brings us to this Youth Hostel. Here, we visit two modest, timber-clad dormitories, designed and built for the non-profit organisation Pan Africa Today and located in Bela Bela, about 400km north of Johannesburg in the province of Limpopo.

Pan Africa Today is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advocacy training for youth. This project is the result of the organisation using funds to purchase a disused wedding venue, with the site including chalets and a dining hall. The brief from the client to Local Studio was to build two brand new hostel blocks that could accommodate 120 beds with communal spaces and account for extensions to the old function hall in case there was a need to cater for more people.

What is unique about this project is that it is the first by Local Studio attempting to apply its learning and experience of urban environments to this rural setting for the local community. There was one immediate common factor between urban and rural settings from the onset, and that is that a fair number of people will be using the facilities (over 200 in this case), therefore allowing the application of urban principals of public space and place-making. The only difference is the scenery in which the building exists. Here, the site is surrounded by nature rather than an urban setting of a bustling city.

"Here, a new material language has been developed which has some of the ephemerality of previous work but with more sensitivity to nature and the capacity to age more gracefully. "

The two hostel buildings are made up of 14 pods which can hold eight students each in bunk-beds. For privacy, each student has a screened wall with lighting elements that aid in creating a privtae space.

Each bed also has its own openable window for improved ventilation. This element creates on the façade of the building an irregular array of windows on three of the buildings. Each hostel building has a communal space on the ground floor, one being a library and the other an art centre. This creates meeting and sharing spaces where students can interact.

The materials

This project is unique in that there is a departure from the usual approach to materials for this firm. Usually, it would associate industrial materials such as steel, polycarbonate and corrugated iron with Local Studio’s aesthetic, largely based on its urban projects. Here, a new material language has been developed which has some of the ephemerality of previous work but with more sensitivity to nature and the capacity to age more gracefully.

The building’s primary structure is a lightweight Hebel concrete block. This is the biggest loadbearing structure built using this material in South Africa and the very aesthetic cladding element is Rhino Wood, a local wax treated South African pine.

Working with local timbers in South Africa can be challenging as they are mostly too fastgrowing to be used in primary structures. In this case, the Rhino Wood was applied to the façade of the building, spaced off the Hebel surface by 200mm. This effect shades the façade, facilitating a comfortable internal temperature for the building in the hot climate of Limpopo, which, on a summers day, easily reaches 40 degrees celsius.

Off-grid is how one can describe these buildings. Power is still partially sourced from municipal supply, however, plans are in place for a complete conversion to solar. All black water produced by the residential blocks is recycled for the irrigation of leaf vegetables which are grown onsite. The roofs of the building are a rolling series of mono-pitches, designed specifically to mimic and blend into surrounding hills and local scenery.

Local Studio is steadily building a portfolio in developing areas. On this particular site, a communal laundry and a workshop are being planned to be built in the near future.

Local Studio is responsible for several projects that have played a part in the regeneration of downtown Johannesburg, and now, they can safely add rural settings to their long list of accomplishments in design.

SUPPLIERS

Concrete block:

Hebel – 086 133 3835

Timber:

Rhino Wood – 084 580 6406

Flooring:

Atlas Walls and flooring – 072 388 8953

Decking | Cladding | Pergolas | Laminated Beams FUTURE-CONSCIOUS REAL WOOD PRODUCED USING TIMBER FROM SUSTAINABLE SOUTH AFRICAN FORESTS

S C I E N C E R E S E A R C H FA C I L I T Y University of Mpumalanga C H A L L E N G I N G C O N V E N T I O N

Year Complete: 2019 Size: 8548m 2 Location: University of Mpumalanga

Situated on the University of Mpumalanga, Lower Campus, you will find the new and rather striking science research building. This building provides 10 large specialised teaching laboratories, a number of post-graduate and research laboratories, raked and flat teaching venues and staff office spaces. Mpumalanga is a tropical region in the eastern part of South Africa, iconic for its beautiful undulating lush natural landscape and mountainous terrain, with steep slopes and rocky outcrops providing a challenging environment to build in. An existing unused parking platform on the university campus was identified as the extent of the site, a welcome constraint that mitigated surface challenges and guided the edges of the building to limit the impact on the natural environment.

The design intent of the Science Research Facilities for the University of Mpumalanga was to challenge the conventional learning practices of science within academic institutions which are mostly highly regulated and inaccessible to the curious eye. The building program has been spaced over separated buildings, punctuated by courtyards of various sizes that ensure the building is breathable, light and takes advantage of the climate and natural landscape of the Mpumalanga region, furthermore balancing the enclosed laboratories and open space. The envelope celebrates the program of the various laboratories through generous transparency in the facade whilst still sensitively responding to the climatic and functional requirements of an effective laboratory workspace.

By dispersing the building program across the site, new intermediate zones are created through courtyards, lingering thresholds and exposed service rooms, all connected by open covered walkways that wrap around the main courtyard. The programmatic arrangement of this building along the circulation spine exposes the entire procedure of the working nature within a laboratory, which in turn visually opens up the scientific discourse to the public realm.

Exteriors

The exterior program takes advantage of the visual connections of the laboratories by providing generous walkways and defined courtyard spaces to encourage people to linger and potentially learn through visual engagement. The courtyards nestled in between

the laboratories have been designed as open terraria that exhibit the thriving micro-ecologies of Mpumalanga.

A strong groundwater source uncovered during the construction phase is guided through the main courtyard through recessed channels on the ground, further reinforcing the powerful presence of the natural context.

Materials

The material palette is a selection of honest materials; a warm toned face-brick, off shutter concrete and glazing ensuring the envelope remains in line with the broader campus aesthetic. Terazzo floors continue the sentiment of honest, hardware materials throughout circulation routes, while the doors and joinery made up of locally sourced hardwood timber lend a warmth to the crisp white laboratory interiors.

MEET THE TEAM

Architects:

Ludwig Hansen Architects and Urban designers

Landscaper Architects:

kwpCREATE

Landscape Contractor:

Likhutsa Projects

The Landscape Architects

Situated on the Lower Campus of the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela, the Science Research Facilities, designed by Ludwig Hansen Architects and Urban Designers, form an interesting network of buildings that allowed for optimum interaction with the landscape. This site and region can be characterised by its rocky outcrops, undulating levels and both the Lowveld forest and grassland biomes. It was our aim as the landscape architects to respond to and enhance the unique character of the existing natural landscape, whilst providing ample space for students to ‘spill out’ of the building into various landscaped zones. We endeavoured to contribute to the surrounding landscape ecology through the planting selection, resulting in a number of indigenous gardens inserted throughout the building complex.

The smaller courtyard spaces nestled between the various building blocks were considered to be lower-light zones, and carefully selected species from the surrounding endemic forest biome were selected for these areas. The larger, or main, courtyard serves the function of guiding students and staff to the various building blocks, whilst providing a public space for gathering and resting. Custom designed stormwater channels, linking the planted areas, were inserted into the concrete paving to form part of a well-considered stormwater network that was designed to deal with a constant flow of groundwater through the main courtyard. This ultimately guided much of the design, enabling the main courtyard to be both ecologically functional and socially and aesthetically inviting. Custom designed benches were included as an extension of the architectural language, and drinking fountains were introduced to ease the effects of the Lowveld heat. The students who study in the buildings are fortunate to have both visual and physical access to the landscaped areas at all times, due to the close relationship between building and landscape.

Clay Pavers and Building Bricks:

Federale Stene – 013 241 2302

Lighting:

Regent Lighting Solutions – 011 474 0171

Tiling:

Union Tiles- 011 663 2000

Software Used:

ArchiCAD Graphisoft- 031 764 1314

Waterproofing:

SIKA South Africa- 031 792 6500

Benches:

Wilson Stone – 011 615 6212

Paint:

Plascon - 0860 204 060

Nurseries:

E-Grow - 013 516 0037 Likhutsa Nursery - 013 751 3030 Skukuza - 013 735 4312 Tree Factor - 073 748 4460

Irrigation product:

Rain Bird