Siyathemba Pitch Wall-Scape

The Siyathemba Pitch Wall-Scape is a community gathering place for children and adults. Constructed of mud-brick, the labryinthian Wall-Scape contains passageways and a small play room for young children and a larger, private room for changing with storage areas and benches. The changing room can also serve as a class room, or as a private meeting space for patients. Because the Siyathemba Pitch Wall-Scape will also be a place where AIDS awareness and treatment may take place, the entire structure is intended to also serve as a play space with many nooks and crannies for discovery and amusement for younger children. The intent is that the location is associated with soccer and play while also serving a community gathering place that engages very serious health issues.

Mud-brick, ubiquitous and inexpensive, is the primary material used in the construction of the Wall-Scape. The thick walls offer privacy while the spaces between walls allow for ventilation, play and promote alternate egress as a safety precaution. The iconographic strength of the plan as a graphic can also serve as the uniform logo, encouraging the recognition of the Wall-Scape as an important place in the community.

Project Date: 2004
Project Location: Siyathemba, South Africa
Project Team: Ronald Rael, Chris Shelley