Ithuba

Documenting a unique building project in South Africa.

Documents the building project which took place in 2012.In only a few weeks, Architecture students from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) planned and built a kindergarten in South Africa together with locals. Ithuba means „opportunity“ in Zulu. The Ithuba Community College is situated on the edge of a township near Johannesburg. Founded by a non-profit association, it offers children access to good education and builds a network with European Universities, so that students can plan and build constructions like kindergartens or schools in South Africa. In Ithuba young Europeans meet with young Africans to share their know-how and build together. The kindergarten is conceived as a house-in-house structure. The classroom is encompassed by a second room that works as a climate buffer. While in summer the sliding doors are kept wide open, thereby creating a shady veranda, they are closed in winter. In those times, the translucent outer hull catches the sunlight and heats the intermediate zone to a comfortable temperature. This solar heating significantly improves the interior climate, as for cost reasons no heating system was installed.