Buildings

The Future Africa campus is designed to revolve around a lifestyle of research excellence and collaboration. A number of programs will be hosted on the campus and requires a layout that includes a dining hall, a conference centre, research commons and 265 living units ranging from single bedrooms to family units. The project required a holistic approach to the subsequent urban design and architecture of the campus, with a specific focus on how architecture can play a role in fostering critical thinking and research. The Research Commons focuses specifically on interconnectedness of space and knowledge, flowing between informal discussion pits, meeting rooms and study tables. The conference centre is the focal point of the campus, in which the sharing of knowledge as a collective will be key to the success of the campus. The campus is intended to play as much of a role in the education of the student body as the architecture is. Designed as a productive landscape, much of the vegetation will be edible, or useful to the focus of the campus’ studies. The architecture of the campus should play an active role in shaping minds, as much as it does in shaping environments.