23-04-2014

Alexandra Football for Hope Centre, Johannesburg.

Johannesburg, South Africa,

Community Center, Sport & Wellness,

abstract



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Alexandra Football for Hope Centre, Johannesburg.
Architecture for Humanity with Grassroot Soccer (GRS) and Football for Hope have constructed a sports centre in the township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. Clear, simple architecture, an example of how powerful sport can be in driving social change.



The Alexandra Football for Hope sports centre in Gauteng, Johannesburg is the result of collaboration between Grassroot Soccer (GRS) and Football for Hope with the team from Architecture for Humanity (AFH). The aim is to revive part of the township of Alexandra, which has high percentage of informal dwellings, and at the same time to educate youth about HIV and AIDS, empowering them to fight this through sport and education.





Indeed, the facility is designed to engage with its context. The building’s style is simple and at the same time functional, materials are repurposed and recycled or locally sourced. Natural daylight and solar power improve the project’s environmental impact.





The building stands right on the street edge, reaching out to the community and encouraging people to come in and play sport. Eventually, the facility will offer other sports but right now the initiative is football focussed. The idea of Football for Hope is to provide twenty such infrastructures throughout Africa, drawing attention to the themes of public health, education and of course soccer, with a special focus on the social challenges posed by the most disadvantaged zones.



NAME: Alexandra Football for Hope Center
PROJECT LEAD: Football for Hope
LOCATION: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
START DATE: February 01, 2011
CURRENT PHASE: Pre-design
COST: $150000 USD (Estimated)
SIZE: 180 sq. m
PROJECT TYPE: Community Center
COST ESTIMATOR: Pentad Quantity Surveyors
ARCHITECT: Kate Otten Architects
PROJECT PARTNER: Architecture for Humanity, streetfootballworld
ENGINEERING: Themba Consulting Engineers
CONTRACTOR(S): Ubuhlebethu
DESIGN FELLOW: Unathi Mkonto
FUNDING: FIFA
BENEFICIARIES: Community members from the Alexandra Township outside of Johannesburg, South Africa


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