Ukuqala

‘Ukuqala’ means “beginning” in Xhosa, one of South Africa's eleven official languages. The ‘beginning’ is the town of Grabouw near Cape Town, which consists mainly of townships and slums. Here, the non-governmental organisation Thembalitsha is involved in the ‘Village of Hope’ aid camp, a former farm site, for children who are directly or indirectly affected by HIV. Back in 2010, Thembalitsha developed the ‘ukuqala’ construction project in collaboration with architecture students from the University of Stuttgart with the aim of expanding and modernising the existing facility. In 2011 and 2012, volunteer students worked with villagers to build two residential buildings and a shade roof for a kindergarten using sustainable materials and simple construction methods, based on the traditional round huts of the region. In spring 2013, the project was finally completed with the conversion of the former farm building into a children's home.

Sustainable architecture and energy-efficient, cost-conscious construction form the basis of the project: traditional materials from the surrounding area, such as local pine wood, straw and clay, were used, supplemented by various recycled products. Straw bales were used to infill the walls of the children's house, for example. The builders placed particular emphasis on child-friendly, high-quality furnishings, which were provided by donations of materials such as washbasins and toilets from Duravit's Starck 3 series. The versatile Starck 3 series transforms sanitary rooms into comfortable, durable washrooms.