PROJECTWATCH
PROPOSED , CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND ABROAD
NEW CAMPUS FOR STADIO , DURBANVILLE
Higher education provider STADIO recently announced its plan to develop a new comprehensive campus in Durbanville in the Western Cape , with the first phase set to launch in mid- 2025 . Set to offer qualifications spanning from education to IT , law , media and design , commerce , architecture and engineering , the campus will eventually accommodate between 4,000 and 5,000 students .
Planning and designing the education hub from scratch is no small task . Cape Town-based firm , BPAS Architects , has been appointed , leveraging the company ’ s architectural design experience in the education sector , as well as its full service offering that includes interior design and landscaping .
Landseer Collen , founder and Principal Architect at BPAS , says it ’ s not often an opportunity to design a flagship campus from start to finish comes along . “ The idea is to design the campus holistically , rather than expanding an existing building . This is refreshing as most campuses have developed one faculty at a time .
BPAS researched other universities and education institutions to learn from what has worked and what has not , and we know that a campus has to be integrated into a community . We have to factor in student life , the wider northern suburbs hub developing in Durbanville , and ensure that we develop this into a precinct , rather than a group of academic buildings and facilities .”
BPAS focuses on people-centred design , and this has informed the approach to the STADIO campus , which aims to prioritise its users and ensure good flow throughout .
Even though the space has been designed for a comprehensive institution , the campus will be developed in three phases with plans for potential future expansions .
Design Approach “ When it comes to the buildings , we ’ ve used the ground floor as a public sphere ,” explains Landseer . “ Essentially , the campus is built vertically , as opposed to horizontally ( as is the case with most traditional universities ). As you move up the building , there is a sense of increased privacy , so you ’ ll find lecture halls and classrooms on higher floors . On the ground floor , the campus is completely pedestrianised and open to all students , so shared facilities such as the cafeteria and library are all at ground level .”
BPAS has ensured that each classroom should have a relationship to the environment around it , tapping into the idea that where you learn shapes how you learn . “ For example , we ’ ve designed the services building where the generator and solar power batteries will be housed in such a way that it can still be used as a classroom space . We believe it ’ s a great practical space for engineering students to learn about how buildings work and that becomes part of the academic furniture .”
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