AFRICA ARCHITECTURE AWARDS
The inaugural Grand Prix and Category Winners of the Africa
Architecture Awards were recently announced in Cape Town.
The event was the culmination of an ambitious two-year awards
programme that was initiated and supported by construction
industry innovator Saint-Gobain with the ultimate aim of stimulating
conversations about African architecture as it cements its place in
a global continuum. The Africa Architecture Awards is the first-ever
Pan-African awards programme of its kind. Over 300 projects from
32 African countries were entered into the awards. The final category
winners were announced as follows:
• Critical Dialogue: Forum de Arquitectura - CEICA, Angola
• Speculative: The Territory In-between, Cape Verde - Aissata Balde,
Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg
• Emerging Voices: The Exchange Consulate: Trading Passports for
Hyper-Performative Economic Enclaves, South Africa - Ogundare
Olawale Israel of the Graduate School of Architecture, University
of Johannesburg
Built & Grand Prix winner: Umkhumbane Museum, South Africa -
Choromanski Architects, South Africa
www.AfricaArchitectureAwards.com
uMkhumbane Museum, Choromanksi Architects
Built & Grand Prix Winner
Situated 7 km from Durban’s CBD, Cato Manor experiences various
complex challenges facing former townships – many of which are
continuations of the systemic injustice of South Africa’s past. As one
of th e world’s largest forced removal sites, Umkhumbane is iconically
remembered for being the most vibrant and diverse community in
Durban during a time characterised by separation. Numerous accounts
of this community express its richness, injustice, violence, protest,
pain and beauty. Most powerfully, the stories of everyday realities:
local nicknames, means of getting ‘forbidden liquor’ and friendships
across racial lines tell of the strength of people to momentarily live
News Watch
outside the limits of political machines and the abstract city created
by apartheid. eThekwini Municipality identified Cato Manor as an
ideal location to develop the uMkhumbane Museum, to preserve the
rich cultural and political history and stimulate innovation. It provides
the opportunity for contemporary culture and powerful heritage
to converge, serving as a tool for social, economic and ecological
regeneration. As part of a broader urban strategy, the site seeks to
activate and network various cultural nodes within the community
of Cato Manor through community involvement, local artists and
leaders. The master plan includes the following:
• the idea of communal space to connect diverse people through
open access to public services, by decentralising cultural nodes;
• a cultural park and public square;
• galleries for permanent collection on forced removals, focusing on
the struggle by women and children and temporary collections;
• dedicated space for community exhibitions;
• gathering areas for oral, performance, installation exhibits;
• social gathering areas for functions, eg. book launches, festivals
(film, writers, poetry, dance, music);
• concession areas including traders market stalls;
• theatre as multipurpose space;
• children’s innovative facilities.
The urban strategy aims to use technology and public space
innovatively to access, network and enhance the culture, serving
as a tool for community members to leverage in the co-creation
of today’s Umkhumbane Culture. The stories of Umkhumbane
in the 1940’s were examples of diversity and community during
apartheid. Cato Manor
today could provide
much needed stories of
regeneration and redress
in South Africa.
www.choromanksi.com
9