PROJECTS
Constructing
African tenacity
The African continent is set to welcome the Botswana Innovation
Hub, a soon-to-be iconic symbol of support for research and
development in Botswana.
By Candace Sofianos King | Photos by SHoP Architects
An intriguing artists’ impression of the Botswana Innovation Hub in Gaborone.
N
estled in the heart of Gaborone,
the Botswana Innovation Hub will
soon act as a beacon in
supporting innovation and
entrepreneurship, operating as a nexus for
knowledge creation and advancement.
The Botswana Development
Corporation’s Innovation Hub was designed
by SHoP Architects of New York after
winning an international competition to
www.saroofing.co.za
design the campus. The facility includes an
HIV Research Lab run by the Ministry of
Health in partnership with Baylor, Harvard
and the University of Pennsylvania, as well
as a data centre and engineering floors.
Technologically green
The client’s brief was for an iconic yet
timeless building which employs the most
advanced green technology available. With
this in mind, SHoP’s design uses a variety
of sustainable techniques which combines
passive and active sustainable
energy techniques.
The complex features a collection of long
slender buildings that reach out into the
open land and are covered with a concept
SHoP calls an ‘Energy Blanket’ roofscape
that incorporates sustainable
energy techniques.
CLADDING // CONCRETE // INSULATION // STEEL // THATCH // TIMBER // TRANSLUCENT // WATERPROOFING // COMPONENTS
NOVEMBER 2018
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