Major projects.
The Pete Patsa Community Arts Centre
2010 has seen DN embark on our most ambitious project to date, the design and construction of a three-building community arts centre in our ‘base’ in the Free State, Viljoenskroom/Rammolotsi,South Africa. The aim of this project is not only to consolidate the charity’s achievements in this area and but also to provide a place where local children will accrue viable life skills in conjunction with inspiration, and self-worth. This will be a space for disadvantaged children to feel safe; to be creative and confident enough to confront long-held taboos on issues such as sexual abuse and HIV. Through using the centres facilities, it is hoped that they will find a positive use of their time, away from the gang violence and drug cultures currently affecting local communities.
The arts centre will be named after Mr. Peter Patsa, a teacher who taught at the school formerly situated on this site, Waaisand Primary. Mr. Patsa was an extremely popular figure in his community and a great advocate of the Dramatic Need programme. Mr. Patsa sadly passed away on March 22nd 2009. He was greatly missed by Dramatic Need volunteers and students alike and it is for this reason we would like to dedicate this centre to him.
The Pete Patsa Community Arts Centre will consist of an arts and crafts building, complete with sewing machines for local women to use when the centre is not occupied by children, a dance and drama studio, and a film and music building with basic editing and screening facilities. The centre will be built using sustainable materials wherever possible and the children will design the interior wall and floor murals.
At the time of writing the final architectural drawings have been completed and being priced by the contractor. VERY EXCITING!
You can see the centre's location on Google Maps, or go to 27°10’47.50”S 26°55’07.53”E (elevation approx 1323m) on Google Earth.
Birds-eye view of the interior of the arts centre buildings (Image courtesy of Mokgadi Mokgobu/ PLP Architecture)
Equiping the Pete Patsa Art Centre
The PPAC will need lots tender lovin’ care in the form of equipment, instruments, music stands, paints, brushes, dance bars, sewing machines... you name it , we’re going to need it. If you have any working musical instruments, arts, film or photography equipment you are no longer using, we would LOVE to give it a new home! Please send it to us at: Dramatic Need PPCAC equipment Po box 239, Viljoenskroon, Free State South Africa 9520
Landscaping at the Pete Patsa Arts Centre
Given that the PPAC is being built within an existing community, how the surrounding landscape is used and maintained is of primary importance. Johannesburg-based landscape architecture firm Newtown Landscaping have graciously come on board, offering to design the landscaping on a pro-bono basis. The project is being headed by Johan Barnard and Ntokozo Msimang and emphasises the recycling of materials from the construction process and the participation of the children themselves in shaping how the surrounding grounds will look.
There will be a community tree-planting scheme introduced in early 2011.
FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS
We are thrilled to announce the debut of our new Dramatic Need blog, written on site in South Africa by our new regional manager Shannon. It includes daily updates and photographs on developments in the region, Dramatic Need workshops, the arts centre construction, and the fantastic kids we work with. It is a great way to stay updated and we urge you to check it out: http://dramaticneed.tumblr.com/
MEET THE AMAZING ARCHITECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE MADE THIS PROJECT POSSIBLE...
PLP Architecture (Andrei Martin)
PLP/Architecture is a London-based group of architects, designers and thinkers who value the transformative role of ideas and the capacity for architecture to inspire. The practice was founded in 2009 by Lee Polisano, David Leventhal, Fred Pilbrow, Karen Cook and Ron Bakker, the former partners who were responsible for leading KPF’s London office over the last 20 years.
Although PLP draws from a rich history and experience of working together on projects around the world, they have a culture of a young start-up. They produce intelligent, exciting and groundbreaking designs through a continual commitment to social, economic and environmental ideals. The office shuns preconceptions, fixed architectural styles or methods, allowing each project to become a unique opportunity to research, analyze and creatively respond to the brief, site and context.
The foundation of PLP’s work lies in a delight in the handling of materials, space and light and an optimism about architecture’s potential to enrich our society. The PLP team members working on the Pete Patsa Community Arts Centre included Senior Associate Andrei Martin and Partner Jon Neville-Jones RIBA.
Chris Harnish
Professor Chris Harnish joined the Dramatic Need design team after responding to a call from our website. A faculty member in Philadelphia University's School of Architecture, Chris specialises in emerging construction materials and methods in the developing world; their impact on traditional aspects of the culture, the environment, and developmental implications on community structure. Following an undergrad degree from Denison Univ., where he studied Environmental Studies and English literature, he ventured west to Montana to follow his favourite environmental crisis, the timber industry. Whilst at the Center for Resourceful Building Technology in Missoula, he worked on the annual Guide to Resource Efficient Building Materials (the first of its kind publication), and wrote articles examining topics such as Job Site Recycling and Construction Resource Efficiency. Chris later completed a Masters of Architecture at the University of Oregon where he gained a desire for simple, site responsive design appropriate to the user, the culture and the environment. Chris then worked for five years at renowned architectural firm Deborah Berke and Partners in New York City. In 2008 he spent 10 months in South Africa as an Architecture for Humanity Design Fellow, managing design and construction of a community centre and orphanage in Dennilton, Limpopo. He returned to Limpopo in the summers of 2009 and 2010 to continue his research and manage further construction projects.
You can read Chris’ ‘letter from an architect’ detailing why he got involved with the project, on our blog.
Mokgadi Mokgobu
Mokgadi hails from the Limpopo Province in South Africa. She completed a Bachelor of Architectural Studies at Wits University in Johannesburg after which Mokgadi remained in the city working for the firm TC Designs. She moved to the UK in 2004 to complete a post-graduate degree in Architecture at the London South Bank University with a focus on sustainable building methods and a dissertation in Conservation and Preservation of Historical buildings. She is an accomplished designer with an eye for detail with an in-depth approach towards making a positive contribution to the built environment.
Mokgadi currently works for Geblertooth Architects in West London, specialising in a wide range of projects from high-end residential, commercial, schools and urban regeneration projects within the city of London.
Her innate knowledge of the South African landscape, Sesotho culture and traditions have been of huge benefit to the overall design of the Pete Patsa Community Arts Centre, influencing the architectural drawings at every point of their development.
