Ubuntu Design Group

The word Zulu means Heaven and the Zulu people are known as the people of the heavens.

A big part of Zulu culture revolves around practices that connect the individual to their God and to the heavens.

This was a particularly exciting project designing a Zulu observatory as tool that will teach Zulu children about their traditions, values and astronomy.

"I am hoping to change the paradigm, push people to dream and undergo risk. It is not because you are rich that you should waste material. It is not because you are poor that you should not try to create quality. Everyone deserves quality, everyone deserves luxury, and everyone deserves comfort. We are interlinked and concerns in climate, democracy and scarcity are concerns for us all" - Francis Kéré

We would like to take a moment to honour and celebrate Mr Diébédo Francis Kéré for his historical & ground breaking moment in being the FIRST African & FIRST Black Architect to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is considered an Architect's highest honor.

To us as young African Architects, this fills us with hope and courage to see an incredible Architect being honoured for his work which seeks to empower & transform communities through Architecture.

ONCE AGAIN WE CELEBRATE YOU, WE HONOUR YOU & WE THANK YOU FOR PAVING THE WAY

Meet the faces behind Ubuntu Design Group.

Wandile Mthiyane is an Obama Leader, TEDx fellow, Social entrepreneur, Architectural designer as well as the founder & CEO of UDG. Influenced by his childhood experiences growing up in post-apartheid South Africa, he founded UDG. With a vision of having an Architectural organisation that would bring about social impact through the design and building of projects ranging from residential to urban scale.

Nontokozo Mhlungu is the Principal Architect at UDG with years of experience in the industry. She possesses a design flair needed to conceptualize, co-ordinate & develop landmark architecture. She has a holistic yet practical outlook on design as well as other creative endeavours such as fine arts & product design.

In this design for a Physiotherapy Center for children UDG's concept was to create an environment that felt more like a home than a facility, a space conducive to the development of children with disabilities.

The aim was to explore sustainable yet affordable & creative solutions for a therapeutic home. A space that would be flexible in facilitating various treatment procedures while still promoting a sense of dignity for its occupants.

The building would be split into two wings, with different functions, separated by large open circulation spaces. One wing would be for day to day therapy & consultation & the other to be utilised as a day care. From these two wings people can access a garden with a series of pathways and a sensory garden, which all play a vital role in the treatment aspect of the home.

In this concept design, Ubuntu Design Group had the task of analysing the existing Masikhule Preschool with the intention of upscaling it through design interventions that would uplift the local community as well as provide dignified childcare facilities that meet the local authority regulations.