Westbury Transformation and Development Centre

The Westbury Transformation Development Centre is a mixed-use public building situated in the marginalized community of Westbury, Johannesburg, South Africa. The remanence of Apartheid planning, limiting access to quality public spaces and amenities, is still apparent in this community. The project therefore challenges the importance of architecture in changing our urban landscapes to affect spatial and social justice. It focuses on developing an approach to engaging with marginalized communities in a meaningful and sustainable way. It aims to create an innovative, locally fabricated architecture from a local palette of materials, using local skills. The programme of the building, fit into 5000m/sq - accommodates offices, a greenhouse, an old-age daycare, a multi-purpose sports hall, retail spaces, laboratory, bakery, youth counseling services, training and clubhouse, an early childhood development centre and underground parking garage. The construction budget of approximately $4,8million (R70 million) meant a low building cost of around $960 per m2, compared to a rate of $4,700/m2 in the US or $4,600/m2 in London, at the same time. (ref: statista research department, statista.com). The building envelope, restricted by limited buildable area, holds the corner and then steps to sit far back off the main street edge. This carves a generous public space - a linear park, in front of the building to be used by the community for various social, sporting, cultural and everyday activities. This public space is invaluable in a community where social space was for so many years neglected by the government. This important design gesture becomes a catalyst for spatial justice. The building design centres on creating smaller courtyards / safe spaces within a larger programme. The repurposed existing school building carries a cultural significance in the collective memory of the community and urban landscape, becoming the anchoring point of the site, around which the rest of the design has been hinged. The stoic, charred timber cladding of the ECD wraps a defensive courtyard against the busy corner of Perth Rd and Harmony St. This defensive skin is unassuming and turns it’s back on the street, but once you step inside, the ECD courtyard is filled with a burst of colour and is focused on the experience of the child. This perimeter wall also functions as a ventilated trombe wall, with the thermal mass of the concrete wall behind, absorbing heat during the day and slowly re-emitting it into the building at night, drastically reducing the need for conventional heating. Passive heating and cooling is an integral element to the overall design. The narrow floor plates allows daylight deep into the building with natural cross ventilation easily achieved. A living screen along the northern facade is in full bloom during summer months, creating cool, comfortable spaces. In winter, it loses its leaves, letting in the warm winter sun. The prominent location of the building offers a unique opportunity to shift public perceptions of this community, often only seen for its violent crime. The building becomes a symbol of change and a beacon of hope in the landscape.