The site for this project was extremely challenging due to the topography and the presence of an existing building. Both these parameters where challenging but would result in one of our favorite pieces of built architecture to date. We had to place the structure above the existing student accommodation on a small natural platform. This required the building to be small in footprint and 3 stories in height with an extra mezzanine level. This would allow for maximum density whilst maintaining a small footprint. We would also be building over the only piece of land that was useable by the students. As a result we needed to create some more transitional space within the design.  

 This transitional space was created in a simple exercise of juxtapositional twisting. We maximized the ground floor by building over the entire footprint, programming this space as the more public/ communal areas. This would include kitchen, games room, lounge and bathrooms. Stacked on top of this we would have 2 ‘towers’ of student accommodation. These ‘towers’ would be separated breaking up the scale of the structure and allowing views to be absorbed around the building.  The two towers would be ‘twisted’ in plan creating many interesting transitional spaces on the first floor. The spaces would be used by the students as outside entertainment or contemplative spaces. This ‘twisting’ of these accommodation towers in plan set up a healthy juxtaposed relationship between the base and the top, this was further emphasized in the material choices that we made along with the construction methodology.  

The base of the structure was built out of simple brick and mortar construction. This is a common construction methodology and many builders in South Africa build like this. The base would be capped with a concrete cap and then be waterproofed. Above this all construction would entirely fabricate out of ‘light frame steel’ LFS, lightweight board and polycarbonate cladding. This structure would rest on a simple steel frame superstructure and would appear to float atop the heavy rock base.  

 This project taught us many lessons with mixing construction methodology and technology. It is conceptually one of the most challenging projects to grace the studio and as a result holds a special place in the companies profile.