Alexandra Heritage Centre
Alexandra, Gauteng, South Africa, 2000

The Alexandra Heritage Centre sits opposite the site known as Mandela's Yard, a shack that he occupied in the 1940's. The project builds a sense of community and provides poverty relief through training inhabitants in tourism and heritage; nurturing small enterprises; and by showcasing the arts, culture and heritage of Alexandra.

Ramps accessed from the street draw people to an upper level exhibition and library space where elevated vantage points celebrate the dense urban roofscape. From here one can look down into two new public spaces created on both sides of the street, contained by wings housing entrepreneurial activity and training facilities. These multi-functional spaces are designed to be the sites of political and social events. Just as the 'spaces between' the yards are active, so there is no residual space in the Centre. Uses overlap and interact: a fifth dimension is created under the building; space becomes street and street is reconfigured as space.