People + Prosperity - A living ‘building’ which grows and matures with its community

Brickworks proposes a sensitive, bottom-up approach to community development through sustainable industry. The building is designed to grow organically out of a spatial catalyst - a kiln - which provides an introduction to basic brickmaking and pottery skills training. The remainder of the Brickworks is subsequently constructed in phases, which encourages the community to systemically absorb the skills and knowledge required to run a complex industry. Over time, an artistic language in pottery and clay-based craft will emerge throughout the township. The proposed intervention therefore establishes a platform for economic opportunity, encourages skills training and generates urban energy, while developing a socio-cultural language centered around clay, ideal for tourism and trade.

Place – Establishing a craft-based local identity through slow-architecture

Brickworks allows inhabitants of the township to create their own spatial environments. By stablishing brickmaking as a new trade, masonry products become readily-available building materials, and the township emerges as a blank canvas for newfound skills and creativity. Over time, Brickworks will therefore generate its own physical context and embed itself into Soshanguve’s architectural landscape. As the surrounding urban context develops, needs of people will also mature from basic (e.g. job creation/food production) to complex (e.g. artistic expression/socio-cultural interaction). Should the need for brickmaking ever become obsolete, various parts of the building could be re-programmed as an urban market, food storage silo, community hall, tourist center and social housing.

Planet – Industrial ecology and full-cycle regenerative production

Brickworks is designed to encourage interaction between social, industrial and ecological activity. Brick-making itself was re-structured to reduce the harmful emissions traditionally associated with the process: An industrial ecology within the building harvests energy and transfers it to where it is needed. Fly-ash (air pollution caused by kilns) is up-cycled and used as brick additive and fertilizer. In addition, the need for transport is omitted by locating a clay quarry next to the Kiln. As clay extraction moves from one site to the next, each quarry is rehabilitated into a water-body which will serve as reservoir and aquaculture site. Eventually, Brickworks will be surrounded by a landscape dotted with lakes and wetlands, restoring natural habitat and biodiversity to Soshanguve.