Designed as a world class educational centre, the Africa Leadership Academy draws on the unique cultural influence of its extraordinary site, the Cradle of Humankind, creating a design which celebrates humility, the environment and its essentially African heritage. The Academy is situated in a region internationally renowned for its important palaeontological discoveries relating to the origins of humankind, and would like to draw on this influence by creating a centre concerned with the development, enlightenment and rebirth of student’s minds. An institution celebrating technological development and innovation, whilst remaining true to its African heritage and culturally sensitive site.

The design of the Academy sought to compliment the surrounding rural landscape, remaining environmentally conscious and architecturally innovative. Its campus is seen as a secure, protective environment, while remaining open and inviting to visitors. The basic design language of the school is one of functional style, a well rounded and simple design which remains entirely practical and efficient. Its African influence forms the base of the scheme, richly interwoven with advanced and environmentally friendly technology.

Planned around a large indigenous tree in an elliptical amphitheatre, the centre draws on the quintessentially African ideas of community debate and shared wisdom. The core is bordered on its eastern edge by the rising Founders wall, a structure representing the growth and development of the academy, grounded in its traditional and cultural heritage. The rest of the campus is arranged around the amphitheatre, stepping down from the ridge of the hill as a series of north facing terraces, all paths lead to the centre.

The amphitheatre is further emphasized through the communal spaces and the massing of buildings around it, with the largest buildings towards the centre and the smaller, single storey buildings on the periphery. A fountain also springs from the symbolic space, symbolizing the origins of education, thought and ideas, the water then flows through the school to the retention ponds below. The core of the school also forms the programmatic divide between educational and administrative buildings and the living elements, where students would stay.

A common threshold is created between the amphitheatre and the communal spaces around it, through the introduction of a curved pergola which connects the respective buildings, creating an intermediate zone of movement, reminiscent of the dappled shade created beneath the iconic canopies of Africa’s acacias. The surrounding buildings respond directly to the surrounding environment by maximizing the use of natural light through large glazed panels on the northern and eastern facades, celebrating the extensive views across the amphitheatre, over the sports fields towards the hills beyond.

The single storey, surrounding buildings echo the open grassland and rolling hills of the landscape through the subtle manipulation of their roofs into soft rounded shapes. The tones and colours of the surrounding landscape are also represented in the treatment of the Academy, as it subtly blends into its environment. Influence has also been drawn from rural settlements, as irregular wooden pole screens emerge from the site, diffusing harsh African sunlight, as they guard the school’s windows.

The design for the African Leadership Academy is essentially one of sensitivity through a strong understanding and reaction to the surrounding landscape, and the gentle manipulation of core architectural forms and the campus landscape. The building calls to its African heritage, celebrating the roots of African communal knowledge while responding directly to the implications of its unique and culturally significant site. A quiet understated dignity is sought in the design for the Academy, a building which is the product of its heritage.