An Openly Working Space (Wetu Memela)

An opening in a concrete jungle

The academic buildings of ISSA

The International School of South Africa is Cambridge syllabus educational institution situated in Mafikeng, North-West, South Africa. Nestled on several acres of land is the delicate balance of urban concrete and tranquil vegetation. I chose the encircled area because it best shows this balance. The first thing is apparent is that the space can be marked as a district on its own; the grass on either side of the path is enclosed within the hard edges created by the buildings that surround it. Other elements within the district are the path going through the middle, the two land marks and the nodes of activity within it.

Landmarks

The picture above shows the two landmarks in the district, this is also the first view of the school that an observer would see as soon as the exit their vehicle.

 The fountain is one of the minor landmarks on the schools campus. Being situated at the entrance of the school, the perfect circular shape and clean hard edges of the concrete the encase the grass, give a sense of formality and order from the very start of anyone's journey into the school.  Being the first thing that you see in stays in your mind only to be confirmed again because it is the last thing you see as you get back in your car to leave the campus. The fountain leads directly to the general assembly hall of the school (below). This serves as the major landmark on the campus,  it shows the school logo and a giant clock on the face of the building, expressing its significance and importance. The height of the face of the building means that it can bee seen from any point in the surrounding academic buildings, making it n ever present aspect of your experience in the space.

The Path

The path that goes through the district is made more than clear by the soft edges formed by the bushes around it. The concrete of the path is very well contrasted by the rich vegetation around it, this contrast greatly contributes to the success of this path; as stated by Cullen the human mind reacts well to contrast along any straight or long path. The changes in color and texture as your eyes moves from the path to the grass provide this contrast. This path is also the connector of two nodes of administrative activity. it links the the assembly hall to the office of the senior school (below). Thus, the path always has a steady flow of human traffic (accommodated by the width) from one side to the other seeing as it links the two landmarks of the district passing nodes of activity along the way

The path ends at the administrative office and leads out to the fountain.

** some of the pictures were taken my me, aerial pictures obtained from:  http://www.issa.co.za/gallery/index/view/id/1/page/4