The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, Mapungubwe, South Africa has won the Silver Medal in the International Prize for Sustainable Architecture.

The Centre was co-designed by Michael Ramage (Department of Architecture) using a 600 years old construction system to achieve a low economical and environmental impact. The traditional timbrel vaulting, using locally made pressed soil cement tiles, allows the design to be materialized with minimal formwork and no steel reinforcement. In addition, the ambition was to also integrate local unskilled labour into a poverty relief program by training them to produce the over 200,000 tiles necessary in the construction of the domes.

The judges commented: “The project is well integrated with the local context, successfully dialoguing with the various environmental, cultural and social implications involved in construction of a building, generating the image of architecture authentically rooted in the place.”

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