Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Our proposal for the Football for Hope Centre is designed to provide a sustainable infrastructure for social, community and economic development. Centred around the football pitch, the arrangement of the scheme encourages integration between users of its various facilities. Stepped earth walls form the physical backbone of the scheme, creating a public street for informal traders on one side and grandstand seating on the other. Over-sailing this is a metal roof, supported on timber columns, which provides both shade from the sun and a dignified public profile to the main street elevation. The scheme is designed to minimise its impact on the environment, using sustainable local materials; generating energy from photovoltaics and wind turbines; harvesting rainwater from the main roof; and using the thermal mass of earth walls to regulate temperatures. In addition to the healthcare centre, the development offers community resources, such as water pumps and areas designated for allotments and public meetings. The flexibility of the design makes it adaptable to almost any site, in each case orienting the pitch and buildings to suit local conditions. Opportunities for expansion and further development are suggested and encouraged, as it is through the ongoing involvement of the community that this scheme will truly flourish.