We are working with Ingwavuma Orphan Care to provide a range of facilities in the Northern KwaZulu Natal area of Africa. The charity provides medical aid and care to three surrounding tribal areas, providing support to 1,200 patients across 2,100sqkm, a region heavily affected by the AIDS pandemic.

Our involvement began with two houses for orphaned and vulnerable children, cared for by house mothers. We are currently designing a hospice, dispensary, chapel and offices to support the wider community and provide care for those with HIV and other terminal diseases. 

We aim to provide strategic and design advice with a light touch; working with a local architect, Rodney Harber, to deliver the project on site, and allowing the local charity workers to oversee the building and running of the facilities themselves.

The site is situated within a valley where the climate is one of extremes with very high levels of humidity. The challenge is to develop a design that passively controls the harsh environment in a way that is appropriate and sensitive to the rural locale.