HPI School of Design Thinking
The Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, at UCT, is the 3rd Design Thinking institute in the world and the only school in Africa dedicated to Design Thinking training. The school’s objective is to train individuals in the practice of design thinking, as an enabler of innovation and new outcomes, to meet users’ needs in complex sociopolitical and economic contexts. Key concepts included; sustainability, integration with the contextual fabric of UCT while also signifying a unique function, spaces and materiality that communicate a different kind of learning environment, seeing collaboration and comaking happening and for the building to achieve a GBCSA 6 Star Public & Education Building certification. To achieve this brief KMH Architects proposed a collaborative design process, to essentially develop the brief and building design through co-creation and codesign with the d-school, and thus began a 4-year journey to make the HPI d-school Afrika. Targeting a GBCSA 6 Star rating required the team to push design innovation in ways that will contribute to the greater environmental sustainability outcomes inherent in targeting the highest-level rating.
HPI School of Design Thinking
The Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, at UCT, is the 3rd Design Thinking institute in the world and the only school in Africa dedicated to Design Thinking training. The school’s objective is to train individuals in the practice of design thinking, as an enabler of innovation and new outcomes, to meet users’ needs in complex sociopolitical and economic contexts. Key concepts included; sustainability, integration with the contextual fabric of UCT while also signifying a unique function, spaces and materiality that communicate a different kind of learning environment, seeing collaboration and comaking happening and for the building to achieve a GBCSA 6 Star Public & Education Building certification. To achieve this brief KMH Architects proposed a collaborative design process, to essentially develop the brief and building design through co-creation and codesign with the d-school, and thus began a 4-year journey to make the HPI d-school Afrika. Targeting a GBCSA 6 Star rating required the team to push design innovation in ways that will contribute to the greater environmental sustainability outcomes inherent in targeting the highest-level rating.