SCHOOLHOUSE

The schoolhouse, now known as 'Thingo Kids Preschool' serves a mixed-income neighborhood in Cosmo City, Johannesburg. It is the first early childhood education center in the community where most children are sent to crèches (daycares) that lack in resources and academic curriculum.

Awards & Press:

- Winner, 2013 Engineering News Record (ENR) Global Best Projects Award

- Finalist / Popular Choice Winner, 2013 Architizer A+ Award

- Winner, 2011 Oikos Sustainable Campus Leader Award

- Winner, 2011 Cornell Leadership in Sustainability Award

Featured on CNBC Africa: Business Spotlight, ArchDaily, Housing in Southern Africa, Cornell media, and media in South Africa, United States, and Spain.
The school is an early childhood development (ECD) center in Johannesburg, South Africa. It accommodates 80 children and houses a teacher-training center. The school is a product of a two year process orchestrated by Cornell University Sustainable Design, an interdisciplinary student-led organization at Cornell University. Students, with the help of academic advisors and industry professionals, executed the project through a semester of research, a semester of design development integrated into the Bachelor of Architecture comprehensive design studio curriculum, and three months of construction.

Johannesburg, South Africa