Curator House: Biodiversity Centre

Design problem:
This brief required the design of a 366m2 Curator House with a Biodiversity Centre and a secondary function. The Biodiversity Centre served as an environmental educational centre for local schools and some universities. Supported and funded by the Mapula Trust Fund, the Parker and Ravazzotti family, with donations welcome, the new Lapalala Wilderness School was built.
The construction, materials, finishes and fixtures must adhere to the R14 500 per square meter budget. The design style was to be clean and elegant with neutral colours, connecting to nature.

Design solution:
With sustainability in mind, pine wood ceilings, rammed earth walls and terrazzo made on site was used throughout the design. The interior and exterior connected through large glass doors but by incorporating a nature inspired concept. The Aloe Plant inspired the shape, flare and colours of the exhibition pods, with each pod displaying different categories of the surrounding biodiversity. As well as the green stained Cemcrete integrated with the terrazzo.