Science Research Facilities / Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers

Curated by Hana Abdel

Architects: Ludwig Hansen Architects, Urban Designers
Area: 8548 m²
Year: 2019
Manufacturers: GRAPHISOFT, Federale Stene, Gyproc Saint-Gobain, Kirk Marketing, KlipTite, Plascon, Polyflor, SIKA South Africa, Union Tiles
Project Manager: University of Mpumalanga & GladAfrica Project Management
Contractor: Trencon
Landscape Architect: kwpCreate
Structural Engineer: SKCM Engineers
Civil Engineer: Delta Built Environment Consultants
Mechanical Engineer: Aurecon
Electrical Engineer: PLP Consulting Engineers

Science Research Facilities / Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers - Exterior Photography, Brick, Facade — Courtesy of Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers

Text description provided by the architects. Situated on the University of Mpmalanga Lower Campus, the building provides 10 large specialized teaching laboratories, a number of post-graduate and research laboratories, raked and flat teaching venues and staff office spaces. Mpumalanga is a tropical region in the eastern part of South Africa, iconic for its beautiful undulating lush natural landscape and mountainous terrain, with steep slopes and rocky outcrops providing a challenging environment to build in. An existing unused parking platform on the university campus was identified as the extent of the site, a welcome constraint that mitigated surface challenges and guided the edges of the building to limit the impact on the natural environment.