March 8, 2011

The freedom park S´Khumbuto:

This park is located in Pretoria, South Africa. The project, mandated by Nelson Mandela after the fall of Apartheid, was completed in 2007. There are four key ideas in the design: reconciliation, nation building, freedom of people and humanity. The ecological sensitivity of the site is very high and care was taken to conserve as much of the hill as possible in its natural state. Plants were carefully chosen to relate to the natural plant communities that occur across the site, over 250 species of indigenous plants were used in the project. The design is informed by traditional forms, languages and principles of African architecture and space i.e. curved lines and rounded forms are typical elements. Natural and local materials were used as much as possible.