Environmental Ecological Architecture, Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre by Peter Rich Architects

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, designed by Peter Rich Architects, is the Cultural Winner of World Architecture Festiveal 2009. Designed to house architecture artefacts from the region´s prehistory, the building connects intimately with an extraordinary veldt site in northern South Africa near the border with Zimbabwe.

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre is sited at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers. The Mapungubwe National Park celebrates the site of an ancient civilization linked to the Great Zimbabwe trading culture in the context of a natural setting that re-establishes the indigenous fauna and flora of this region.

The environmental architecture responded to vernacular African types, synthesising forms, materials and light in a nuanced but unsentimental way to make what is still an indisputably contemporary building of immense resonance and richness. It also underpinned by a strong social programme, using the skills and labour of local people and involving them in the design and construction process. Engaging with tradition and modernity, place and people, it offers a different view of ecological architecture as a subversive and poetic force for transformation.

Environmental Ecologial Green Architecture Mapungubwe

Environmental Ecologial Architecture Lighting Mapungubwe

Environmental Ecologial Architecture Interior Mapungubwe

Environmental Ecologial Architecture Reception Mapungubwe

Environmental Ecologial Architecture Firm Mapungubwe