Ilana Steenkamp URBAN DESIGN + PLANNING + ARCHITECTURE
Youth +Lifestyle Centre,
Manenberg / Gugulethu,
Cape Town
Youth +Lifestyle Centre,
Manenberg / Gugulethu,
Cape Town
Youth and Lifestyle Centre would connects communities physically [and virtually] as a learning and knowledge hub, providing a safe and healthy environment. In an area well-known fro gang violence and substance abuse, the YLC will focus on youths at risk with youth-dedicated spaces, youth-led initiatives and access to life-skill based activities and programs.
The YLC will house facilities such as a technical skills school, office space, indoor gymnasium and sports facilities, a youth lab, market and retailspace, and letable events spaces. Residential components will be added in phase 3 to provide 24 hour activity on the site, and later a regional public library. The project will be implemented in phases starting with NGO offices, the Technical School and the Youth Lab. The project also aims to showcase collaborative working, based on a partnership approach between communities, the City of Cape Town, the WCG, private sector, NGO’s and international organisations.
The GF Jooste hospital site is strategically located along the railway separating two communities: Manenberg and Gugulethu. Built on a buffer zone between communities, the hospital is a spatial legacy of apartheid planning. The site offers an opportunity to redress the apartheid legacy: from a space of separation to a shared space. Following the decommissioning of the hospital in 2014, the site, owned by the provincial government, has become severely vandalised. Through community participation in Manenberg in 2015, VPUU together with the community created a Community Action Plan (CAP) which highlighted the need for youth development and technical training in the area.
