Vele Secondary School recently was announced the joint winner of the Afrisam-South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) Award for Sustainable Architecture, and was highly commended by the jury for rejuvenating the planet while uplifting people. The Vele Secondary School has been transformed from a dilapidated rural school into a pioneering community resource. 

The winners of the second Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction from across region Africa Middle East were announced at a ceremony in Marrakech. Total prize money of USD 270,000 was presented to eleven projects that illustrated the broad scope for applying sustainable construction approaches to the built environment across public and private architecture, urban planning, and environmental remediation.

Education is a key prerequisite of sustainable development. The goal of the project is to develop schools as community hubs and centers for lifelong learning. The Creating Learning Spaces Program conceptualizes the school becoming a community resource center which facilitates the revitalization and development of communities through training as well as demonstrations of sustainable livelihoods through energy efficiency, renewable-energy use, rainwater harvesting and local food production.

Education is an important building block of sustainable development. The project, School infrastructure from local resources, transforms schools into community centers of lifelong learning. Here, sustainable livelihoods training can take place – energy efficiency, renewable energy use, rainwater harvesting and local food production are all part of the program.