People play soccer in Africa. Everywhere.

It is a common sight along highways to see groups of children playing soccer in the road reserve, sometimes even on the highway median. Goal posts may be an old sweat shirt and a hat, but the game is as important as any World Cup Final.

It is difficult to describe the urban conditions that so many Africans live in. In township situations in South Africa, open space is often limited or on the exposed periphery. The landscape, although vibrant with life, is dominated by corrugated iron shacks and a dome of blue sky.

Our “Football for Hope” concept integrates football into the heart of the community and is designed to be woven onto a high intensity pedestrian route, giving it great exposure. The central concept of the built form is a tower of light that can be seen from the surrounding neighbourhood. The name ukukula is from the Xhosa language, meaning “rising above” or “hope”.

The built form was conceptualised as a starting block for future development. The roof structure of the ground floor is structurally able to support another floor above it in future. The construction material is primarily sand which is sourced from site, stacked in bags inside a lightweight framework. Materials are low energy.

The urban space around the centre features creative and colourful floor patterns interspersed with trees that draw people toward the space. A form of urban amphitheatre is created by the angular geometry of the centre, a space from which soccer matches or movies could be displayed using the light tower as projection backdrop.

The multi-use health/education/trading spaces invite users into the centre and onto the playing field. The field space is drained into a detention basin that doubles as a vegetable garden where food can be grown for a soup kitchen. This means that the football is supervised and people of all ages are brought together during leisure time.

Ukukula aims to bring the football - and hope - back into the urban realm, sparking an urban regeneration along the movement route.