A 350 m² learning building for Lapalala Wilderness School, arranged along a single Discovery Spine from arrival to the outdoor pause.
Perforated clay-brick walls and timber pergolas cool the building by cross ventilation, with no machines.
Water, soil, vegetation and wildlife, read in order as you walk the spine.
2026 · INTD7332
Clay brick, dark timber, stone and hide, with a pergola language borrowed from the existing campus.
Walking from arrival to the outdoor pause is itself the lesson.
A student-centred learning building where seven spaces hang off a single Discovery Spine.
Exhibition, library, citizen science lab and presentation space each open onto the landscape they teach.
Perforated clay brick lets cool air in low, and warm air leaves through the timber pergolas. No mechanical cooling.
Spaces
Drawings
Mood board
Clay brick, timber, stone, hide
01Cool air enters through the perforations, and warm air leaves at high level through the pergolas.
Tone #B98C7Ap. 03
02Inspired by the existing architecture of the school.
Tone #6B3F26p. 04
03A pale, quiet stone set against the darker timber.
Tone #CDB79Ap. 05
04A warm neutral that sits close to the colour of the veld.
Tone #C9B8A0p. 06
05A dark, tactile accent used against the earth tones.
Tone #141210p. 0706Pattern drawn from the animals of the reserve.
Tone #7A4A30p. 08From Lara’s mood board
Furniture and objects chosen for the learning spaces.
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