New Playground: Shapa Soweto

WORDS Biddi Rorke PHOTOS David Southwood, C76 Architects

A multidisciplinary sports centre in Soweto aims to inspire and empower the next generation of athletes.

A dynamic space created to fuel dreams and bring them one step closer to reality, the award-winning Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto first opened its doors in 2010, offering a much-needed space for young athletes, and giving marginalised youngsters the chance to realise their sporting prowess. Fast-forward a decade, and the most utilised training ground in the area was in need of a refurb. The plan? To transform the soccer-focused centre into a multidisciplinary sports destination that encourages social, educational and creative opportunities too.

To bring the project to fruition, Nike enlisted the services of Joburg-based architecture outfit C76, who collaborated with Futura Design Agency and the sports brand to create this safe and freely accessible area for the community.

As principal architect Carl Jacobsz explains, Chris Hani Road is the main route past the Diepkloof facility. “In the previous design, the ablution blocks were facing the busy road, which meant that the entire facility had its back to the community,” he says. “Our first priority was to move the main entrance to the south elevation, to connect it directly to Chris Hani Road. We also rejected the traditional ideas of high boundary walls, separation and disconnection in favour of attractive, open thresholds. The renamed Shapa Soweto now connects with, and reaches into, the community – both visually and physically.”

The design team was committed to creating an authentic identity for the space, incorporating African patterning
in the design without resorting to insensitive, discordant clichés. “We searched for ways to achieve that, and found inspiration in Nike’s technology, which incorporates weaving to form the outer structure of some shoe designs,” says Carl. “The concept of weaving a roof structure helped us create something unique for the community hub, which is visible from Chris Hani Drive. “We settled on rebar steel – usually an underground material – as the main weaving material for the canopy. And although there is always some fluke in how shadows play out in the end, the roof became the star of the show because it successfully tackled the concept of movement and African patterning in one shot.”

During the design process, consultations with community members resulted in the addition of a new community hub. The space includes a professionally designed skatepark by Olympic skateboarder Dallas Oberholzer of Indigo Youth Movement, basketball courts, five-a-side soccer fields, an athletics oval, and a cross-country running track that surrounds the centre.

“Prior to the refurb, the interior of the building mainly consisted of offices, and wasn’t usually accessible to the general public,” Carl says. “We gutted everything inside to create two dance studios, a boxing studio, a gym and a makers’ studio where people can flex their creative muscle.” On the lower ground level, locker rooms, team strategy rooms, shower facilities and the all-important tunnel for fired-up contenders to run out onto the field were also reimagined and custom-designed.

Gustav Greffrath, creative director of Futura Design Agency, explains the design language of the build. “We wanted the colour palette to blend in while still being iconic, so we drew inspiration from the aerial views of the area, with its ochres, reds, browns and pinks,” he says. “We also created a graphic language by interpreting the 23.5-degree angle of the Nike swoosh as triangles that are repeated throughout the fabric of the building.”

Futura is also responsible for the striking graphic statements at Shapa Soweto, having collaborated with local artists to establish an optimistic, futuristic feeling in the space. A massive beaded tapestry created by Mbali Mthethwa’s The Herd pays homage to Nike’s co-founder Bill Bowerman, while artworks by comic-book illustrator and artist Loyiso Mkize offer a fresh take on top athlete Caster Semenya. Hanging banners created by local artists feature inspiring portraits of Soweto sports legends such as boxer Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala and iconic footballer Portia Modise, infusing the space with an atmosphere of promise and possibility.

Grounded by textures of concrete, rammed earth, stone and glass, this impressive venue offers a sense of untapped potential, encouraging the superstars of the future to engage with and take ownership of the facility

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