Mapungubwe Interpretation Center

By: Peter Rich Architects

Where: South Africa

I honestly could not truly find the use of the this structure. I think it is an abstract museum of how the indiginous people of this area lived. It is a poverty relief project using ecological methods and materials. The complex landscape of South Africa was the inspiration for the structure and provided most of the materials. All the masonry used to make this structure like in the domes are all local rubble stone. This is built on a Mesa and on the next Mesa there is a Ceremonial Center, with a similar idea as this. The domes you see in this picture are shading a zig zagging path underneath them. The level change when walking through the center resembles the movement of the ancestors, up and down the hills of South Africa.