The recently opened Isivivana Centre in the developing central business district of Khayelitsha, Cape Town will be home to numerous activist organisations as well as community services.  Arup provided multidisciplinary building engineering services for the design of the centre, with a focus on how community engagement can be encouraged through design.

“As the client expressed a desire for local skills to be utilised on this project, we actively sought local community expertise. It was this engagement that became one of the first steps to making the centre transparent and relevant. Today, the centre is well utilised and welcomed by the surrounding communities, with several fledgling local businesses establishing their presences there. For Arup, the Isivivana project represents true holistic sustainability, and is one of our bricks in paving the road to fair and equitable communities” says Adam Ozinsky, Engineer at Arup in Southern Africa.

The Isivivana Centre (Isivivana means a cairn or pile of stones that mark a pathway) has a construction area of 5,500 m2 and offers a library, auditorium, exhibition space, meeting hall, legal advice office and a restaurant. It is owned by the Khayelitsha Youth and Community Centre Trust and was made possible by support from various philanthropic organisations.

About Arup

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. From 92 offices in 40 countries our 12,000 planners, designers, engineers and consultants deliver innovative projects across the world with creativity and passion.

We have over 650 staff in Africa, of which over 400 are in Southern Africa. Through our unsurpassed technology and connectivity, we can call on the international expertise of our colleagues from across the globe at any time. We have worked on more than 20,000 projects and
developments in Africa including commercial buildings, mixed-use developments, airports, sports venues, bridges, highways, railways, industrial development zones, oil, gas and energy projects, hospitals, prisons, arts and cultural venues, science and technology parks, water and waste projects.

On these projects, we have provided or continue to provide multidisciplinary engineering, planning, project management, transaction advice and sustainability consulting services.
For more information, go to www.arup.com/Global_locations/South_Africa.


Issued on behalf of:                  Arup
Contact:                                  Candice Thorne
                                               Marketing Co-ordinator | Marketing & Communications
Tel:                                         +27 11 218 7882
Cell:                                        +27 72 659 4818
Email:                                     Candice.Thorne@arup.com      
Website:                                  www.arup.com
Date:                                       January 2017
Issued by:                                SJC Creative    
Contact:                                  Sue Charlton   
Tel:                                         011 794 8170/082 579 4263
E-mail:                                    sjc@worldonline.co.za