Muf architecture/art with Atelier One

The LIFT new parliament, Soweto 2007

The metaphoric transformation of the real to the possible is achieved by a structure that “LIFTS” the existing ground plane as a series of undulations to create an auditorium, a stage, a playscape, a dance-floor, a lounge. Above this elevated plane, a cloud hovers, it shelters, reflects, transmits and illuminates the activity below and provides power generated by photovoltaics.

Two recent acts of urban regeneration in Soweto, the hard surfacing of all roads and the building of the first fountain (2003), symbolise the dual concerns for a new ground that is both gorgeous and durable. We propose a design that mirrors these ambitions, a design that can be hosted in an environment with the most basic of infrastructure but bring to that environment an ambition for a public space where desires and pleasures as well as rights are acknowledged.