In an industrial area outside Cape Town, two internal arteries separate the day clinic and the 24-hour emergency and midwife facilities in this health centre that serves an informal settlement of some 90,000 lowest-income residents. The red-painted entrance with outdoor seating leads to a planted courtyard that serves as a waiting and reception area; from this shared zone, the two clinics are then divided into separate blocks. The centre employs a vocabulary of industrial architecture in harmony with the surroundings; the concrete-frame structures support prefabricated steel trusses, and the metal roofs are louvred for ventilation that is supplemented mechanically. The brick infill walls are plastered and feature hyper-graphics since illiteracy is high.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture