About New Jerusalem Orphanage
About 4D and A Architects
| Project | New Jerusalem Orphanage |
| Architects | 4D and A Architects |
| Containers | 28 |
| Location | Midrand, South Africa |
| Year | 2011 |
Two sisters established the orphanage in 2000 in order to care for children in the Midrand who have been either abandoned or orphaned because of poverty, HIV or other social problems. Due to expansion, New Jerusalem orphanage commissioned 4D and A to build new houses for the children, whose ages range from infancy to 16. Recycled shipping containers were chosen as the main building material because they are 25 percent cheaper than conventional brick and mortar homes.
Each unit contains enough space for twelve children and a house mother, and two houses share a communal kitchen, dining and lounge area. These are all vibrant, inspiring spaces that not only make the orphans feel loved and special, but also help to stimulate their stunted development.
Of course, funding for the project is hard to come by. Whilst a host of private donors, NGOs, businesses and the Department of Social Development have lent a hand, New Jerusalem Orphanage is actively seeking more funding so they can continue the most important work of nourishing the bodies and minds of these fortunate children.
Mia Anfield of 4D and A says that the idea to use shipping containers came from the fact that two were already on site for storage. The company had already been interested in the work of Adam Kalkin, an American architect and prefabrication specialist who was among the first to put shipping containers to use as houses. The designers, it seems, simply put two and two together.
Completed in December, 2011, the entire construction period lasted six months, though Anfield points out that this was delayed by the arrival of materials to the site, many of which were donated. The project used 28 6- and 12-meter (20- and 40-foot) containers arranged both vertically and horizontally.
One consideration when building with shipping containers is thermal performance, particularly during cold weather or on hot, sunny days. We put this to Anfield, who said that design measures included "orientation of the building, timber screens constructed of eco-friendly composite decking, use of a roof garden for thermal mass and the inside walls and ceilings of the containers were clad in dry wall plus 50mm Isotherm foam insulation." The containers were raised on plinths to encourage the flow of air.
As part of the project, the old brick-built sleeping accommodation was converted into a new kitchen and dining room. The orphanage has also been fitting with solar thermal and photovoltaic systems.
About New Jerusalem Orphanage
Two sisters, Anna and Phina Mojapelo, established the New Jerusalem Children’s home with help from volunteers, government, corporate and donations. The center is a place of safety for abandoned and abused, orphaned and vulnerable children and has sheltered more than 1000 children since its establishment in September 2000.
Anna is a children’s advocate for whom community service was initially a hobby. She is a businesswoman and an experienced community and poverty alleviation worker. She worked in Midrand for more than 20 years with vast international travels ministering to children and youth. She was engaged in a number of community building and economic sustainable development projects. She is now actively involved with New Jerusalem as the Managing Director.
Phina, a social worker with 22 years of service; she is versatile working with elders, youth, younger children, who’s having marital problems, people afflicted with HIV/AIDS, and passionate about educational excursions for youth development and green development. She is actively involved with New Jerusalem as the operating Director of Social services.
New Jerusalem Children’s Home is Christ Consciousness Faith-based non-profit organization presently accommodating 87 children from 0 to 18 years of age. It is a small entity with a big vision. We aim to become one of the best children’s homes in Africa in the provision of holistic and integrated quality care to orphaned, abandoned, abused, traumatized, vulnerable and HIV positive children.
Central to this aim, is the children’s future. Thus, all developments at New Jerusalem revolve around the children’s education and the protection of the environment they will live in, in years to come. Our Home is located on an agricultural smallholding of 26 000 m2 in Midrand, South Africa. The property was donated to the children by Anna Mojapelo and has been transferred into a Trust for their benefit. The current facilities comprise nurseries for the babies, dormitories for the older children, communal kitchen and dining facilities, a crèche, a Montessori pre-school, play and sports facilities and a substantial permaculture vegetable garden.
New Jerusalem Children’s Home aim to build environmentally friendly houses on the premises so that the children can grow up in small families of 12. The first eco-friendly house was officially opened on the 24 of February 2012. New Jerusalem’s mission is located within an environmental sustainability framework and the Home has committed to use any means possible to reuse and recycle and to minimize our carbon footprint.
We provide residential care, social work services, Montessori Early Childhood Development and variety of events for the holistic development of the children in our care.
| Address | 138 Steyn Rd, President Park AH, Midrand, 1685, South Africa | |
| Phone | +27102240458 | |
| info@newjerusalemchildrenshome.org | ||
| Website | https://newjerusalemchildrenshome.org/ |
About 4D and A Architects
4D and A Architects is a young, vibrant, dynamic practice involved in domestic, commercial and industrial architecture. We provide quality service and customer responsiveness and @ the same time contribute to the environment by being sensitive to the surroundings. We provide architecture that defines and encloses space, being both functional and aesthetic.
| Address | 23 12th Street, Parkhurst 2193 Johannesburg South Africa | |
| Phone | +27 11 880 4754 | |
| Fax | +27 86 274 9346 | |
| 4da@4da.co.za | ||
| https://www.facebook.com/4DAArch/ | ||
| Website | http://4da.co.za/ |
Links
- https://newatlas.com/shipping-container-orphanage/26227/
- https://inhabitat.com/new-jerusalem-orphanage-built-with-recycled-shipping-containers-makes-south-african-kids-feel-loved-again/
- https://www.dwell.com/collection/examples-of-shipping-container-architecture-b72bc3e0/6133467811202011136
Shipping Container Humanitarian Housing at New Jerusalem Orphanage, Midrand, South Africa