Sol-Tech Technical College Campus

The developer (Kanton) was approached by a technical college and asked to develop a purpose-built campus for their existing artisan training institution. The college has been in existence since 2005, offer 7 trades as well as a technical theoretical school. The mixed-use campus therefore required practical workshops for the 7 trades, classrooms, administration offices and social areas.

During conceptualization, the developer realized the client is not just another business in need of space. They have a lot of substance in who they are and what they set out to do in the South African economy. They are currently the top technical training institution in South Africa in terms of quality and their highly skilled students obtain a 97% employment rate in comparison to South Africa's 40%+ unemployment rate.

Further to that, the institution set out to break the stigma that exists around artisans / blue-collar workers. A general perception exists that artisans in all fields are not well educated, have little experience, and pose a challenge to employers due to other non-work-related criteria such as social and economic class-related challenges. The institution therefore also focuses on maturing the individuals into stable adults who fit well into the workplaces and society.

The campus, therefore, had to support the broader mission and vision of the institution. A tall order, but we believe we managed to achieve just that on many levels.