UTT Empower crowns community centre in South Africa with rooftop greenhouse
A sawtooth greenhouse framed in red steel acts as "a beacon" atop Soweto Caracas Community Centre in the South African township of Khayelitsha, recently completed by non-profit Urban-Think Tank Empower.
Combining childcare, educational and sports spaces with a kitchen and rooftop vegetable garden, the centre is part of a community-led development to upgrade an informal settlement with 72 housing units, overseen by Urban-Think Tank Empower (UTTE).
The Soweto Caracas Community Centre opened during Design Week South Africa, which took place in October 2025.
It was designed to "maximise usefulness" on its compact, 320-metre site, at the eastern tip of a triangular plot known as BT-Soweto, and reflects the vibrant colour palette of the surrounding homes with its yellow walls and red steel roof.
"Given the extreme lack of social infrastructure in the area, the design was driven by a determination to pack as much programme as possible into a single building, ensuring every space could adapt to multiple uses," UTTE architectural director Benjamin Kollenberg told Dezeen.
"Architecturally, it stands as both a landmark and a beacon – physically through its illuminated rooftop greenhouse, and socially through programmes that draw people in and extend value back out into the community," he explained.
"UTTE has shown how you can do good densification in an informal setting, retain home ownership in a dignified way, but also add other layers, like five-a-side football courts and ways to grow veggies," added Design Week South Africa curator Roland Postma.
The focal point of the centre is its double-height sports hall, with a brightly coloured floor and removable goals and netball poles that allow it to double as a gathering or events space.
It is illuminated by rows of porthole windows that puncture the upper level of its yellow walls. On the ground floor, sliding metal doors allow the hall to be opened up to the street, while above it is overlooked by a balcony, also finished in bright red.
"Beyond functionality, the building was also conceived as a celebration of the community itself," Kollenberg said.
"Bold, simple architectural forms and bright, vibrant colours were deliberately chosen to reflect the energy, resilience and vibrancy of the surrounding neighbourhood, asserting that joy, pride and architectural expression should not be reserved for wealthier areas of the city," he added.
To cater to a mixture of public and private uses, the centre has three independently lockable access points, with an external red-steel staircase on its northern side doubling as a seating area and balcony.
The greenhouse atop the centre is wrapped by a red steel frame clad in corrugated polycarbonate panels. It contains a community-run growing space that hosts a skills development programme and helps to generate income for the centre.
The recent work by UTTE in Khayelitsha builds on the non-profit's previous Empower Shack project, which designed prototype alternatives to the area's informal shack housing.
Other South African architecture projects recently featured on Dezeen include a school library designed by the MAAK, which incorporates Apartheid-era demolition rubble, and a coastal home by KLG Architects that overlooks an estuary.
The photography is by Are Carlsen unless otherwise stated.
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