Besides being a strong symbol of Black resistance during Apartheid, Soweto is the most populated township in South Africa with the largest and poorest areas being entirely off-the-grid and therefore without any electricity and light at night.
Rural and remote site, General area
Soweto, SOUTH AFRICA
Christophe Hutin, a French architect, and the students of the School of Architecture of Toulouse have decided to rebuild the historical cinema named “Le Sans Souci” within one of Soweto’s slums, Kliptown.
It was there that, in 1955, the Freedom Charter – The Declaration of Principles of the Alliance Congress – was adopted and signed. The team of architects planned to transform the abandoned and ruined theater into a cultural center for cinema, fine arts and performing arts, with the help of the local community.
One of the goal of this project was also to recreate a place which will have many functions for inhabitants, particularly with training and education programs and events.
There was a need to provide an autonomous and powerful lighting service around the site at night to encourage social activities from the local community.
Several Sunna iSSL+ streetlights were installed in Kliptown, in front of the rebuilt historic cinema. The illuminated area now creates a public space well inclined to social and cultural activities.
In total, 10 000 inhabitants benefited from the installation of Sunna Design solar streetlights.
Sunna Design’s range of streetlights is perfectly adapted for these types of social projets. Indeed, products which require frequent and high maintenance costs represent a burden for these communities with very precarious financial means.
Impact:
10 000 beneficiaries
2018
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