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Helderstroom Prison, Caledon, 2008 “In 2000 the National Department of Public Works appointed CS Studio Architects in association with Sudhier Magan Architects. It was agreed that CS Studio would do the overall planning and layout for the project and then take the mess recreation and sports facilities, dry goods store and fuel station through the five work stages and Sudhier Magan Architects would do the 79 single family HB-type houses. The prison is an existing maximum-security facility situated on the Helderstroom farm in the Caledon District. Existing farm structures were used for most of the recreational and public facilities. As the need for accommodation expanded, temporary housing was provided. The large multi-purpose centre gently straddles a few contours and with shallow ramps in the building, one is hardly aware of the level changes. The single quarter buildings that look like ships against the landscape were designed with a ramp in the passage but each room is at a different level. This kept large portions of the buildings sticking out of the ground and the buildings rather hug the ground. The architectural language of the buildings, the colours and detailing were mostly derived from the surrounding farm buildings.�
Wesbank Multi-purpose Centre, 2008 “During a participatory process with the residents of the Wesbank Community, the need for a multi-purpose centre was identified. At the time (2000) an extremely high crime rate and a high rate of drug abuse were tearing the community apart.
Helderstroom Prison: Mess recreation and sports facilities, dry goods store and fuel station, Caledon.
The building is made up of three main components; the main multi-purpose space, offices and a youth area. These spaces are held together by a foyer which allows for the display of artefacts, crafts and more, and is also used for seating and other interactive spaces. The building is small, but due to splitting it up and juxtaposing the main elements, it appears much larger which also creates a better civic scale.