The Community Culinary School offers a unique programme that empowers graduates to pursue a career within the hospitality industry, the Singita lodges or to start their own businesses.

The challenge was to design a space suited primarily for skills development and employment opportunities, while also allowing lodge guests the chance to interact and be included in demonstrations by lodge chefs.

The new 61m² building draws on the distinctive language of the existing buildings and is a wonderful fit within an established architectural aesthetic. The new building also completes the definition of a sensitively landscaped courtyard that falls in the centre of the space. Two slanted stone clad walls, laid out as extensions of existing stone walls, make up the northern and southern elevations. All stones were sourced from the surrounding area and visually connect the structure to the landscape.

An all-glazed façade spanning the two stonewalls provides guests with a full view of the activity within and creates a light-filled space that has the sense of being an extension of the outdoor courtyard. Controlled openings on the western façade reduce solar heat gain and ensure the space is naturally ventilated. Internally, timber joinery and a panelled plywood ceiling provide a warmth and softness that compliments the industrial quality of the stainless-steel kitchen elements.