An open international contest is seeking ideas for new preschools in South Africa (Deadline: 31 July) The competition – organised by Team NowNow in partnership with University of Nottingham, University of Cape Town and Education Africa – seeks ‘scalable, modular and aspirational’ proposals for new preschool designs which could be deployed on three rural and suburban sites. The call for concepts aims to identify a range of innovative solutions which could help South Africa’s government meet its target of delivering more than 115,000 new preschool facilities and help boost education in the country where only half of children attend early learning programmes. According to the brief: ‘This competition is for a modular, adaptable, and aspirational preschool design appropriate to the social, environmental, and financial context of South Africa. ‘The design should also be cost-effective as competition partners are seeking to construct the winning proposal in conjunction with Education Africa’s Social Architecture Project during 2026, serving as a prototype for the cost-effective development of high-quality preschool infrastructure in the future.’ The contest invites architects, urbanists, engineers, artists, makers, students and anyone with a passion for the future of our urban environments to draw up concepts for new £18,800 (470,000 ZAR) preschools which could occupy a typical rural site measuring 50m by 50m. Submission may focus on one of three locations: a plot in the village of Mthatha where an active, accessible and secure site boundary is required; a rural village site in the KwaZulu-Natal Lowlands with varying topography and climate; and a site in Limpopo surrounded by semi-formal housing with an opportunity to introduce new shared green spaces. The competition is organised by Cape Town-based Team NowNow which in November launched an international contest for ideas to adapt and reimagine the disused Ijora Power Station in Lagos, Nigeria. The project backer is Education Africa, an NGO which has built 20 preschool buildings throughout Southern Africa with the help of volunteers from around the world. Submissions should include two A2-sized panels featuring illustrations along with a 300-word project description. Concepts should be able to host up to 40 students aged 0-4 years old; be universally accessible; and feature play areas, storage spaces and toilets. Judges will include early childhood development campaigner Theodora Lutuli; Kevin Kimwelle, community architect and designer of a food pavilion using recycled materials at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront; and Papa Omotayo, founder of A Whitespace Creative Agency and creative director of MOE+ Art Architecture in Lagos. The overall winner will receive a £1,200 (30,000 ZAR) top prize. A second prize of £600 (15,000 ZAR) and third prize of £200 (5,000 ZAR) will also be awarded. How to apply Deadline: 31 July Competition funding source: Education Africa, Umncedi, University of Nottingham, University of Cape TownProject funding source: Education Africa, TBC Owner of site(s): TBC (likely to be community owned) Contact details: info@nownowcompetition.comVisit the competition website for more information 2025-04-22 Merlin Fulcher Share