Johannesburg's historic Constitution Hill, home to the country's Constitutional Court, is about to welcome a new addition to its central square — the Museum and Archive of the Constitution at the Hill (MARCH), and it's going to be a talked-about addition to the city's ever-evolving architectural landscape.
Designed by Mashabane Rose Architects, the globally celebrated architects responsible for Freedom Park and the Apartheid Museum, the building is full of the clean aesthetic and soulful finishes that the firm is known for.
The MARCH will tell the story of the making of the South African Constitution – from its African origins in the fight against colonialism, segregation and apartheid until the present, the team working on the project say. It will explain the final six years of hard conceptual and legal battles, with breakdowns and as much action outside as inside the negotiating chambers, that led to the final signing of the Constitution on December 10, International Human Rights Day, at Sharpeville in 1996.
The exhibition design of the museum – by Office 24-7 Trace JV – will document the origins of the Constitution and its making. It will become a space, Office 24-7 Trace JV say, "in which all South Africans and international visitors will be able to challenge, create, interact with and expand on the values of the Constitution."
Check out a few more artists' views of the MARCH below. The project doesn't have any confirmed date of completion just yet.
If you're interested in having your say before this project gets underway, then make sure you head to a public workshop on the making of MARCH, which will see speakers from the court and international museums like the U.S.'s Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture engage in a discussion about what the museum could be.
"The making and impact of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture" will be hosted at the Constitutional Court by the chairperson of the Constitution Hill Trust, Cheryl Carolus, and former Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs, on March 21 2018 at 6 pm.
