Rotondwa Mulaudzi

Rural schools in South Africa often function at a minimum standard, with

progress poorly monitored and insufficiently addressed by the Department of Basic Education. Spatial inequalities rooted in apartheid policies continue to shape rural areas such as Venda, where limited infrastructure, scarce resources, and constrained learning environments perpetuate cycles of disadvantage and hinder learners’ potential.

This thesis investigates the relationship between education as a social construct and the infrastructure that enables it. It explores how educational spaces can enhance access to learning and improve outcomes for learners in rural Venda. Beyond classrooms, the study examines how facilities serve learners, teachers, guardians, and communities, positioning education as a collective process embedded in spatial experience.

The methodology combines engagement with people and artefacts across education, architecture, and the arts. Conversations with teachers, former learners, and community members revealed lived realities of schooling, while classrooms, objects, materials, and artistic works were documented and analysed as cultural signifiers. This was complemented by historical analysis of apartheid-era legacies, precedent studies highlighting materiality and context, and spatial mapping to situate the site within its broader socio-political landscape.

Central to this inquiry is the framework of making, where working with materials, particularly clay, offered insights into embodied learning. Everyday practices and imperfections became productive forces in shaping design responses.

The architectural intervention that emerged reimagines the educational facility as adaptive, contextually grounded, and open to transformation. It follows the natural movement lines of the site, creating clusters of learning spaces and moments of transparency that reflect inclusivity, flexibility, and cultural resonance. Ultimately, the thesis argues for rethinking educational infrastructure in South Africa: not merely as shelter for learning, but as a catalyst for what learners, educators, and communities can become.