Saota's proposed 9Miles Learning Centre has been awarded the 2026 WAFX Award in the Power & Justice category, recognising its innovative approach to addressing social challenges through architecture.
Source: Supplied.
The honour follows the project's recent selection as a finalist in the Future Projects – Education category at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2026. Designed for the 9Miles Project in Strandfontein on Cape Town's Cape Flats, the learning centre aims to create a lasting community asset that supports education, mentorship, skills development and long-term social empowerment.
The WAFX Award is a discretionary recognition that celebrates the world’s most forward-looking architectural concepts and is awarded to future projects that identify key challenges that architects will need to address in the coming years. The judges recognised projects that demonstrate excellent examples of work addressing significant issues facing architecture, society, and the planet.
9Miles Learning Centre was designed for 9Miles Project, a community-based nonprofit organisation in Strandfontein which Saota has partnered with and supported since 2016.
The location is a marginalised coastal settlement on Cape Town’s Cape Flats, known for being historically disadvantaged and subsequently lacking sufficient spaces for education and uplifting interaction.
As a result, the building is conceived as a permanent piece of community infrastructure, bringing together learning spaces, mentorship programmes, digital education, and community activities within a safe, resilient environment designed to support vulnerable young people and the wider community.
An adaptable learning environment that extends beyond the classroom, the centre includes educational rooms, quiet study areas, digital access, conference rooms, and recreational spaces, complemented by a kitchen for practical skills development.
A café operates as an informal co‑working space, enabling broader community use, and a rooftop vegetable garden supports practical education in gardening and sustainability. These elements are deliberately integrated to prioritise interaction among the youth, recognising that mentorship and social exchange are as critical as formal instruction.
The centre’s sports court will feature integrated artwork by renowned South African artist and designer Yay Abe, reinforcing its role as a place of creative expression, collaboration, and shared identity.
Created with input from local youth, the artwork also serves as an example of what can be achieved through creativity and purpose.
Going the distance
9Miles founder Nigel Savel says having Yay Abe join the project “shows our youth that when you do what you love and were born to do, you’re not limited by circumstances.”
More than a space for learning, the project embodies the 9Miles Project's motto: Going the Distance. The building is a physical representation of the organisation's journey, its longstanding relationship with Saota, and its commitment to creating a lasting legacy for future generations.
Designed to support children and young adults beyond education alone, it seeks to empower them economically, emotionally and psychologically. The centre aims to help future generations become active citizens and agents of change in Strandfontein and beyond.
“We want to build up people with legacies that last forever. Saota has understood our vision of what we’re trying to achieve in the community and has walked alongside us every step of the way for many years now,” shares Sher’Neil Savel, 9Miles Project’s co-founder and head of sustainability.
The facility will be unlike any building that currently exists in the area, demonstrating what is possible for the Strandfontein community. In the words of Sher’Neil, the project is testament that “it doesn’t matter where you come from; it matters that you have a vision and a dream, and that you’re going to pursue it and never give up.”
The project demonstrates how architecture can support long-term social impact by creating places that foster education, opportunity and community resilience. As 9Miles Project prepares to begin construction on the learning centre, the organisation is actively pursuing funding and sponsorships to make the project a reality and enable positive long-term change.
