After being introduced to the project, my initial impression was that this is going to be a uniquely difficult battle between vision and feasibility. This project poses many challenges, some of which are unprecedented within in my experience as an architecture student, which is something that always excites me. What excites me even more is that this project puts me in a position, in which my ideas, decisions, and strategies could influence or even lead to positive social change. My biggest concern revolves around the fact that I am designing for not only a culture that is not my own, but also a culture that I have never been fortunate enough to experi-ence. I have adopted a keen awareness of the rift that can exist between a designed product and its intended users, if the designer is not steadfast in understanding and reacting to the values and concerns of the people who will give the project meaning by the way they use it.It is my goal, as the designer, to alleviate current problems by providing contextual answers, foresee future development by implanting sustainable ideals, and create an opportunity for success to become alive, through the medium of space. That space will be indicative of personalities, values, and concerns and distinguished by shape, size, texture, color, and light. The bulk of my research, at this point in the project, has revolved around the culture of Alexandra. In order to make a well informed proposal that spatially addresses the major problems, I have identified in detail, what is actually limiting quality of life in Alex. My research led me to a gender and age based, two fold study, completed by UNESCO, giving me meaningful insight into the lives of my clients. In order of priority, the main issues are as follows; employment, life skills, education, abuse/crime, and health/safety. In addition, my findings reveal issues such as, overpopulation, a lack of economic sustainability, a need for security, insufficient plumb-ing/electricity, and rat infestation. I have studied their history to discover their past and clarify their culture. I have participated in multiple virtual meetings, in which we, as a group, were able to interview several clients and gain valuable knowledge about their personal ambitions and expectations for the future of Entokozweni. The programming of the project is tailored around these discoveries and addresses my findings by providing space informed by each of the five UNESCO categories. All of the programmatic spaces have been influenced, if not dictated, by client preference, including a fitness center, a computer center, a Mandela memorial, and multipur-pose community rooms. Contextually, I have learned appropriate materials based on durability, availability, and financial feasibility. For this site I am planning on using handmade brick by volunteer community members, reclaimed wood and brick from existing structures to be demolished. The building’s structural integrity will mostly rely on load baring walls. I am also striving to use the structure to treat shaded exterior spaces as an amenity. I have realized how dense, and consequently, how unique Alex is. I have searched the immediate surroundings of Entokozweni, and found a cluster of academically oriented buildings, therefore informing the program to accom-modate a student body in need of additional resources. The proposed Entokozweni community center must respond to climatic conditions and implement sustainable strategies to successfully function as a part of the community. I plan on keeping the center cool in the summer through the utilization of strategies such as a thermal chimney effect, vegetative shading, and passive shading devices which will double as a security measure for building fenestrations. I plan on keeping the building warm by allowing the winter sun into the spaces to passively heat floors and thermal mass which will then release heat to keep the space warm. I am leading the process of my design with the principle of solving signifi-cant problems and maintaining a mindfulness to not create a product that will become a problem. I want to create a beautiful community resource; however I have to overcome my pre conceived notions of beauty, in order to understand the client’s perception of an appropriate aesthetic. I will continue a sensitive design process that I hope will enable the people of Alex to identify themselves with this building, allowing it to evolve into a functioning entity, fully integrated with the township of Alexandra.