Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) and SHoP Architects, on April 16th, 2010, signed an agreement appointing the latter as the official architects for the Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH).  Botswana Development Corporation has been contracted by Botswana Innovation Hub to manage and coordinate design and construction of infrastructure, which includes master planning/urban design, infrastructure design and construction of the icon building and annexes.

SHoP Architects PC from New York, USA won the international architectural design competition of the Botswana Innovation Hub buildings late last year. SHoP´s proposal had the best combination of innovativeness, environmental sustainability, functionality and cost-effectiveness. SHoP won this competition against 17 other companies from Europe, USA and Africa that had submitted their proposals for the design of the BIH.

SHoP has been renowned as a leader in the transformation of intricate theoretical design into easily understood construction models by rethinking and challenging standard architectural practice.  Their current work includes the Barclays Center Arena at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, a two-mile esplanade and park for The City of New York along the East River Waterfront, projects for the Fashion Institute of Technology and Goldman Sachs, both in Manhattan, and a new building for Google in Mountain View, CA. SHoP Architects’ work has won numerous awards and they have been consistently cited as producing some of the best work of a new generation of architects.

“We are neither ivory-tower elitists nor superficial stylists. We believe in both ideas and profitability. Our expertise and ambition extends beyond the design of buildings. We look at an entire project and consider the site, the cultural, and economic environment, the client’s physical needs and financial models, as well as construction techniques, branding, marketing and post-occupancy issues,” says a statement from SHoP’s Founding Partners.

For more information, please contact the Botswana Innovation Hub at bih@gov.bw