Chilomoni, Blantyre
The Beehive Administration building is situated in the heart of the Beehive main campus. Following the opening of other buildings on the main campus, such as the Mother Teresa Children’s Centre and the John Paul II IT Institute, and with Krizevac’s ambition to continue constructing buildings, the need for a centrally-located administrative hub for the accounts and construction teams arose.
Building Design
“A well-articulated structure designed with simplicity. The building is the foundation of the campus, from where Engineers, Architects, Accountants and others generate their ideas.”
(Henry Gama, Beehive Finance Employee)
Location
Type
Year of Construction
Design Architect
Project Architect
Project Engineer
Total Development Area (Approx. GEA)
Number of Storeys
Construction Cost
Cost per m²
The brief stated that the building should be simple, functional and flexible, in case one day the building’s function were to change. The two-storey building has therefore been laid out with two large, open-plan office spaces per floor, at the end of a central circulation corridor; these can be used for a wide range of functions, but currently house the Construction Design Office on the ground floor, and the Finance Office on the first floor. There is room to comfortably accommodate 8 people per office. Along the corridors are a series of smaller, enclosed office spaces, which are able to accommodate between 1 to 3 people. On the ground floor, there is an open-plan entrance space with lots of glazing, to create a welcome and open atmosphere, and directly adjacent to this is a Board Room, used for meetings by both staff and visitors.
Social Impact
Prayers
are said at the beginning of all meetings to give thanks.
Catholic Community Support
Job Creation
On the job
training
is given in both departments to employees and interns
Quality Education
The construction team helps the community in times of emergency such as the 2019
Typhoon
Supporting the Vulnerable
“Good buildings come from good people, and all problems are solved by good design. That is waht the admin building does. It is where young people fish their greatest skills.”
(Henry Gama, Beehive Finance Employee.)
The Finance and Construction departments both have a wide spread impact across Beehive. The finance department works with all Beehive’s enterprises and accounts are managed centrally by the team. Monthly reports enable management to monitor the sustainability of each and highlights whether an enterprise needs to be adapted or indeed closed. Centralised accounts allows the Finance team to collate all surplus profits form Beehive’s enterprises and reinvest them into the outreach work at Mother Theresa, as well as scholarships for the poorest of the poor at one of Beehive’s schools. The construction team helps maintain all of Beehive’s existing infrastructure, whilst also designing/building new projects. The design team, supported by international Architects and Engineers, develop each project from conception through to detailed design. They work closely with construction team, who construct each building using Beehive’s very own hydraform blocks. Most of these workers are employed for individual projects and come to Beehive unskilled. Through their time at Beehive, they are able to develop key skills that help them get future work. Many are also women, and working with the team allows them to earn their own income, leaving behind the traditional ‘house wife’ role.
Meet The Team
Victor Likado
Linasi Kamanga
Henry Gama
Hendrix Mgawana
Construction Manager
Charity Gombwa
Construction Administrator
Seith Keith Banda
CAD Technician
