The Denis Goldberg House of Hope is based in Cape Town as a memorial to, and realisation of the dream of, anti-apartheid icon Denis Goldberg, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with Nelson Mandela and six others in 1964.

The DG House of Hope is an arts and culture education centre that provides access to art, dance, music, and other activities for children and youth from the different communities within Hout Bay and surrounds. It houses an exhibition on Denis’s life as well as the colourful art collection which he built up over the years. The building, designed by award-winning architect Jo Noero, is located on the site of the Hout Bay Museum.

The Denis Goldberg House of Hope in Hout Bay is located in a beautiful site surrounded by heritage buildings. In order to enhance its setting, the building has been designed as an open building. To achieve this we have made small and large spaces connected by covered walkways open to the site on all sides. In this way the building spaces breathe out and take in views of the site.

The large area which accommodates the exhibition of Denis Goldberg’s life, his art collection and a teaching area is an open space in which all these functions can happen simultaneously. Denis’s idea was to have a centre which in its use demonstrates his faith in arts education as a fundamental element in youth development. Within this non-hierarchical space visitors to the exhibitions will rub shoulders with children from the wider Hout Bay area taking part in art, dance, music and other cultural activities. Large sliding doors open onto the outside where there is tiered seating on the one side and a small stage on the other. This enables the inside area to double in size and will accommodate large audiences for concerts and other such activities.

The buildings are treated very simply, painted white with splashes of colour to highlight entrances and other important thresholds. The construction is straightforward and materials are used without artifice remembering in their use Denis’s training as an engineer and his abhorrence of pretense in both life and building works.

We hope that the way in which the building has been put together represents Denis Goldberg’s values and will live as a testament to his wonderful life.

Jo Noero – Emeritus Professor [UCT], Hon. FAIA