Africa’s First NBA Academy Training Facility for Educating & Developing Africa’s Youth

Solution

Big Top designed and constructed a sports training facility in Africa that combined athletic, educational, and residential spaces under one innovative structure. To maximize value and functionality, the facility was anchored to repurposed shipping containers, eliminating the need for a traditional concrete foundation while creating locker rooms, bathrooms, classrooms, conference rooms, dormitories, and a weight room. The thermal-reflective properties of Big Top structures combined with exhaust fans and motorized louvre vents, maintain an interior temperature approximately 15 degrees cooler than the outside climate without relying on costly HVAC systems. A translucent fabric roof also helps illuminate the facility with natural daylight, reducing energy consumption and operating expenses. The result is a state-of-the-art facility that empowers Africa’s next generation of student-athletes to succeed.