Venue
Wits Science Stadium
Formerly Skeen Stadium, the Wits Science Stadium formed part of the original Rand Showground infrastructure inherited by the University. The stadium was repurposed into Auditoria and Tutorial Rooms spread over three levels. Adjacent this a new building comprising undergraduate laboratories for Chemistry, Physics and Biology was added, linked to the auditoria component. The Wits Science Stadium will be the main conference venue for SACI-45.
Wits Great Hall
The Great Hall, incorporated in the Robert Sobukwe block was completed and opened by the Governor General, Sir Patrick Duncan in June 1940 and it bears a rich heritage. For many decades the Johannesburg Musical Society has presented its splendid recitals, featuring the best artists from this country and all over the world in the Great Hall. The Great Hall, is now the centre for graduation ceremonies, concerts and cinema shows and it will be the venue for SACI-45 plenaries.
The Flower Hall
The Wits Flower Hall, which has been shortlisted in the Creative Reuse category at the World Architecture Festival was an innovative structure in the 1960s for the exhibition space of the Horticultural Society, with a curved arched roof in three sections – the absolutely practical and functional engineering solution to covering a large exhibition area was achieved with elegance and style. The adaptive reuse project retained the building’s structural integrity while doubling its seating capacity through the addition of new floor plates and a mezzanine. The flower hall will serve as the exhibition centre for SACI-45.
Wits Anglo American Digital Dome
The Wits Anglo American Digital Dome is a groundbreaking, high-tech, multi-disciplinary digital research and innovation facility. Anglo American partnered with the University in 2022 to support the refurbishment, expansion, and digitalisation of the then 62-year-old Johannesburg Planetarium to revolutionise how we understand and experience science, art, and culture. The digital dome will welcome SACI-45 delegates, who would like to take their journeys through the mysteries of the cosmos, or to the depths of the ocean.
