Tag: cape-town | ArchDaily

Rahmah Library / The MAAK

Pilar Caballero — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

The Rahmah Library at Rahmaniyeh Primary School in Cape Town's District Six is a vibrant new facility that celebrates how architects and school learners can work together to build user-oriented educational spaces.

Umoya Boutique Hotel / SkreinStudios

Valeria Silva — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Designed for self-sufficiency, the project integrates innovative green technologies while ensuring a deep connection to its natural surroundings. Guests can enjoy captivating views of Table Mountain and the bay, while carefully designed courtyards offer protection from the African sun and coastal winds. The hotel's design harmonizes interior and exterior spaces, enhancing the guest experience with seamless transitions.

The Bathroom, Reawakened: Contemporary Design Concepts for a Sensory Experience

Enrique Tovar — Mon, 26 May 2025 01:30:00 +0000

Water is a catalyst for sensory experiences: it manifests through direct contact when touched, through its presence when heard or seen reflected, and through its transformations—whether by temperature, from cold to heat, or by state, from liquid to vapor. It is a key element in designing for the senses, capable of evoking physically and emotionally perceived atmospheres. As Juhani Pallasmaa suggests, architecture does not address the eye alone but involves the whole body and sensory memory. The bathroom, in particular, concentrates much of the physical and emotional experience associated with water, opening up possibilities for creating environments that intensify that sensory connection. Consequently, the question arises: what elements or concepts should shape this space so that the shower experience escapes the ordinary?

9 on Nares Apartment Building / Two Five Five Architects

Valeria Silva — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0000

Observatory, often referred to as "Obs," is a vibrant and eclectic suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. Located just east of the city center, it is known for its bohemian atmosphere, diverse community, and artistic culture. The area features a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial spaces, with Victorian-era architecture adding to its charm. Observatory is home to a variety of cafes, restaurants, bars, and shops, making it a popular spot for students, artists, and young professionals. It's also known for the Groote Schuur Hospital and its proximity to the University of Cape Town.

Aquifer Recharge Plant / SALT Architects

Hana Abdel — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 20:00:00 +0000

The Cape Flats Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) plant is a pioneering response to Cape Town's water crisis, offering a sustainable solution to safeguard the city's future water supply. Situated within the False Bay Nature Reserve in Pelican Park, this facility addresses the need for sustainable water management by purifying treated effluent to potable standards and recharging the Cape Flats Aquifer. The site, a flat sandy expanse bordered by dunes, endures strong prevailing southeasterly winds and corrosive coastal conditions, all of which informed the design approach.

Present Shapes, Bonteheuwel Freedom Square Landscape Art Intervention / Lorenzo Nassimbeni Conceptual Architect

Hana Abdel — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

The project consists of a series of artistic interventions forming part of the upgrade of a public space called Freedom Square in Bonteheuwel, Cape Town. Bonteheuwel was created by the South African apartheid government as a locality for people of color who were forcefully removed from their homes. The physical site for the artworks was seen as part of a larger site, that of the social structure of the township. The square is considered the heart of Bonteheuwel. It is a space of movement, gathering, and positive spirit. The artwork sought to celebrate this fact.

Venice Art Biennale Appoints Koyo Kouoh as Director of the 61st International Art Exhibition

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The Board of La Biennale di Venezia has just announced the appointment of Koyo Kouoh as the Director of the Visual Arts Department. Kouoh will lead the curation of the 61st International Art Exhibition, scheduled for 2026. This announcement follows a recommendation by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of La Biennale, who emphasized Kouoh's extensive experience in the global art world and her ability to engage with contemporary artistic and cultural discourse. Born in Cameroon, Koyo Kouoh will become the first African woman to curate the Venice Art Biennale.

The Pavilion House / Malan Vorster Architecture Interior Design

Miwa Negoro — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Hillside Haven: A Sanctuary of Architecture and Nature - Nestled within a landscape of breathtaking natural beauty, the Constantia estate epitomizes a thoughtfully crafted architectural evolution that has unfolded over nearly two decades. This remarkable journey commenced with the restoration of the original house, serving as a catalyst for the introduction of innovative structures such as the acclaimed 'Tree House' and a modern gym pavilion. Most recently, the estate's narrative was enriched through the acquisition of a neighboring parcel of land, presenting exciting new opportunities for further architectural exploration.

HPI School of Design Thinking / KMH Architects

Hana Abdel — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, at UCT, is the 3rd Design Thinking institute in the world and the only school in Africa dedicated to Design Thinking training. The school’s objective is to train individuals in the practice of design thinking as an enabler of innovation and new outcomes to meet users’ needs in complex socio‐political and economic contexts.

Shelflife Store / TDC&Co

Hana Abdel — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 20:00:00 +0000

TDC&Co embarked on an inspiring journey alongside the Shelflife team, aiming to authentically connect with South African street culture. As a design agency, we were entrusted with the task of translating this essence of the Shelflife brand into the 257-year-old walls of our heritage site on Cape Town’s iconic Bree Street.

Winelands Villa / ARRCC + SAOTA

Hana Abdel — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 02:00:00 +0000

Winelands Villa is situated in the Gentleman’s Estate at Val de Vie Estate in the Paarl-Franschhoek Valley, a luxury smallholding concept along the banks of the Berg River offering views of the Drakenstein, Simonsberg and Paarl Rock Mountains within a landscape of rehabilitated fynbos. The estate’s aesthetic guidelines specify a contemporary interpretation of Provençal and Cape vernacular architecture, prescribing pitched roofs, exposed timber rafters, and a material palette of timber cladding, off-shutter concrete, and natural stonework offset with white plastered walls.

Upper Albert Residence / SAOTA

Hana Abdel — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 02:00:00 +0000

Architect Philip Olmesdahl, principal at Cape Town-based studio SAOTA, had been living near this site in the city bowl for more than 15 years, admiring it, before he managed to secure it for himself. The timing, however, was perfect. “We needed a more spacious home for my family when the children got into their teenage years,” he says. Being his own client offered Philip the opportunity to push boundaries – combining wisdom earned designing houses with SAOTA over the years with something a bit more whimsical and experimental. “When architects design their own homes,” he says, “they can have a bit more fun; they can be a little bit less intellectual.” That doesn’t mean that the design of his own home is any less rigorously thought-out, but rather that Philip could take the opportunity to explore architectural ideas without necessarily feeling the need to present a definitive statement or conclusive theory and weave in personal associations and preferences.

Mountain House / Chris Van Niekerk

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Located on a 4000m2 site in a semi-rural location on the slopes of the Steenberg Mountains, this building is nestled in a manner to suggest it is neither elevated nor buried, straddling a central location on the site. An open brief provided the freedom to explore a considered response to the landscape rather than focus solely on the constraints of accommodation. The site bears the scars of the presence of an earlier dwelling that was demolished due to structural failure. Further manipulation of the site was limited so that this chapter in the site’s history is not erased.

The Ridge - V&A Waterfront / StudioMAS

Hadir Al Koshta — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 20:00:00 +0000

The design involved a close collaborative process between studioMAS and Arup. The result is a rational design in which architecture and engineering are thoroughly integrated, having been developed side by side from the earliest conceptual stage. The façade, executed using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), gives the building its distinct identity.

Uxolo Apartments / Two Five Five Architects

Hana Abdel — Fri, 12 May 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Uxolo Apartments is the first completed micro-unit residential development located in the Cape Town CBD. The project consists of 35 residential units ranging between 24m² micro-studio units and 40m² loft units, as well as a lobby and retail area on the Ground Floor on a stand of only 195.5m².

House Campbell / Michael Lumby Architecture

Thuto Vilakazi — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 23:00:00 +0000

To make the most of its modest budget, this small house uses inexpensive materials throughout but balances them with custom detailing and craftsmanship. Bespoke deep-set steel windows frame views out, while one window sill doubles up as a sink, draining water directly into the garden bed outside.

Flamingo Holiday Apartments / Robert Silke & Partners

Hana Abdel — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Flamingo’s name references upbeat tropical modernism that marries serious European design of the twenties and thirties, with the flamboyant luxury of the great coastal resort cities of Miami, Rio & Honolulu. Flamingo is playfully and frivolously sculpted, like Bauhaus on heat. One block away from the sea, the holiday apartments range from 25m² studios to 29m² 1-bedroomed corner units, spanning nine storeys on a site no more than 525m² in extent.

Utilitarian Creativity: Reinventing and Reading the Silo

Matthew Maganga — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Hulking, imposing, and utilitarian, silos are an enduring urban feature, structures typically used for the storage of materials in bulk. They are important physical elements of the agricultural industry, storing grain, fermented feed, and other foodstuffs. These tall, typically cylindrical forms remain the subject of architectural fascination — from being symbols of technological progress for Modernist architectural figures of the early 20th century, to in contemporary times, instigating inventive approaches to adaptive reuse.