Boukunde - Department of Architecture, UP

Boukunde - Department of Architecture, UP The official page of the Department of Architecture, University of Pretoria, South Africa
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The Department of Architecture, University of Pretoria, offers validated professional and research programmes in architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture

26/06/2026

Days 2 and 3 at our Transdisciplinary Community Engagement camp were all about refining ideas and bringing them to life.

The four teams revisited their co-designed housing proposals, identified the key elements to prototype, and began constructing their first iterations. Each design embraces timber construction, supporting circular economy principles and design for disassembly.

These early prototypes are more than construction exercises. They provide an opportunity to test ideas, learn through making, and refine designs collaboratively with architecture students, civil engineering students, and Melusi community members.

The momentum is building, and we look forward to sharing the final prototypes soon.

25/06/2026

A glimpse into Day 1 of our Transdisciplinary Community Engagement with the Unit for Urban Citizenship.

Post-graduate Architecture students, Final year Civil Engineering students, and Melusi community members have come together for a five-day prototyping camp at RAW Modular, where they are collaboratively developing prototypes from their Co-Designed housing proposals.

The first day focused on learning by doing, with participants building small chairs to develop practical construction skills and become familiar with the modular building system. Throughout the rest of the week, each team will prototype key elements of their co-designed housing proposals, transforming ideas into full-scale built solutions.

Stay tuned as the prototyping unfolds.

Dr Taiwo Afinowi attended the Canadian Journal of African Studies (CJAS) publishing workshop for emerging scholars on Yo...
22/06/2026

Dr Taiwo Afinowi attended the Canadian Journal of African Studies (CJAS) publishing workshop for emerging scholars on York University's Glendon Campus during the annual conference of the Canadian Association of African Studies in Toronto.

The workshop brought together early-career researchers from institutions across Africa, Europe, and North America for a rich exchange on academic publishing, peer review, manuscript development, and navigating the publication process.

Last week, Dr Jan Hugo visited the University of Salford for the AMPS Research Livable Cities conference and presented a...
22/06/2026

Last week, Dr Jan Hugo visited the University of Salford for the AMPS Research Livable Cities conference and presented alongside fellow architects, planners, and designers. He also connected with collaborators in the CIB network to discuss upcoming projects. Always inspiring to be surrounded by so many talented individuals.

Prof Chrisna du Plessis has just returned from Singapore after four very intensive days at the World Cities Summit. The ...
20/06/2026

Prof Chrisna du Plessis has just returned from Singapore after four very intensive days at the World Cities Summit. The summit brought together mayors from all over the world, including our own, as part of the WCS Knowledge Council.

Prof Du Plessis took part in the panel discussion on "How can we create cities in nature through regenerative design?" Co-curated with C40 Cities

"While the ecological and well-being benefits of urban nature are well-established, the urgent challenge remains: how do we transform our concrete landscapes into flourishing, living systems? This plenary moves beyond the "why" to focus on the strategy planning and delivery of nature on the ground - protecting existing ecosystems and cultivating new ones through rooftop greenery, redesigned public spaces, and biophilic neighbourhoods.

This plenary will dive into the practical levers of change that cities are utilising to sow the seeds for a future where nature and the built environment thrive in harmony, including spatial strategy and land-use planning, market mechanisms and incentives, public asset, and participatory planning and stewardship."

This week Prof Ida Breed was in Davos, Switzerland, where she represented the University of Pretoria and the CONSUS team...
19/06/2026

This week Prof Ida Breed was in Davos, Switzerland, where she represented the University of Pretoria and the CONSUS team on Transformative change at the World Biodiversity Forum with more than 1000 attendees from over 70 countries since Sunday

CONSUS is a transdisciplinary action research project that aims to facilitate sustainable transformation in South African urban landscapes. Our researchers, based in Tshwane, South Africa, and in Aarhus, Denmark, use a collaborative learning approach to drive context-specific nature-based designs and ecological rehabilitation initiatives.

Public Interest Design in South Africa brings together the perspectives of three authors working across architecture, ur...
18/06/2026

Public Interest Design in South Africa brings together the perspectives of three authors working across architecture, urbanism, public space, research and community development. https://www.routledge.com/Public-Interest-Design-in-South-Africa/Combrinck-duTrevou-Mokholo/p/book/9781032455037

Prof Carin Combrinck, Claire du Trevou and Tshepo Mokholo examine how South African architectural practice has contributed to public value since 1994, often through forms of work that remain under-recognised within the profession.

The book draws on themes such as grassroots design practice, social construction, participatory action research and practice, collective capability, advocacy design, design as political activism, open source design, praxis and pedagogy.

Its contribution is both local and international. South Africa offers a critical context for examining the relationship between architecture, democracy, inequality and spatial justice. At the same time, the questions raised by the book speak to cities and societies far beyond South Africa.

This is an important addition to the literature on architecture’s civic role and its responsibility within complex urban conditions.

What does it mean for architecture to serve the public interest in South Africa?Public Interest Design in South Africa e...
15/06/2026

What does it mean for architecture to serve the public interest in South Africa?

Public Interest Design in South Africa engages this question through practice, theory and grounded examples. It examines how architects have responded to the spatial consequences of apartheid, inequality, exclusion and fragmented urban development.

The book positions Public Interest Design as a serious field of architectural thought and practice. It foregrounds collaboration, participatory action, advocacy, collective capability, pedagogy and the role of the architect as facilitator.

These concerns are increasingly urgent. South African cities continue to reveal the limits of architecture understood only as object, form or private commission. This book contributes to a broader understanding of architectural agency, one that is shaped through engagement, responsibility and public value.

For students and practitioners, it offers a timely invitation to reconsider what architecture does, who it serves, and how it participates in social and spatial change. https://www.routledge.com/Public-Interest-Design-in-South-Africa/Combrinck-duTrevou-Mokholo/p/book/9781032455037

A significant new contribution to architectural discourse in South Africa has been launched:Public Interest Design in So...
11/06/2026

A significant new contribution to architectural discourse in South Africa has been launched:

Public Interest Design in South Africa
By Prof Carin Combrinck, Claire du Trevou and Tshepo Mokholo
https://lnkd.in/dCAkPEmA

The book brings together important examples of architectural projects and practices in South Africa since 1994 that have worked in the public interest, often outside the visibility of mainstream professional recognition.

Against the continuing socio-spatial legacies of segregation, the book asks how architecture can contribute to democratic engagement, collaborative practice, responsive design, and spatial transformation.

It draws on South African examples, including Warwick Markets in eThekwini, Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrade in Cape Town, the work of Carin Smuts of CS Studios, and a wider collection of smaller interventions across the country.

This is an important text for architects, educators, students, urban practitioners and researchers concerned with the public role of architecture in South Africa and beyond.

What do architecture students, rhinos, theatre, and a workshop full of timber have in common? 🦏🎭🔨The Human Centred Desig...
08/06/2026

What do architecture students, rhinos, theatre, and a workshop full of timber have in common? 🦏🎭🔨

The Human Centred Design studio challenged our Honours students to design and build the world of a performance from the ground up, proving that architecture is about experiences, not just buildings.

We look forward to share more images of their progress.


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