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More cities will likely face these kinds of shortages as climate change, deforestation and ecosystems degradation increasingly threaten the natural systems that maintain water supplies. But nature offers solutions, too.
By protecting, restoring and sustainably managing forests within their watersheds, cities can improve water quality and quantity in a cost-effective way. And they can make water sources more resilient to a changing climate.
— The City Fix
The most recent ASLA survey of U.S.-based landscape architects confirmed the industry’s positive response to this critical demand, including that a total of 42% of respondents have said they are pursuing climate projects worth more than $1 million and another 29% saying the value of this... View full entry
This historic home is now a museum with an overnight rate. The former house and surrounding gardens of former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela is now accepting reservations after being transformed into an inn. — New York Post
Located in the suburb of Houghton, Johannesburg, Sanctuary Mandela, not only offers lodging but also features curated exhibits that pay tribute to the human rights activist and a restaurant with menu items inspired by Mandela’s favorite meals. View this post on Instagram A post shared... View full entry
The latest iteration of the Serpentine Pavilion is now open in London after more than a year of COVID-related delays. South African studio Counterspace had to wait 10 months to present its final design after being named to the commission in February of 2020. Serpentine Pavilion... View full entry
RISE International, a U.S. self-funded non-profit organization, is raising $100,000 to design and build an "Enterprise Hub" for unemployed youth in Lesotho, South Africa. The new facility will house up to 100 young entrepreneurs at a time and will be designed and built by local talent as part of... View full entry
Co-Arc International Architects director Catharine Atkins and architect Malika Walele are the leading women behind the 55-story building on Maude Street, which was designed by Co-Arc’s emeritus partner, Francois Pienaar. — TimesLIVE
In Sandton, Johannesburg stands the Leonardo, Africa's tallest building. Designed by the team of Co-Arc International Architects, the building stands at 55-stories tall and is set to be completed this year. Besides the record-breaking height of the building, there's another aspect to this... View full entry
The family of the revered South African trumpeter and cultural activist Hugh Ramapolo Masekela recently unveiled a memorial pavilion honoring the musician that architect David Adjaye designed. Masekela passed away last January at the age of 78. The late Hugh Ramapolo Masekela. Photo: Brett... View full entry
Blending social impact practices, architecture, and economic development initiatives the non-profit organization rise International aims to build and create Lesotho's first Architecture and Design library. From now until August 1st the African Library Project will be collecting books for rise... View full entry
This week the non-profit rise International (Relationships Inspiring Social Enterprise) announced its winner of the international architecture competition which focuses on affordable housing projects. During the 2018-2019 competition, designers were challenged to design high-quality, sustainable... View full entry
Students at the University of Cape Town have developed a bio-brick that mixes sand, bacteria and human urine. Unsurprisingly, it is the world's first building material to be made from the liquid waste high in nitrogen and phosphorous. The brick is created through a process called microbial... View full entry
Designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Local Studio and Design Indaba, the Arch for Arch stands as a monument to the human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, affectionally known as “Arch” by fellow South Africans. Desmond Tutu Memorial Arch by... View full entry
The prevalence of gated communities may also reveal what South Africans think constitutes middle class life. As it did under apartheid, it often means avoiding the poor unless they are servants, nannies or gardeners. Instead of creating racial segregation, gated communities often broaden the economic gap in South Africa and restricts development to privatized progress. — Quartz
"As state institutions flounder, estate living has gone on to offer attached private schools and clinics," Lynsey Chutel writes for Quartz Africa. "Privatized amenities in gated communities mean citizens don’t have to hold the city accountable, which is a shame because these are the citizens who... View full entry
Can you tell the difference between a Brakdak and an Afdak, a Sekwere or a Caka? Do you know your Domba hut from your Zulu one? An Inqolobane from an Indlu yezikhali?
Give yourself a pat on the back if you do. Truly, you deserve it. However, don't worry too much if you can't, as there's a new English-isiZulu architectural dictionary, just published by UKZN Press, which contains more than 1200 entries of local architectural terms.
— HuffPost
"I set out to study independent vernacular architecture in the 1970s, not realizing that a multitude of readings and meanings would emerge out of it," the book's co-author Franco Frescura, a former Professor and Chair of Architecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, tells HuffPost South... View full entry
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), the world's largest museum of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora, will open to the public on September 22. Zeitz MOCAA is located in a former grain silo at the V&A waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Zeitz MOCAA Picture... View full entry
In this round-up of notable architecture in Africa, Wired takes a closer look at projects from Morocco to South Africa, including the Lideta Mercato in Ethiopia by Xavier Vilalta and the Bosjes Chapel by Steyn Studio. As the piece notes, "Contemporary African architecture is extremely varied: it... View full entry
In any city, space is a commodity. In South African cities space is historical and emotional. A new photo series by an American living in Cape Town captures the dramatic inequality of South Africa’s most beloved city. From an aerial view, Cape Town’s scenic beauty gives way to a stark reminder of the country’s past and the continued racial segregation. [...]
“Looking straight down from a height of several hundred meters, incredible scenes of inequality emerge,” he writes on his website.
— qz.com
On his website, Unequal Scenes, the creator of the aerial imagery, Johnny Miller, writes:"Discrepancies in how people live are sometimes hard to see from the ground. The beauty of being able to fly is to see things from a new perspective - to see things as they really are. Looking straight down... View full entry
