Archinect - Features

Undoing Apartheid Architecture with Wandile Mthiyane

2020-07-23T09:52:00-04:00

Wandile Mthiyane’s story captures a special reality about architecture and its unique relationship to people. Growing up in Durban, South Africa, Wandile lived in a community designed as a part of the nation’s oppressive apartheid regime of the past. And while the unjust laws of that history have been abolished, the consequences of its effects remain. Wandile decided early on that he wanted to counteract the remnants of this “apartheid architecture” that loomed over his fellow South Africans, and so he embarked on a journey few would have the grit to see to the end.

Determined to study architecture in the United States, the young dreamer raised himself to a position to eventually gain the support of one of the most powerful men in Durban, a crucial step in his path to realize his vision of a better future for his people. Today Wandile is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ubuntu Design Group, a social enterprise design firm with a non-profit arm that is transforming the lives of families in ...

Glavovic Studio on Using Architecture as a Catalyst for Environmental Stewardship and Social Impact

2019-07-15T12:45:00-04:00

Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, architect Margi Nothard uses her global heritage and upbringing as a keystone to leading her Florida-based practice Glavovic Studio. A practice whose values stem from community-based engagement, socially conscious designs and environmental stewardship, Nothard has helped transform South Florida. Through her work in urban planning projects, affordable housing, public art projects, and commercial projects, the studio has made a lasting impact in Florida. Leading her firm for twenty years, Nothard's enthusiasm for social change through good design has allowed her and her team to works like the Young Circle Arts Park and the Kennedy Homes.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Nothard shares her experiences of running a firm and what has changed over time. According to Nothard, "I was told after graduating to go somewhere where I could make a difference." After starting her practice 1999, Glavovic Studio has established itself as one of Fort Laude...

Interview with Alfredo Brillembourg, founder of Urban-Think Tank

2015-04-10T12:23:00-04:00

Alfredo Brillembourg is the founder and co-director of Urban-Think Tank, an interdisciplinary design practice dedicated to high-level research and design on a variety of subjects, concerned with contemporary architecture and urbanism. He's also Co-chair for Architecture and Urban Design at the Swiss Institute of Technology, Zürich.

"LA's Grand Central : The Gentrification of the People's Market": Interview with director Dylan Valley

2014-08-27T17:47:00-04:00

Dylan Valley is a filmmaker from Cape Town who recently completed a master’s degree at the University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, Valley produced a short documentary film about downtown’s Grand Central Market, and its continuing transformation.