We practice SOCIAL & GREEN architecture in mainly rural environments throughout southern Africa.
We typically design our buildings so that people participate, become empowered, and take ownership. Obviously, environmental issues are important and we perceive there to be a strong connection between the two. We believe that if through good design we’re saving natural resources for ‘the planet’ then we’re also saving a community’s limited financial resources, thereby allowing more money to be spent on the ‘business at hand’ – whether it be teaching and learning or the delivery of health care.
Our projects are generally process-based and as result time becomes a key factor. The deeper the contextual research and the more intense the levels of community engagement, the slower the process; but, ultimately, the better the chance of a sustainable, satisfying result for all. We believe that too much architecture is about the product, the glossy image and that by engaging in meaningful ‘process’ the resulting building becomes bound to its context – social, cultural, environmental and economic.
Current Directors are:
Steve Kinsler
Derek van Heerden
Bartjan Hooft
