BOOK COMING SOON

Public Interest Design
in South Africa

This upcoming book presents salient examples of architectural projects and practices in South Africa since 1994 that collectively subscribe to the paradigm shift towards Public Interest Design. Despite radical political transformation in the country, the people of South Africa remain adversely affected by the socio-spatial legacies of a segregated urban landscape. The contributions by architects to address these challenges go largely unnoticed and remain a marginalised practice, even within the mainstream profession. Projects include the Warwick Markets in eThekwini, the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrade programme in Cape Town, projects undertaken by Carin Smuts of CS Studios, as well as a collection of smaller but impactful interventions across the country. The selection illustrates the deliberate and necessary shift from a culture of segregation, fortification and private interest, to one of intense collaboration, democratic engagement and responsive design thinking. Serving as a microcosm of the challenges to integration and democracy faced by society globally, this book will be of great interest not only to scholars and students of architecture, urban planning, and development studies in South Africa, but also internationally.

Forward by Bryan Bell

Public Interest Design in South Africa advances both the global and local significance of this field by sharing both generalised knowledge for all, and in documenting how the particular challenges faced by South African communities are being addressed.In aiding and strengthening the global movement of Public Interest Design, these chapters contribute to the development of the needed definition of terms, and the identification of a new realm of practice, education, and theory.

These projects give evidence of the meaningful change that design can provide.

Architecture that serves the public interest deserves more airtime.

We’ve written a book about the spaces, stories, and structures that shaped democratic South Africa's built environment, and the architects, communities, and changemakers behind them.If you love design that makes a difference, and the South African stories behind it, you’ll want to be the first to know.Drop your email below. No spam. No nonsense. Just updates, sneak peeks, and maybe the odd invitation to book launches and exciting events!

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