Numbers Glyphs fad creative milestones a Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture N o3 Celebrating the Achievements, Innovations, and Unforgettable Moments of FADA in 2024.
Celebrating the Achievements, Innovations, and Unforgettable Moments of FADA in 2024.
2 Design Studies 15 GSA 37 Interior Design 46 Jewellery 50 Multimedia 56 UJ Arts&Culture 3 Fashion 9 Graphic Design 26 Industrial Design 54 SARChI content
2 In April this year students took part in the third annual student symposium as part of the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) project titled Art as a Catalyst for Global Understanding. Students in the third-year Multimedia Design class enrolled for Digital Media Studies participated in the event, which focused on belonging in urban contexts and how public art relates to communities who interact with it. This year the University of Cincinnati hosted the symposium, and TU Dortmund University also participated. Americo Guambe. 2001. The Newtown Heads. Old railway sleepers on concrete plinths. 23 x 11 x 126 cm. Johannesburg (Photograph by Janelle Billet). This project is a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to engage with a community of international peers, in an academic research context. The following UJ students were selected to represent the University at the symposium: Janelle Billet, Jessica da Silva, Tasmia Mohammed, Yasmeen Naumova. Their presentation was entitled: The Newtown Heads in downtown Johannesburg. The following presentations were also part of the programme: Ajenda (The Stranger): Investigating the impact of forced migration on Afghan refugee women in Iranian society Fatemeh Rezaei, representing University Alliance Ruhr, TU Dortmund and Academy in Exile TU Dortmund University Prof Dr Vanessa Agnew My Black Is….public mural by Ciara LeRoy Jessica Frazier, MLA Landscape Architecture; Public Art and Public Space Certificate University of Cincinnati Prof Kate Bonansinga Art as a Catalyst for Global Understanding A recording of the symposium, including the Newtown Heads presentation can be viewed on the following link: https://daap.mediaspace.kaltura.com/ media/2024-0419+Art+as+a+Catalyst+for+Global+Understanding/1_wqo7c0h6 FADA students presenting at the symposium on 19 April 2024: Janelle Billet, Jessica da Silva, Tasmia Mohammed, Yasmeen Naumova.
fashion 3 The Martin Molefe Memory Project
4 The Martin Molefe Memory Project: Celebrating Lesotho’s 1962 Royal Wedding Through the Work of Martin Molefe In a remarkable collaboration, Dr Khaya Mchunu from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Ms Kiara Gounder from Durban University of Technology (DUT), alongside the Maserubased consultancy Sehaeso Consultancy, organised a public lecture and exhibition honouring the significant contributions of South African fashion designer, Martin Molefe. The event took place at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) in Maseru, Lesotho, with the lecture held on 25 September 2024, followed by an exhibition at the Maseru Mall that concluded on 26 September 2024. The lecture was well-attended by students and lecturers from both LUCT and the National University of Lesotho. During the lecture, attendees were given a historical overview of Molefe’s work and his relevance to Lesotho, particularly highlighting his role in designing the bridesmaids’ dresses for Lesotho’s iconic 1962 royal wedding. The discussion emphasised the importance of intertwining design with history and heritage, while also celebrating the untold stories of great African fashion designers. The accompanying exhibition creatively showcased Martin Molefe as a wedding designer, featuring a contemporary re-interpretation of the ensembles he crafted for the royal wedding. Notably, one of the highlights was a strapless tulle gown adorned with hand-drawn, machine-embroidered floral lace motifs. These intricate floral patterns draw inspiration from the indigenous flowers of Southern Africa, reflecting the critical cultural significance of Molefe’s work in both Lesotho and South Africa. This project not only pays homage to Martin Molefe’s legacy but also reinforces the narrative of African fashion as a rich tapestry of history and artistry.
5 30 Years of Democracy: Teacher Training Workshop The 30 Years of Democracy Teacher Training Workshop was held over two consecutive Saturdays, on 28 September and 5 October 2024. This initiative was a collaborative effort between the Department of Fashion and the Gauteng Department of Education’s DCES FET of Design and Visual Arts. The workshops targeted secondary school teachers specialising in design and art subjects, offering them valuable insights and skills to enhance their teaching. Hosted in the Department of Fashion, the workshops were structured as follows: Day 1: Introduction to Critical Design Approaches Day 2: Practical Sessions on Upcycling Techniques and French Knitting These workshops aligned with the celebration of 30 years of democracy, aiming to explore action-oriented and pragmatic democratisation. By facilitating training in fashion skills, the Department sought to foster knowledge sharing as a form of practising democracy. Recognising teachers as vital contributors to society, the training emphasised their role as knowledge sharers who shape future generations. The goal was to equip these educators with fashion skills that they could pass on to their learners, creating a ripple effect of knowledge and creativity. The workshops saw active participation from all academic staff members in the Department, along with students from both the Fashion and Fashion Production programmes, who collaborated in delivering engaging and informative sessions.
6 UJ Students Shine in the South Africa Fashion Week Student Competition The third-year students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion programme at the University of Johannesburg recently participated in the South Africa Fashion Week Student Competition, tasked with designing a luxury, white, 100% cotton blouse or shirt under the theme “Personalise It.” Notably, ten UJ students advanced to the Top 20, the highest representation from any fashion school in the competition for 2024. The winner will be announced later this year. Celebrating Creativity:
7 Thandolwethu Nene drew inspiration from African women’s medicinal knowledge, particularly focusing on indigenous plants like wild hibiscus. Their design, which resembles traditional pinafores, features wide ribbons for versatility and shoulder ruffles that evoke flower petals. This blouse embodies the sustainable aspect of clothing, allowing for multiple styling options. Long sleeves showcase fabric quilted in petal-like patterns with beading that mimics water droplets. Thandolwethu’s work highlights the significance of flowers in African culture, where they are valued for their societal benefits rather than mere aesthetics. This shirt design honours women who preserve indigenous medicinal practices and share this invaluable knowledge with future generations. UJ students embraced a variety of themes, showcasing their unique design statements through their creations. Here are a few standout interpretations: Kagiso Rantekane designed a reversible 2-in-1 shirt as a tribute to his late father, Charles Mashale. The design reflects his father’s influence, featuring triangular pieces inspired by geometry problems he encouraged Kagiso to solve. The black tie-dyed outer layer symbolizes an unconventional approach to life, while the inner collar bears the name “Mashale” painted in red, reminiscent of his father’s beloved red BMW 318i. Triangular patterns on the collar, cuffs, and pockets represent the strength and stability his father instilled in him. With sleeves that can be styled long or short through a zip system, this shirt exemplifies versatility for various occasions, serving as a heartfelt tribute to a man whose legacy continues to inspire. Refilwe Loilane shared a deeply personal narrative through her design, Lesedi, meaning “light.” Drawing from her experiences of pain, she transformed challenges into a creative expression. The asymmetrical silhouette features puff-gathered panels symbolising her inner strength during tumultuous times. The straps represent the facades developed to conceal her struggles, while the asymmetrical top layer serves as a protective shield. Refilwe’s design incorporates a gold metal teeth zip and detachable sleeves, allowing for multiple styling options that emphasise freedom from her past. By using fabric burning as a textural element, she signifies her journey of overcoming shame and pain, ultimately showcasing her resilience. These inspiring designs not only reflect the students’ creativity but also highlight the powerful narratives behind their work. The University of Johannesburg’s Fashion programme continues to nurture and showcase the immense talent of its students, paving the way for future designers to make their mark in the industry.
8 AFI Fastrack Designer Development Programme: Celebrating Kgotsofalo Mohau Monyamate Kgotsofalo Mohau Monyamate, a Master’s student in Design (Fashion stream) and part-time lecturer in the Department of Fashion, recently participated in the AFI Fastrack Designer Development Programme. This esteemed initiative, launched by the African Fashion International (AFI) and founded by Dr Precious Motsepe, serves as a fashion designer incubator and competition aimed at nurturing emerging talent in the fashion industry. The Fastrack Programme provides a platform for budding designers to showcase their creativity to diverse audiences, both within South Africa and internationally. Participants gain invaluable skills and experience, propelling their careers to the next level. Throughout the programme, designers receive comprehensive training in various aspects of running a sustainable fashion business, including research, presentations, marketing, and sales. They are also presented with design challenges that encourage them to combine their unique skills with the expertise facilitated by the programme. The AFI Fastrack Designer Development Programme culminated in the AFI Fastrack Prize event, where designers showcased their work to industry experts, public figures, fashion enthusiasts, family, and friends. Esteemed judges, including renowned stylist Felipe Mazibuko and Sunday Times editor Aspasia Karras, evaluated the designs presented. Kgotsofalo Mohau Monyamate showcased his new collection under his fashion brand Articles From Mars, titled ‘Is’khothane Somhlaba’. This collection featured elements inspired by the South African cultural phenomenon of Ubukhothane. Mr Monyamate’s outstanding garment design, construction, rationale presentation skills, and his ability to research and solve problems throughout the programme earned him the Innovation and Creativity Award — a significant achievement, as it is the first of its kind since the programme’s inception in 2011.
9 Tiagos is an open Flamed grill fast food restuarant based only in KwaZulu-Natal. They are a well-loved brand in KZN as they are a free range, organic base, who are also Halal. Their original brand identity was outdated and needed a modern rebrand, in doing so I used elements such as illustrated patterns, a fun colour pallete and more of a coastal aesthetic to represent their brand. graphic design
10 1ST Year Logo Design with Osmond Tshuma: Our first-year students had the privilege of their Logo Design unit being taught by accomplished designer and UJ Graphic Design alumna, Osmond Tshuma. Osmond is an award-winning designer from Zimbabwe, who specialises in typography, art direction, and branding. His work is informed by his heritage, which is incorporated into various aspects of his work and career. Among Osmond’s most notable project is the branding he created for the “Leaders: Africa” programme. For this project, the students had to rebrand one of three South African companies: Eskom, Telkom, or SABC. The task was to design a new logo and accompanying visual identity system that represents the company’s values and future success, addressing its current challenges and public perception, while centring its identity as an African, and South African business towards decolonising South African graphic design. 1ST Year Illustration and 2nd Year Branding with Courtney Hodgson: Owner of local brand and business Kiffkak, Courtney Hodgson, spent some time with our students this year transferring her skills in the two areas in which she specialises: illustration and branding. Courtney is an award-winning illustrator and designer and taught first-year illustration and second-year branding this year. The illustration unit focuses largely on visual storytelling in both traditional and digital media, whereas the second-year branding unit teaches students how market research informs a suitable design execution for brand development. 2ND Year Advertising with Kgabo Mametja: Our second-year Advertising unit was presented by successful designer, illustrator and art director, Kgabo Mametja. Kgabo has worked for a variety of local and international clients, including Lego, Nike, Penguin Random House and Puma. Kgabo set a fun brief for our students requiring them to develop a campaign for Birkenstock, delving into print, digital and video. 3RD Year Advertising with Fiona O’Connor and Dr Lize Groenewald: This unit was coordinated by Fiona O’Connor, an executive art director who has worked with Havas and Ogilvy. Fiona has worked projects for clients, such as KFC, Mercedes, Emperors Palace and Jik. The unit was also coordinated and taught by Dr Lize Groenewald, our esteemed former HOD. The students received briefs that were developed by honours students in UJ’s Strategic Communications Department. This unit required students to develop clever, innovative campaign concepts and professionally crafted works of design that successfully carry the campaign messages through each deliverable. INDUSTRY LECTURERS
11 The Candles! These scrumptious candles are embelished with bold and enticing illustrations to convey the energy of both the target audience and the candles. We encourage the consumer to give these packages a new life. Once the candle has been lit, the package can be used to regift a special someone or even as pen holder. The illustration style inspires you to stay creative and sustainable. Oh! and we can’t forget the complimetary box of safety matches. Buy two or more boxes of our exclusive candles and we’ll throw in a free box of safety matches. Just a little something for our besties.
12 Graphic Design 3RD Year Packaging with Jamie Calf: Our third years were taught by department alumna and graphic designer, Jamie Calf. She is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Johannesburg, with a fondness for tea, cats, and her plant collection. Jamie is an alumna of the University of Johannesburg, where she studied Communication/Graphic Design. She is known by her students as a “fantastic lecturer who truly cares for her work”. For this project, students were tasked to create packaging as part of their coursework, but it also served as an entry for the annual packaging design competition known as the Gold Pack Awards. 3RD Year Self-Branding and Work-Based Learning with Telita Esterhuizen: Department alumna and freelance illustrator and designer, Telita Esterhuizen, taught self-branding to our third years this year. This unit requires students to professionally brand themselves as designers, ensuring that they are able to enter industry with their own portfolio websites, business cards, CVs and other self-promotional material. The work-based learning unit seeks to teach students professional skills, prepare them for the working environment through internships, and having speakers who work in the various corners of industry speak to the students. 3RD Year Zine Project: The third-year zine unit was a collaboration between the students and the zine duo Pangazine (formerly Idiozine). Lecturer Neil Badenhorst, who taught this unit, collaborated with marketing expert, Frederika Fourie, and multimedia designer, Tana Pistorius (who make up Panagzine), and set up a brief where students were required to develop their own concepts and create a 12-page zine in which they seek to spark conversations regarding various projects. As the majority of third-year practical units are set up for commercial viability, ensuring students demonstrate the skills that they will need in industry, the zine unit is an opportunity for students to do research and craft designs about social topics that they themselves are passionate about. The unit promotes design history, the integration of what is learned in theory modules into practice. The students’ topics ranged from issues relating to gender-based violence, queer identities and experience, grappling with identity, the war on Palestine, cultural hybridity and more. Ten of the students’ zines were exhibited at the Jack Ginsberg Book Arts Centre this year in an exhibition curated by Prof David Paton from Visual Arts. There was also a panel discussion between Prof Paton, UJ, Open Window and Wits. Neil Badenhorst and students, Musa Malobola and Ditshegofatso Maoto, were part of the panel. Pangazine Issue 1, which will consist as a publication consisting of student work will be launched later this year. COLLABORATION Honours Participation Design: In this particularly ambitious unit, coordinated by H0D Christa van Zyl, students are presented with briefs from real-life clients to which they need to respond with a real, feasible design execution. This unit prioritises human-centred, communitybased graphic design. This year, both our students and the Industrial Design honours students participated within this project. Our stakeholders and partners for this project include Girls and Boys Town, Jozi My Jozi, Crystal Springs Mountain Lodge, Water for the Future, Joburg Zoo, and African Reclaimers Organisation.
13 NOTABLE STUDENT PROJECTS 2ND Year Editorial Design: Lecturer Ilhaam Khan facilitated the editorial design unit for our second-year students. For this assignment our students were tasked with creating an alternative publication based on a typeface. This project required students to research their selected typeface, blend traditional and digital media, and do visual research on how their selected typeface is used in the real world. This required that the students photograph and record how they see these fonts being used on signage, billboards, packaging and menus. Students had to learn how to integrate their creative experiments in traditional media into the digital workspace, prior to printing and binding their publications. 2ND Year Design Thinking: Senior lecturer Reshma Maharajh facilitated the design thinking unit, in which students were presented with a problem and were required to do research and execute a solution. This unit focuses on research as a crucial part of the creative process. Students had to apply their design thinking skills to their own context within the university, thinking about how design can promote mental health and well-being for students on campus. 2ND Year 30 Years of Democracy: For our students’ mid-year exam, they were tasked to develop integrated campaigns for the celebration of 30 years of Democracy in South Africa. Students were required to use a minimum of three South African languages in their campaign, with some of the required deliverables being billboard designs, a poster, an Instagram carousel, two social media posts, with students needing to include a deliverable of their own choice. The project was coordinated by lecturers, Ilhaam Khan and Neil Badenhorst. 2ND Year Direct Marketing: The second-year students received a brief from the marketing consultancy WeilCo and company Capfin. They were tasked with conceptualising a campaign for the client responding to the multitude of positive reviews Capfin receives from their clients. The unit required that students execute their campaigns in groups, in various phases; facilitating an agency environment and workflow processes. This unit was taught by lecturers Neil Badenhorst and Ilhaam Khan. 3RD Year FADA Poster: This unit involves the creation of the poster for the annual FADA exhibition. In addition to designing the poster, the brief required students to design signage and approaches to wayfinding, as well as digital invites to the exhibition. The top ten posters have been shortlisted, and the Faculty will soon open voting for selecting the final poster for the year. This unit was taught by senior lecturer Reshma Maharajh. 3RD Year Wayfinding: Lecturer Ilhaam Khan taught the wayfinding unit, which seeks to equip the students with the skills necessary to work on environmental graphics and execute wayfinding systems. This project required the students to reapproach FADA’s wayfinding systems to maximise clarity and spatial awareness of the different locations of departments, administrative offices and other locations in the building, ensuring a student-centred approach. Honours Women’s Month Portraits: Each year during August, our HOD Christa van Zyl facilitates a project in which honours students pay homage to notable South African women by illustrating portraits of them for our departmental Instagram page. This project seeks to honour these women who have made impacts on various corners of society, but also educate our students of notable women and what they have worked towards within our democracy. Honours Publication Design: Prof Deirdre Pretorius teaches the Honours unit, publication design. This year, students were required to design a publication celebrating 20 years of the Graphic Design Department. Students had to delve into an archive of past student work in order to execute their publications and do research on the history and current visions of the department and FADA. In the students’ words “there was never a dull moment in class” and that Prof Pretorius is “one of the coolest lecturers I know because of her patience, great advice and jokes”.
14 POSTGRADUATE MATTERS PhD Graduation: The department has had its first PhD student graduate this year. Maria van Os, who was supervised by our former colleague, Dr Adrie Haese, and co-supervised by Prof Deirdre Pretorius, has graduated. She made a beautiful picture book as a part of her study. Several of our MA candidates have graduated as well. STAFF Internationalisation: Prof Deirdre Pretorius went to Brighton, where she presented several talks to the university’s postgraduate students. Staff Exhibition: All five members of the Graphic Design Department participated in the FADA staff exhibition earlier this year. Christa van Zyl’s piece was concerned with the invisible care invested into students as an educator. Prof Deirdre Pretorius made an artists’ book of self-portraits exploring the relationship between oil painting and generative AI. Reshma Maharajh made an installation piece that grapples with cultural identity, rites of passage and the role of womanhood. Ilhaam Khan and Neil Badenhorst collaborated on an installation piece that was a sign of solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian people. Visual Redress Book: Following their conference paper last year at Visual Redress, Prof Deirdre Pretorius and Ilhaam Khan have written a book chapter regarding university hostel branding in South Africa. Everything Under the Sun: Lecturer Neil Badenhorst was one of the illustrators who worked on the second volume of Everything Under the Sun, a nonfiction children’s book for Ladybird UK, in which children’s questions from around the world are answered by various experts. Duo: Lecturer Neil Badenhorst will be exhibiting in a duo exhibition at Gallery 2 at the start of November, alongside UX designer and artist Jané Celliers. The exhibition interrogates queer space, alienation from traditional spaces, and queer rites of passage. Fundraising Exhibition: Lecturers Ilhaam Khan and Neil Badenhorst (as well as Ruth Sacks from Visual Arts) participated in an exhibition at the Desmond and Leah Tutu foundation, titled Palestine will soon be Free, from the River to the Sea. The proceeds from the exhibition will go towards colouring books and stationery for schools in need within South Africa, and towards distribution of the colouring book by Nathi Ngubane, of which 100% of the proceeds go towards the Palestinian cause.
15 Graduate School of Architecture
16 GSA 2024 News & Events Quarter 1-4Quarter 1 GSA + Kingston School of Art Exchange, London January An engaging discussion on how we teach history at GSA + KSA with individual presentations by GSA Unit 15X and Unit 21 co-leads, Nomalanga Mahlangu and Azraa Gabru, showing how ideas around history and the past manifest themselves in Unit projects. Scape Magazine Feature GSA Unit 7 tutor, Simphiwe Mlambo, and GSA Unit 17 lead, Gregory Katz, were featured in 100th volume | 100 voices Funambulist Magazine – 52nd Issue GSA Unit 14 alum Patricia Bandora’s master’s dissertation was published in the 52nd issue of The Funambulist Magazine Title of article: How A Genocide Spreads: Mapping AntiTutsi radios, magazines and speeches in Rwanda GSA Unit 20 Workshop with Malik Yoba – I Build New York GSA Unit 20 maintains its interdisciplinary approach to design thinking and education by hosting a film workshop at the GSA led by Malik Yoba, a seasoned actor and filmmaker. The workshop centred around the art of storytelling and filmmaking, exploring how architecture students can leverage the filmmaking process and the impact of storytelling in the creation of architecture. GAP (Gauteng Accelerator Programme) INNOVATION COMPETITION Tlhologello Sesana, GSA Unit 17 Tutor and Making Tutor, achieved first place in the GAP (Gauteng Accelerator Programme) INNOVATION COMPETITION. The competition called for innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs working on novel technologies to improve the efficiency of government service delivery, increase the competitiveness of the local economy, and enhance the quality of life of ordinary citizens. Tlhologello entered under the Township Economy category and took first place for her innovation that focused on adaptable modular systems for modular construction. The competition is held in collaboration with the Innovation Hub, Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), Emory University Business School, Atlanta Georgia, and Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (Tasez). 100 Women: Architects in Practice – Book Launch and Panel Discussion 9 March 2024 An online event hosted by the GSA offering an opportunity to meet some of the remarkable women featured in the book and to engage with a panel discussion moderated by GSA Unit tutors, Veronica Chipwanya, Nomalanga Mahlangu, and Simphiwe Mlambo.
17 Quarter 2 Production Studies International Conference 2024 (PSIC2024) March 2024 Decolonisation, International Collaboration Beyond Africa Hosted by Newcastle University PSIC2024 brings together over 100 researchers from around the globe to debate and advance the critical understanding of relations between architectural design and the production and labour of building. Simphiwe Mlambo’s presentation discussed the archival history of Johannesburg, highlighting the post-apartheid museums as complex networks reflecting mass black deathrelated landscapes. It explored the parasitic relationship between apartheid urban production and the creation of these museums, where the death of black bodies is capitalised on for economic gain. The presentation delved into Dark tourism and necro politics, examining how colonial power influences who lives and dies to maintain urban production. It also analysed the transformation of spaces that once subjugated black bodies into postapartheid museums through Cartographies of Cleansing. Scape Magazine Nairobi Visit 15 – 19 April Pan African The Department of Landscape Architecture at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi, one of a few schools on the African continent that offers landscape architecture, invited Dr Saidi to serve as an external examiner for their landscape architecture programmes. Dr Saidi examined the undergraduate and master’s programmes in Landscape Architecture, interviewing staff and students. Dr Saidi noted that the programmes in landscape programmes offered at JKAUT offer fresh insights and understanding for landscape architecture opportunities in African cities.
18 Making at the GSA Public Lectures Making Immersion 2024 Key Speakers: Mark and Annelide Sherratt 4IR/SDG GSA Architectural History & Theory Lectures Decolonisation/4IR Infrastructures Post Human Sustainability Writing a First Draft/ Developing A Writing Voice Key Speakers: Zandi Sherman, Harriet Harris, Tracy Murinik Corobrik 37th Architectural Student Awards 15 – 17 May 2024 Dominican Republic Embassy GSA Visit Prof Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture, and Head of the Division for Global Engagement, Prof Ylva Rodny-Gumede, met at the GSA with H.E. Erika Alvarez Rodriguez, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic to South Africa and Minister Counsellor Jose Ortiz Almonte to discuss opportunities for collaboration. ADR Seminar and Workshop Series May – August 2024 GSA Advanced Design Research Convenor, Prof Guy Trangoš Continuous Professional Development The ADR seminars and workshops are designed to build and strengthen discourse around academic, research, and pedagogical matters. They are an excellent opportunity to expand our knowledge collectively and collegially on various subjects. ADR Seminar: A round-table discussion of a theme, with reading material shared a week beforehand as a prompt for the discussion. Seminar themes have been drawn from cross-unit themes but can be adjusted. ADR Workshop: A skills-building discussion where research methods, pedagogy, research resources, and techniques will be presented and discussed.
19 Quarter 3 Emergent Practice 1 18 – 29 June 2024 Goethe Institut Emergent Practice (EP1 and EP2) is a two-part exhibition co-hosted by the GSA and the Goethe Institut at the invitation of Dr Asma Diakité. EP1 is a comprehensive prelude to EP2, highlighting the work of Fred Swart with a focus on posters for the GSA. EP2, co-curated by GSA graduate Chinenye Chukwuka (2023), features the work of fellow recent GSA graduates, Patricia Bandora, Simphiwe Mlambo and Titus Shitaatala (2021/22 and 23), whose work reflects the ambition and diversity that characterise the transformative work of the School. The Goethe-Institut gallery is a place for practitioners to experiment and play, outside of the traditional white cube space without commercial limitations. The gallery aims to create a platform for these practitioners to explore ideas safely; with logistical, financial, and curatorial support. Artists who show work at the gallery go on to do many incredible things, and the work evolves to take on new forms and be shown at other locations. The platform offered by the gallery is intended to springboard ideas and artists to continue making necessary and relevant work beyond the Goethe-Institut. GSA Learning & Teaching Talk with Prof Francisco J Rodriguez Prof Francisco J. Rodriguez-Suarez delivered a presentation titled “Praxis, Sintaxis y algún que otro Éxtasis (Much Ado About Nothing)” at the GSA on the 19 June 2024. Prof Francisco J. Rodriguez-Suarez, FAIA is an architect, educator and urbanist from Puerto Rico. He is currently the Director of the University of Illinois School of Architecture at UrbanaChampaign. He studied at Georgia Tech, the Université de Paris and Harvard School of Design, where he earned a Master of Architecture with distinction winning the AIA Medal, the Portfolio Award and a Fulbright Fellowship. Previously, he served as Dean of the UPR School of Architecture and taught and lectured at various universities around the world. Prof Rodríguez served as the director of (in)forma, an academic journal and has coedited five books including Alma Mater, Aula Magna, Chronologies of an Architectural Pedagogy, and Contemporary Architecture in Puerto Rico 1992-2010, a joint effort with the AIA. He is the principal at rsvp architects and a former president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), an organisation that recognised him as Distinguished Professor. Graduate SChool of Architecture
20 Emergent Practice 2 7 – 30 August Goethe-Institut Emergent Practice is a twopart exhibition (EP1 and EP2), which the GSA has been hosting at the GoetheInstitut in Johannesburg at the invitation of Dr Asma Diakité. Dr Diakité invited us to use the space to exhibit work that might not ordinarily find a place in the established gallery/exhibition spaces that typify the Johannesburg scene. In EP1 we highlighted the work of Fred Swart, the GSA graphic designer, in promoting the ‘Emergent Practices’ featuring in the public programme of the School. EP2 features recent GSA graduates, Simphiwe Mlambo, Patricia Bandora, Titus Shitaatala, and is co-curated by another recent graduate, Chinenye Chukwuka, and GSA Unit 7 Lead and Making and Practice Convenor, Ngillan Faal. The work of these graduates reflects the ambition and the diversity that characterise the transformative work of the School in the form of emergent practices. The platform offered by the gallery is intended to springboard ideas and artists to continue making necessary and relevant work beyond the Goethe-Institut. Practice Lecture Series 2024 July – August 2024 Online MS Teams Practice Lecture Series 2024: A series of lectures by architects and creative practitioners on how they work. The lecture series took place from July-August 2024. Titus Shitaatala, GSA Unit 20 alum, received the prestigious Chancellor’s Medal 29 July 2024. Titus’s MArch project, titled “The Archive of Silence(s): Redistributing Archival Power through Phygital Spaces in Pretoria,” was supervised by @gsa_unit20 co-leads, Dickson Adu-Adgyei and Veronica Chipwanya. Titus’ project uses Marabastad as a tester site – the Archive of Silence(s) looks to decentralise and redistribute archival power from the biased National Archives of South Africa to South African communities. Following the state’s attempts to rid Pretoria of townships in 2023, the frequent demolitions and the subsequent soil erosion will see Marabastad develop into a dust wasteland stripped of its heritage by the year 2045. The remaining residents begin to build the Archive of Silence(s) using a robotic arm, cotton canvas, steel and artifact-embedded concrete-methylcellulose panels in a process that subverts the discriminatory archival system practised at the National Archives. The archive is built to describe chosen community narratives using artefacts of memory and is designed to decay and be rebuilt after every twenty years to grant future generations the opportunity to spatially reconstruct history as a manifesto for their future. Chancellor’s Medal
21 GSA Architecture Week 2024 26-30 August 2024 Architecture Week at the GSA is an annual event that serves as a vibrant platform for showcasing the work of our GSA Unit System students and fostering constructive dialogue between students, architects, creative practitioners, academics, and the broader public. This tradition has its roots in the International Critics Week, first held in 2018, which brought together a distinguished panel of critics from around the world to engage with our students’ work. After a brief hiatus, the event was revived and renamed Critics Week in 2022, building on the original vision of critical engagement and dialogue. In 2023, the event evolved into what we now know as Architecture Week, expanding its scope and reach. This year, we are excited to welcome critics from both South African and international architectural and other creative practices, offering a diversity of perspectives and feedback for our community. The core of Architecture Week is the presentation of student work to the critics, a process that emphasises openness, sharing, and the exchange of ideas. This year’s programme also includes a range of events and lectures designed to deepen the engagement with architectural discourse and practice. Our doors are open to the public – we invite friends, peers, and critics to explore the work and research conducted at the GSA. The intention of Architecture Week is to create an open house atmosphere where reflection and feedback are paramount. It is a time for our students to showcase their hard work and for the entire GSA community to engage in constructive conversations about the architecture. We look forward to the insights and inspiration that this week will bring, as we continue to explore, probe, interrogate and expand the boundaries of architectural education and practice. Homeplace - The Reader_ Credit Sherida Kuffour
22 Homeplace - A Love Letter_Architekturmuseum der TUM-Credit Ulrike Myrzik
23 GSA Architecture Week Lecture: Opening Lecture by Margarida Waco 27 August 2024 Margarida Waco (b. 1992, Cabinda) is an architect and writer whose practice engages design, research, and pedagogy to interrogate the infrastructures that persistently organise the world through ‘double fracture’ whilst drawing from Black radical thought to imagine other possible worlds. Her work has been presented internationally, including at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale, Architekturmuseum der TUM, Palais de Tokyo, Malmö Art Museum, Nyansapo Afrofeminist Festival, and Arquiteturas Festival Porto, among others. Margarida is the co-author of ‘Informal Horizons’ (Royal Danish Academy, 2019), coeditor of ‘Pan-Africanism’ (The Funambulist, 2020), and co-editor of ‘Homeplace – A Love Letter’ (Architekturmuseum der TUM, 2023). Her writing has been published in Aprender a Desaprender (Dafne Editora, 2024), Afterall, Ellipses Journal of Creative Research, STOÀ Journal, and Archive of Forgetfulness. Margarida directs an architectural design studio at the Royal College of Art in London and is an Editorial Advisor to The Funambulist, where she previously held the position of Head of Strategic Outreach. She has practised across offices in Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. She received her MA in Architecture from the Royal Danish Academy and is the 24/25 recipient of the JAE Fellowship. GSA Architecture Week Lecture: The Crisis of Black Studies by Victoria Collis-Buthelezi 28 August 2024 Victoria J. Collis-Buthelezi is an Associate Professor in English, the Director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS), and the Director for the Centre for the Study of Race, Gender and Class at the University of Johannesburg. Her research interests include black intellectual history as well as Caribbean, African, and African American literatures. She has published in several international journals such as Small Axe, Callaloo, and The Black Scholar, in which she co-edited a special issue on “Black Studies in South Africa.” She is series editor of Critical South and sits on the editorial board of Small Axe. She is a member of the Other Universals Collective, a consortium of scholars in South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Barbados and Lebanon, committed to exploring intellectual histories of exchange across Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and South Asia. Her book, Ends of Empire, Black Liberation, is under contract with Columbia University Press and Wits Press and will appear in 2025. The book excavates the print cultures of black migrants to Cape Town from the Caribbean, the US, West Africa and other parts of South Africa before the rise of anti-colonial nationalism. She is a research associate of the Institute of Research in African American Studies (IRAAS) at Columbia University (New York) and a senior research fellow at JIAS. She is on the Global Advisory Board of the Center of Global Black Studies at the University of Miami and Association of Global Political Thought (Harvard University). Victoria has held posts in English at the University of Cape Town and as a Senior Researcher at the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research (WiSER) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
24 Studio Contra is an architectural, urban and interior design practice based in Lagos, Nigeria, with ongoing projects in Nigeria and Ghana and was founded in 2017 by Jeffrey Adjei (BArch, MArch, Canterbury) and Olayinka DosekunAdjei (BA Oxon, MArch Harvard). The studio is committed to the delivery of innovative and thoughtful architecture and spaces within a West African context, interested in prompting design explorations that make intelligent and imaginative leaps between architectural past, present and future. Our process is inquisitive and concept-driven; in search of solutions that uniquely and directly confront the challenges of each brief we seek to unlocking hidden value for clients and wider communities. Our projects rest on three values which CONCEPT, CULTURE and CRAFT. All three link to a human-centred approach to design and the desire to create surprise, design and engagement in the built environment. Alongside architectural practice, Olayinka and Jeffrey have taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (2023) and LT Ranch Summer School in Lithuania (20152024) respectively, bringing a contemporary African interpretation to their approach to educational projects with students. Studio Contra has been featured in publications such as Architecture Record (Design Vanguard 2023), Wallpaper magazine and RIBA 100 Women Architects, and is considered a leading design firm in West African. Studio Contra is registered with RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) and ARCON (Architects Registration Council of Nigeria). GSA Architecture Week Lecture: Productive Synthesis: An Approach to Designing Contemporary African Architecture by Studio Contra/Olayinka Dosekun-Adjei 29 August 2024
25 Quarter 4 GSA Lecture: MADEYOULOOK 3 October 2024 MADEYOULOOK is a Johannesburg based interdisciplinary artist duo between Molemo Moiloa and Nare Mokgotho, operating since 2009. MADEYOULOOK have exhibited, published, and hosted programmes in various forms, including with Njelele Art Station, Harare; Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou; Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort; Primary, Nottingham; and various initiatives in South Africa. They were nominated for the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics at the New School, New York, in 2017, and the MTN New Contemporaries Award in 2012. They were Fellows of the DAAD Berlin artist program 2022 and Documenta Fifteen Lumbung Artists. They are the sole featured artists on the South African pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale. The works of MADEYOULOOK take as their point of departure everyday black practices that have been historically overlooked, deemed inconsequential or simply had limited rigorous engagement, particularly within the formal houses of knowledge production. These works encourage a re-observation of and defamiliarisation with the everyday and the spacing of black imaginaries. In reworking and interrupting how we view ordinary black lived experiences and the everyday, we are ‘made to re-look’ and question societal relations. MADEYOULOOK then makes a claim for everyday black lifehood and relationality as constituting knowledge and having the ability to model ways of practising and being. These everyday practices have the potential to bring about different perspectives to enable epistemic shifts and create new possibilities. GSA Unit 8 lead, Jaco Jonker presented an online lecture at South African Institute of Architects, 4 October 2024 @14:30, sharing his interests and teaching at the GSA. Advanced Design Research Seminar 10 October 2024 Advanced Design Research Convenor, Prof Guy Trangoš, hosted a session that focused on grant application writing and collaborative research, exploring the importance of multidisciplinary partnerships and funding in developing impactful projects. Soundscape: Workshop by MADEYOULOOK 12 October 2024 An engaging workshop with MADEYOULOOK at the GSA on Saturday, 12 October 2024. The workshop explored themes from their Quiet Ground project through collective reading, immersive sound, and shared discussion. Highlights included a reading and discussion of MADEYOULOOK’s Quiet Ground text, an immersive listening session of the Dinokana sound piece, and a potluck-style meal.
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27 ARMSA ROTATION MOULDING STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION The Association of Rotation Moulders of Southern Africa (ARMSA) was founded in 1992 and officially formed in 1994 by a group of enthusiastic Rotational Moulders and suppliers who saw the need to grow the industry by increasing the demand and consumption of high quality rotationally moulded products in South Africa. ARMA has been running an annual rotation moulding student design competition in collaboration with South African Industrial Design departments for over 10 years, covering a variety of themes. This year’s competition revolved around identifying a problem within the area of agriculture and gardening that could be addressed through the design of a rotation moulded product. We are excited to announce that two of UJ’s Industrial Design students were selected as finalists. Morgan Potgieter won first prize for her design, “Korf”, a rotation moulded plastic beehive. The product is a sustainable and functional alternative to traditional wooden beehives. It is designed with good ventilation to assist with temperature regulation and enhance bee productivity. It is designed to make harvesting honey easy and addresses the issue of hives being knocked over and endangering bee colonies. Daniel May was commended for his design, “Chicabox,” a rotationally moulded nesting box for chicken farmers. Developed in response to the egg shortage and the spread of chicken viruses, his design addresses the opportunity for households to produce their own eggs. The “Chicabox” is easy to install, modular, and stackable, making it adaptable for both farming and individual household needs.
28 FADA Cat Commune Designing With and for Non-Human Participants Department: Industrial Design Staff Members: Ashton Moseley & Dr Ruth Lipschitz South Africa is home to an estimated 2.9 million cats, and around 26 of them have made the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Auckland Park Bunting Road (APB) campus their home. This small feline community began in 2018 when a stray mother cat gave birth to a litter in a storm drain outside the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) workshop. Since then, a group of dedicated individuals, now known as the “Cat Custodians”, has taken responsibility for providing housing and food for the cats in what has been informally named “The Cat Commune”. The presence of these stray cats plays an important role in maintaining the ecological balance on campus. The cats help control the campus rodent population, which creates a mutually beneficial relationship. The Cat Commune shelter is situated outside the Industrial Design Workshop. Initially, the Cat Commune consisted of modified kennels, makeshift pigeon-hole structures, polystyrene cooler boxes to store cat food (to keep it safe from hadedas), and cabinet-style sleeping spaces. However, these solutions were short-term, and as time passed, maintaining the area became increasingly difficult. To sustain this symbiosis and support the cats’ well-being, there is a need for more long-lasting, efficient solutions that can better serve both the cats and the campus community. Phase 01 – Student Project In early 2024, 13 BA Honours Industrial Design students were given the challenge of designing, constructing, and implementing scalable, modular solutions for the “Cat Commune” at UJ APB. The students focused on three key areas: housing (Sleep), feeding (Eat), and leisure (Play). The project emphasised four main considerations: cost-effectiveness (materials and manufacturing), durability and maintenance, usability and functionality, and marketability (for potential sponsorships or donations). Students were required to identify the key stakeholders and their roles within the ecosystem. Divided into three groups (Eat, Sleep, Play), they interviewed stakeholders, observed the space, and conducted precedent analyses to define their design briefs and requirements. Following this, the students engaged in an in-depth design process, which included sketching, creating mock-ups, and developing CAD models. Each student was required to build a full-scale (1:1) working prototype. After a group clean-up of the Cat Commune space, these prototypes were installed and monitored over six weeks to document their performance and how well the cats adopted them. Phase 02 – Corporate Sponsorship Nestlé Purina Petcare, whose mission is to enhance the lives of pets and their owners, approached the department with an offer to support the scaling of the Cat Commune shelters to be placed on other UJ campuses. Purina donated over R30 000, along with food, time, and volunteers, to help develop and expand the student designs. Six student designs were selected for further refinement in a second iteration, focusing on making the shelters easier to manufacture and assemble by using a DIY approach. On Saturday, 28 September 2024, around 70 volunteers of all ages gathered at FADA to build 10 cat shelters, play equipment, scratching posts, and toys, and to paint two murals in the Cat Commune space. The event was a great success, and the new shelters will soon be installed at various locations across APB and other UJ campuses.
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30 DESIGN CLIMATE ACTION – International Design Competition Design Climate Action is an international design competition that aims to encourage the creation of innovative solutions by younger creatives, for a more prosperous and sustainable future. Its objective is to raise awareness about SDG#13 (climate action: take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) and the necessity of urgent action among the young and upcoming professionals of creative disciplines and contribute to its implementation through identifying, showcasing and promoting creative ideas that support global shift to sustainable and efficient future. Inspired by the competition brief, UJ BA Honours Industrial Design students (Groups of 3) were tasked to reflect on “what can be done to combat climate change and its effects on all the levels of our lives?” In line with the tasks and targets set by SDG#13, projects for the competition had to relate to one of the following categories: Raising Resilience and Adaptation – develop technologies to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climaterelated hazards and natural disasters. Energy of Change – offer solutions able to mitigate and reverse climate change caused by burning fossil fuels and promote ways of generating power that emit little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants. Solutions Offered by Nature – offer projects that involve conserving, restoring, or better-managing ecosystems to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Swift Guard The Public Vote prize of €2000 was awarded to UJ Industrial Design BA Honours students: Tshepiso Motau, Tsebo Mokwena and Bongeka Buthelezi, for their Swiftguard Early Flood Warning System project. In response to the pressing need for climate action and sustainable development, particularly in regions vulnerable to climate-related hazards like floods, SwiftGuard is an early flood alarm warning system concept for the eThekwini District in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) focusing on the area closer to the Umgeni River. The SwiftGuard concept integrates advanced sensor technologies with real-time data collection, data analysis and communication capabilities to provide timely and accurate flood warnings to residents and authorities in the eThekwini District. The system comprises a telemetry buoy, which
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