Department of Architecture

Department of Architecture Join us on our mission whilst we broaden the scope of architecture through collaborative processes of innovation, design, research and making.
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03/06/2026

It’s exam time, check out Diploma 3 IDP mapping projects

02/06/2026

From brand identity to self portraits to urban design, the 3rd years showed off their best work for this exam!🙌🏾

01/06/2026

STUDIO MAGIC🪄 ✨

3rd year Landscape design elective w/Dr Finzi show off their designed models.
Check this cool video out

For International Museum Day, our 2nd year students stepped into critical debate and reading sessions unpacking the poli...
21/05/2026

For International Museum Day, our 2nd year students stepped into critical debate and reading sessions unpacking the politics, power, and architectural narratives behind Museum of West African Art, Grand Egyptian Museum, and The Louvre.

Iceman Drake🥶
15/05/2026

Iceman Drake🥶

07/05/2026

The 3rd year Architecture students in the design elective: JAG with Alex, had an informative discussion presentation with Raphaela Weddington from IFAS to enhance the students projects on the; Reimagining Johannesburg Art Gallery project. Thanks IFAS for having us and sharing your research with us!

16/04/2026

University of Johannesburg 1st year Architecture students
Diploma and Degree Site Visits to Soweto Park

16/04/2026

Sleep is a concept when youre studying architecture, or is it🫣?

14/04/2026

3rd year Degree and Diploma designing a light weight portable shelter for coffee farmers in Ethiopia. Daily Routine of an Ethiopian Coffee Farmer

4:30 AM – 5:30 AM
• Wake up before sunrise
• Prepare for the day
• Family morning prayer / simple breakfast
• Sometimes begin with a small coffee ceremony at home

6:00 AM – 9:00 AM
• Walk to the coffee farm
• Inspect coffee trees
• Hand-pick only ripe red cherries
• Remove damaged fruit and check plant health

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
• Continue harvesting
• Carry baskets of cherries to collection point
• Separate cherries by ripeness

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Midday meal / short rest under shade
• Family members often help during harvest season

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Begin processing cherries
• Washing or spreading cherries on raised drying beds
• Turn cherries regularly for even drying 

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• Farm maintenance: pruning, weeding, clearing ground
• Check water channels if washed coffee is being processed

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
• Return home with remaining harvest
• Store tools
• Prepare evening meal

7:00 PM – Night
• Family time
• Traditional coffee ceremony (roasting, grinding, serving coffee)
• Planning next day’s work

“Rural areas are not cities in waiting.” - Dr Ashleigh Weeden This year, our B.Arch 2nd Year semester 2 studio unfolded ...
08/12/2025

“Rural areas are not cities in waiting.” - Dr Ashleigh Weeden

This year, our B.Arch 2nd Year semester 2 studio unfolded under the second iteration of Institutional Ruralscapes: “The Homelands have now become the home lands” - a provocation that invited students to confront the spatial afterlives of apartheid’s Homeland system while imagining rural futures rooted in lived experience, memory, and possibility.

Our site was located in Ekhukanyeni (formerly Kwaggafontein), within the former KwaNdebele Homeland. Over several weeks, students engaged deeply with the semi-abandoned industrial park and civic infrastructure built during the Homeland era, examining how these spaces continue to shape labour, mobility, economic vulnerability, and everyday community life.

We were deeply honoured to be hosted by HRH iKosi Magodongo MS Mahlangu and MEGA and the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality, whose generosity, insight, and openness grounded the studio in lived knowledge. Through this partnership, students were able to move meaningfully between archive and anecdote, policy and place, speculation and memory.

It was a profound moment to welcome HRH iKosi Magodongo MS Mahlangu to the 2025 FADA Student Exhibition , where students presented their adaptive-reuse proposals directly to him, sharing how they reimagined these complex spaces through care, dignity, and future-building. His reflections, encouragement, and presence offered powerful affirmation of the students’ work and the importance of reconnecting architectural education with rural histories and leadership.

We are deeply grateful for this continued partnership and for the chance to dream new rural futures together. Our sincere thanks go to the students, colleagues, community hosts, and everyone who helped shape this meaningful journey.

Studio Team:









Second year class of 2025 signing out.

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