Creative Cape Town

Something of a rock star in understated circles, architect Luyanda Mphalwa’s repertoire of life experience has readied him for the real.

Once incarcerated for anti-apartheid activism, he now applies his passion and professionalism in his own new practise Design Space Africa, following a long stint as partner in MMA Architects (a firm with offices in four cities).

The Mthata born, Berlin qualified Architect involves himself in progressive projects small and sizable. He was one of the first to support and present at a Creative Cape Town Clusters, and, on a much larger scale, has involved himself with the reconstruction of a reunified Berlin.

His approach has always been not to work as a run-of-the-mill architectural firm. From refurbishing the South African Embassy in Berlin (2003) with a two directional axis, to Sandbag houses built of timber and sandbags in Africa, Luyanda’s practise has a proven history of positively contributing to community.

The Sandbag house is easy to construct, and can involve the home owner and community in the building process. It is built on a framework that allows for expansions. It prioritises local materials, and swaps bricks and mortar for simple sandbags, both of which lead to a smaller carbon footprint.  It also lead to a very big prize – the Curry Stone Design Prize, a prestigious award of $100 000 awarded to Luyanda and MMA in 2010.

The sandbag house is an offshoot of 10×10 Housing Project, A Designer Indaba initiative that challenged ten architects to design ten low cost houses on ten sites in partnership with ten international architects, for ten families.  Far from being a fruitcake effort, the innovative approach of the Sandbag house materials and construction, whilst arguably unorthodox, meets all Cape City Council regulations and alternative building tests, making it a solid contribution to sustainable, urban building as well as a context-sensitive African solution.

Luyanda serves on various planning and advisory boards in Cape Town, is also a member of the Council of the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he has guest-lectured. He has served on the Technical Advisory Committee on Stadium Construction for FIFA’s 2010 World Cup Local Organizing Committee, and is currently involved in the development of a project for The Fringe entitled The Temporary Incubator Project.