Iconic South African Architecture

September 17, 2024
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South African Architecture: Feats of Art and Engineering from the City to the Bush

To behold the diverse architecture of South Africa is to flip through a rich history book in which each structure represents another chapter of the nation’s multicultural heritage. From the contemporary skyscrapers of Cape Town to the remotest of safari lodges in the heart of the wild, South African architecture speaks to the country’s irrepressible ingenuity and creative spirit.

With the Cape Town Art Fair approaching in early 2025, there is no better time to take stock of the remarkable design that lures so many of us to South Africa time and again. As we explore the iconic urban structures that make the country a world-class architecture destination, we also hear from a dear friend and renowned South African architect, Anton de Kock, about the rewards and challenges of building breathtaking properties in the bush in Botswana.

Characteristics of South African Architecture


What makes South African architecture unique?

Centuries of multicultural influence have informed South African architecture. The unique blend of building styles present today tell a story about those who have called this country home as well as their values—from functionality to sustainability to integration with nature. The interaction of ultra-modern buildings with unspoiled wilderness, particularly in the beautiful, oceanside city of Cape Town, is an immense inspiration for ROAR AFRICA’s South African safaris.

The most iconic South African architectural styles

Indigenous architecture

Natural, local materials such as grass, mud and wood form the base of native South African structures—typically circular in shape with thatched roofs. Zulu iQukwane, or beehive huts, follow this method with a circular wood frame built around a central tree trunk and covered by woven grass and rope to create a stable, dome-shaped hut that stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This architectural style precedes South Africa’s colonial past and persists today in indigenous communities.

Cape Dutch architecture

With the arrival of European settlers in 17th-century South Africa came Cape Dutch architecture, known for its whitewashed walls, shuttered windows, thatched roofs and front gables. These instantly recognizable homes remained common even after the end of colonial rule, leaving behind traces of Dutch, Belgian and French design in regions like the Cape Winelands especially.

Contemporary architecture

Despite a shift from natural materials to glass, steel and concrete, South Africa’s contemporary architecture often displays a deep reverence for the environment—be it through sustainable design features or large windows that let the outside in. Straight lines and open floor plans also put the spotlight on decor, oftentimes works by contemporary and indigenous African artists.

Of course, this is merely a summary of South African architecture over the centuries. ROAR AFRICA’s custom architecture and private home experiences, meanwhile, showcase these iconic design styles while also illuminating those lesser-seen, from the fascist structures of the Apartheid era to the exquisite private homes, seemingly suspended on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town.

Significant South African Architecture

Cape Town, home to most of our ROAR AFRICA team, wins our guests over not only for her pristine beaches, stunning diversity of flora and fauna and world-class food and wine, but also for astounding architecture in the shadow of Table Mountain. Africa’s first UNESCO City of Design, Cape Town is home to structures known and loved around the globe—chief among them the Zeitz MOCAA. This museum, the first dedicated to showing exclusively African art, is set inside an imaginatively transformed grain silo, a concrete cathedral with near-kaleidoscopic windows that let in that spectacular South African light. And then there is The Fynbos, a 689-unit apartment building and vertical garden that uses the Western Cape’s native flora for climate control, water efficiency and a profound connection to nature in the heart of the city.

Father afield, the Maropeng Visitor Center for the Cradle of Humankind—a grass-covered burial mound that conceals the exhibits within—appears to rise naturally from the hilly landscape. The dazzling effect one gets from approaching the site is not unlike the one produced by Bosjes Chapel, with its undulating roof that seems to rise and fall in the winds of the Waaihoek mountains, just outside the Cape Winelands.

Each of these structures is unique but resonates with the philosophy of Anton de Kock, our dear friend and the architect behind the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront and the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban: “I grew up on a farm and was always interested in the structure of nature,” he tells us. “When you want to create extraordinary architecture, you need to draw inspiration from the place, the locality.”

Building in the Bush

Ideating groundbreaking architecture in Cape Town or Johannesburg is one feat, but doing so in the wild is another entirely. Recalling his experience working on the award-winning Xigera Safari Lodge in Botswana, Anton tells us, “The most difficult challenge of creating something in the middle of nowhere is to get things there in one piece. I never realized that I would be designing the containers in which the structures went.” With the materials in place, building the canvas and steel stilted tents over the life-giving waters of the Okavango Delta was just another fraction of the job—the team would also need to generate solar power, source water and design sustainable waste management systems. Finally, any structure in the bush, no matter how wonderful in the present, must be built with regard to the future: “What’s extremely important is that it’s all removable, so you can take the entire thing apart and then reuse the steel somewhere else,” Anton explains, adding that the bronze used to build Xigera can be melted down and repurposed over many lifetimes.

Anton’s experience says that the duty of the architect is to respect the environment and enhance the lives of its inhabitants. One of our favorite examples of this principle in action in the South African bush is the Mapungubwe Interpretation Center in Mapungubwe National Park. South African architect Peter Rich, who won the 2009 World Building of the Year award for the project, employed local workers to create the building materials using the surrounding earth. The result, a cluster of cave-like structures that blend into the rocky landscape, pays homage to the UNESCO site’s ancient trading civilization and continues to serve local community members, who are able to use the skills they learned from the project for new work opportunities. It is the ultimate expression of love of place.

Experience South Africa’s groundbreaking architecture, breathtaking landscapes and unforgettable wildlife on a luxury safari with ROAR AFRICA. Explore our destinations now.

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