SDKS-Architects is an architectural firm based in Cape Town. We specialise in creative design solutions, with a portfolio of 25 years covering commercial, public, social and residential projects in our beautiful home City, and further afield (the whole South-Western Cape, and Namibia). We are grateful to our clients who have through their passion for design and property investment allowed us to design many building types: housing developments, schools, a museum, office buildings (both large, and intimate), and an extensive array of residential homes, from seaside hideaways in stunning natural settings to urban infill and restoration projects. We find value and opportunities in all sites, designing buildings which are uniquely suited both to each client’s practical requirements and to each distinctive and special context.

Buildings work optimally when they function efficiently for the purpose designed, provide solid investment value, are aesthetically pleasing and enhance the everyday lifestyle experiences of the users. We pride ourselves on working closely with our clients to derive the most architecture from a given budget, and our work has proven itself again and again to allow our clients’ property investments to thrive.

Sustainability, environmental design and the conservation of heritage have been a central pillar of our design ethos for decades. [Read more about our Heritage work here]. All buildings, be they homes or “work” spaces need suitable, capable IT infrastructure to ensure vital digital connectivity. We integrate these “smart architecture” needs seamlessly into our design work.

We have developed a broad network of dedicated professionals, consultants and contractors who we work with, and we tailor our project teams and our staff to suit the requirements of each project. We have enjoyed working with clients based both globally and locally.

Inspiration

We are hugely inspired both by the contemporary, and past, design culture of our home City, Cape Town. Particularly, we love all design-work that represents an ‘architectonic’ approach. We love how the architectonic approach reveals the way in which the buildings are constructed and ‘put together’, celebrating textural materiality (the meetings of landscape and water, or stone and steel, or timber and sky). The joints and meeting points between materials, spaces and building components are celebrated rather than concealed, creating a feeling of warmth in the spaces. We also see a place for the restrained poetry of minimalist interventions for specific buildings and contexts. We like to think our buildings have soul, and that they can enrich the lives of their users. Testimony from our clients encourage us to believe that we are achieving this.

Historical and vernacular buildings are an ongoing inspiration, and our portfolio has many projects which celebrate the inspired adaptation of older buildings. Rather than imitating traditional buildings, we assimilate the lessons that traditional approaches can provide, interpreting the past in a contemporary fashion that suits modern living needs.

Communities too are an inspiration – the property investment community, school staff and their learner groups, public bodies that nudge design processes etc. All buildings must be mindful of their impact on the public and society, and the power of architecture to uplift others is a continuing pleasure that keeps us motivated.