ACG Architects and Development Planners

12/08/2026

During the week, we’re busy being architects, urban designers, landscape architects and all the other roles that keep things moving at ACG. But every now and then, it’s good to step away from the work and spend time together.

This Women’s Day, we enjoyed a relaxed lunch in Camps Bay, followed by ice cream and a walk along the beach. It was a chance to catch up, have a few laughs and get to know each other outside of our usual busy day-to-day.

We’re proud of the work we do, but we’re just as proud of the people behind it.

22/07/2026

This Mandela Day, the ACG Architects team spent the day at Cissie Gool House in Woodstock, a community housed within the former Woodstock Hospital and home to hundreds of residents who have been affected by displacement and the shortage of affordable housing in Cape Town. Today, it stands as a place of resilience, community and collective action.

Working alongside the residents and in collaboration with Co-Creators Landscapers, we transformed an underutilised section of the site into a productive food garden. Using reclaimed pavers to define planting beds, we helped reimagine the space into one that will provide fresh produce and contribute to the wellbeing of the community for years to come.

From clearing and preparing the site to laying out the garden and planting together, every member of the ACG team played a part in bringing the vision to life. It was a reminder that meaningful change is built through collaboration, shared purpose and a willingness to get our hands dirty.

A huge thank you to the residents of Cissie Gool House for welcoming us and to Co-Creators Landscapers for sharing their expertise and helping bring the vision to life. Together, we're creating spaces that don't just serve communities, they help them grow.

03/07/2026

What happens when a community comes together to protect a place of extraordinary natural and cultural significance?

Princess Vlei is a powerful example of how architecture, urban design and community collaboration can safeguard natural heritage while creating spaces that reconnect people with nature. Located in Cape Town's southern suburbs, Princess Vlei is one of the city's most significant wetlands. Once under threat from commercial development, the site became the focus of a community-led movement to protect and restore this important public landscape. Today, it stands as a place where biodiversity, recreation, heritage and environmental education come together.

On 10 June 2026 the official opening of a new 4.3km walkway around the Vlei took place. Since then the walkway has attracted many from near and far to experience what the Vlei has to offer. In announcing the opening, the Princess Vlei Forum on its website acknowledges the pioneering role played by ACG Director , Malcolm Campbell in realising this initiative , as a volunteer working with the Forum.

The project demonstrates how thoughtful design can support resilient landscapes while creating places that encourage connection, recreation and a greater appreciation of the natural environment.
Princess Vlei reminds us that the most enduring projects are those that respond not only to the needs of today, but also preserve the stories, ecosystems and identities that define a place for generations to come.

For more information on the Princess Vlei Forum go to : https://www.princessvlei.org/

28/05/2026

08/05/2026

What does a wall along one of Cape Town’s major urban corridors mean for the future of the city?

The ACG team tackled this question during a recent studio discussion unpacking the City’s proposed N2 corridor wall development.

Planned along the N2 approach from the airport into Cape Town, the proposal aims to improve safety by preventing dangerous pedestrian crossings. While the intention is clear, the discussion opened up broader questions around how infrastructure shapes movement, access, visibility and ultimately oppurtunity within the city itself.

As a studio, we debated alternative strategies to the proposed wall, approaches that prioritise people, dignity and connection rather than division. From layered mobility systems and safer crossing infrastructure to activated edges and landscaped buffers. The conversation centred on how design can improve safety without disconnecting communities from opportunity.

Safety for pedestrians, motorists and surrounding communities remains essential, but as designers, we believe infrastructure should do more than protect, it should enable. This was less about a wall and more about imagining an urban edge that works harder for both the city and its people.

29/04/2026

1st Place Winners 🥇 |

We’re proud to share that our competition entry took 1st place, responding to the challenge of rethinking housing, access and belonging in Cape Town’s urban context.

Home Sweet Home
A VERTICAL NEIGHBOURHOOD FOR ARRIVAL & BELONGING

The proposal begins with arrival and builds a path toward permanence. In Cape Town, many live at the edge of opportunity while working at its center. Our proposal transforms underutilized public land into a vertical neighborhood structured as a “ladder of living,” where residents can move from shared, transitional accommodation to stable family homes within a single, integrated building.
The architecture is organized as a perimeter block with an inhabited courtyard, anchoring an active street edge and stitching into the existing urban grid. The ground floor is porous and adaptable, accommodating retail, informal trade, childcare, and community services, allowing the building to evolve with its neighborhood. Above, open-access galleries and layered communal terraces form defensible, socially active thresholds, ensuring passive surveillance while enabling everyday interaction.
Homes are arranged through a modular system of units, ranging from shared clusters and studios to multigenerational apartments. This system allows residents to transition over time without displacement, supporting changing household structures and economic conditions. Flexibility is embedded not only in unit layouts but also in the building’s social infrastructure shared kitchens, laundries, courtyards, and roof terraces that accommodate routine, care, and collective life.
The spatial sequence is deliberate: public street to point of arrival, courtyard to gallery, and gallery to home. Each layer balances privacy and connection, allowing residents to define their own degree of openness. Washing lines, balconies, and planted edges become visible markers of daily life expressions of identity rather than concealed necessities.
Here, home is defined not by enclosure alone, but by security, routine, and belonging. It is where children are visible at play, neighbours recognize one another, and life unfolds across shared space.

23/04/2026

What happens when a neglected dumping ground becomes a thriving community wetland park?

At the UCT APG Pink Talks 2025, Landscape Architect, Ilham Gabier took to the floor to unpack the Asanda Village Wetland Park project, completed by ACG Architects in 2024 , a powerful example of what community-centred design can achieve.

Nestled in Strand's Helderberg basin, this City of Cape Town initiative transformed a degraded open space into a safe, green, multi-use haven for the communities of Asanda Village, Nomzamo and Lwandle. The project speaks to ecological restoration, stormwater resilience, and giving people a space that belongs to them.

Located in Asanda Village, the proposal focuses on the rehabilitation of a degraded wetland, positioning it as a living infrastructure that responds to both environmental and community needs. The design integrates stormwater management with landscape-led interventions, allowing the wetland to function as both an ecological system and a public amenity.
Carefully structured pedestrian routes, social spaces, and ecological buffers work together to improve connectivity, enhance safety, and support everyday community life within the landscape.

This was one of three compelling presentations at the UCT Pink Room, all weaving the same thread: that thoughtful, people-first design can regenerate not just land, but communities. 💚

📍 UCT School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics
APG Pink Talks | 23 September 2025
🎥 Full lecture link in bio : https://www.instagram.com/p/DXeFKtllPp3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==