International Architects based in South Africa

INCREASING VALUE

We harness the variables in construction and property finance to optimise investment value.

By understanding the flexible and adaptability of mixed-use development with a high-rise building, the design of the Leonardo enabled ongoing realignment of the design with the financial model as sales targets were reached.

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

Many of our buildings make an impact beyond mere function, they are an essential part of the broader social and cultural life.

Through the careful restoration and transformation of a decaying art deco heritage building into a boutique hotel of the Wheatbaker became a landmark destination in the neighbourhood of Ikoyi island in Lagos.

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

We aspire to enhance the living environment while using resources wisely.

The regional offices in the World Bank Group respond to the context in Ghana through passive climate regulation through layered facades and respects the natural environment and resource base.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

We are rooted in local context and culture, yet part of the global village – with the broadest of views we seek the most appropriate solutions.

At Oodi College In a vast African plain near the city of Gaborone, a sense of arrival and place making through a central amphitheater and a series of enclosed courtyards connected by a shaded pedestrian streets, OOdi College establishes an identity for the institution and a series of social spaces for the students.

INCREASING VALUE

For each commission we seek a uniquely appropriate design solution. This applies to entire urban centers and to the smallest details.

Recognising that the days of a central bank being represented by a black granite tower were over, Co-Arc developed a unique brick for the Johannesburg branch of the South African Reserve Bank, creating a conceptual response with a sense of robustness without opulence.

ENRICHING LIFE

Your building says a lot about who you are. We make buildings that are tailored to your needs.

The sculptural shape of the towers at for the women’s residences at the University of Johannesburg creates an identity for the university based on the creation of personalised individual space clustered in groups around double volume social space.

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

Our turf is the built environment. We provide innovative solutions to the varied problems of specific contexts.

Australian developers Medalist chose Co-Arc to implement their ideas about neighbourhood in the Eye of Africa Development, south of Johannesburg, where Co- Arcs approach to context and culture produced an urban design which integrated with concepts of privacy, security and neighbourliness.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

Researching and working collaboratively with local communities enables a better understanding of a given culture.

Inspired by the iconography and tradition of sculpting and weaving, the World Bank regional headquarters for West Africa in Ghana is infused with a deeper cultural meaning.

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

Our buildings benefit the sur rounding neighbourhood for years to come.

Its architecture reflecting much of the architectural context in which it is built, the Edenvale Library uses a complex interplay of double volumes and layered skins of brick and concrete to create civic scale without overwhelming the necessary intimacy required for a library.

SUSTAINING
ENVIRONMENT

We consider detailing for simplicity, robustness, permanence and durability an essential part of environmental responsiveness.

Designed in the 70’s and still relevant today despite considerable social and political change, the buildings at the University of Johannesburg exemplify a careful approach to permanence and sustainably robust place making in architecture.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

Architecture is a cultural act. Good designs emanate from within their cultural context.

Inspired by a breathtakingly beautiful African setting and rich cultural heritage, the making of Mpumalanga Government Complex gives appropriate expression to the aspirations of a rapidly transforming society.

How we think

INCREASING VALUE

We harness the variables in construction and property finance to optimise investment value.

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

Many of our buildings make an impact beyond mere function, they are an essential part of the broader social and cultural life.

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

We aspire to enhance the living environment while using resources wisely.

The regional offices in the World Bank Group respond to the context in Ghana through passive climate regulation through layered facades and respects the natural environment and resource base.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

We are rooted in local context and culture, yet part of the global village – with the broadest of views we seek the most appropriate solutions.

INCREASING VALUE

For each commission we seek a uniquely appropriate design solution. This applies to entire urban centers and to the smallest details.

ENRICHING LIFE

Your building says a lot about who you are. We make buildings that are tailored to your needs.

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

Our turf is the built environment. We provide innovative solutions to the varied problems of specific contexts.

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

We work with the potential inherent in nature to shape livable environments.

A filigree glazed dome in the Wits Engineering Building harvests natural light and regulates climate, creating a multi-layered social space.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

Researching and working collaboratively with local communities enables a better understanding of a given culture.

Inspired by the iconography and tradition of sculpting and weaving, the World Bank regional headquarters for West Africa in Ghana is infused with a deeper cultural meaning.

INCREASING VALUE

We understand the potential for buildings to be catalysts for development.

Nelson Mandela square was the seed development that catapulted Sandton into being the richest square mile in Africa.

ENRICHING LIFE

Architecture is a social act that can contribute to the life it shelters.

The buildings of the Legislature of Mpumalanga wrap around a public square which serves as a stage for the execution of democratic rights.

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

Our buildings benefit the sur rounding neighbourhood for years to come.

SUSTAINING
ENVIRONMENT

We consider detailing for simplicity, robustness, permanence and durability an essential part of environmental responsiveness.

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

Architecture is a cultural act. Good designs emanate from within their cultural context.

Architecture can, and should

make a difference

Our aim is to add value to our clients’ investment in property by seeking creative cost effective solutions that enrich human life, enhance neighbourhoods protect the environment and are sensitive to culture context. We work collaboratively with clients and consultants, constantly questioning and refining to ensure that we not only realise but exceed expectations. We are architects in Gauteng South Africa but have a national footprint in South Africa.

WE INCREASE INVESTMENT VALUE

WE ENRICH EXPERIENCE

WE ENHANCE NEIGHBOURHOODS

WE AUGMENT CULTURE

WE NURTURE ENVIRONMENTS

The environment in which we practice is the city. The city mirrors the complexity of society in its environment and culture. This complexity demands that we do not pursue static, utopian solutions but engage meaningfully in each of the environments in which we work, constantly seeking to affirm the lives of the people impacted by our designs.

More about us

WE DO THIS IN A STUDIO ENVIRONMENT

See who we are

WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY

Co-Arc collaborates with clients, consultants, communities and everyone in between. Each project is approached on its own merits, design solutions are developed in ongoing, close communication with the client. No project is tackled with preconceived solutions, or ideas. We work with clients in an interactive process to understand every aspect of a project and distill that understanding to achieve unique and elegant solutions. We are architects as well as Interior designers.

See how we work

BY CONSTANTLY QUESTIONING

How will we achieve a quality building? Will users find meaning in our work? Will the cultural value we aspire to, earn our design enduring appreciation? Are our solutions rooted in cultural understanding and respect? Can we contribute to the cultural expression with innovative approaches? Are we respectful to the cultural context in which we work? Are we anchoring the financial sustainability in true environmental sustainability? Do we push beyond the status quo in reducing our building’s energy demands and resources? Do we understand and are we respectful to the environment we are building in? Do we understand the resources in this context and on this site? Have we designed to suit the microclimate in this context? Can we put anything back, reuse or recycle? Are we conserving as much energy as we can? Do we have to import, or can we make it here? Will future generations judge that we used resources appropriately? Have we used the best technology available to us? Have we understood the possibilities inherent in the brief? Are we adding quality to the environment? Are we adding value to the client’s investment? Have we designed in such a reduced form that the results endure content and time? Are we creating simple cost-effective solutions that are easy to build in this context? Will the building still be relevant in the future? Will improving the neighbourhood add value to the building? Will our building improve the neighbourhood? Will our building add value to the community? Do we have the neighbourhood’s well-being at heart? Do we understand the investment in the neighbourhood? Have we considered the wider community affected by our intervention? Are we enhancing the neighbourhood in years to come? Have we created the best setting possible for the users to work, live, learn or play in? How will the user feel about the light, texture and acoustics of a space? How do we put ourselves in the shoes of the user? Does the building fulfill our client’s needs in every sense? How will occupants feel in the buildings? How will our clients feel in the space we create? How do we make a great place? How will we achieve value for the client?

See our approach

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

INCREASING VALUE

ENRICHING LIFE

ENHANCING NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING CULTURE

Architecture can, and should

make a difference

WE INCREASE INVESTMENT VALUE

WE ENRICH EXPERIENCE

WE ENHANCE NEIGHBOURHOODS

WE AUGMENT CULTURE

WE NURTURE ENVIRONMENTS

WE DO THIS IN A STUDIO ENVIRONMENT

WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY

BY CONSTANTLY QUESTIONING

AND BY THINKING CREATIVELY,WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING
ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

ENHANCING
NEIGHBOURHOODS

SUSTAINING
ENVIRONMENT

AUGMENTING
CULTURE

AND BY THINKING CREATIVELY,
WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE