The Architecture Programme at Wits University aims to become a centre for the study of architecture in the Global South and beyond. In addition to its historical status as a leading school in South Africa, it is seeking to foster the study of architecture in the African continent and to interrogate its rapidly urbanising post-colonial and globalising yet intricately local context.
Degree
BAS (Hons) is the first year of a two-year postgraduate programme. It is an integrated suite of six courses that runs over two semesters. They are the base for students to develop a portfolio of speculative spatial propositions and critical arguments in context, that relate research-based design, history/theory, technical skills and imagination.
The strength of the degree lies in the range of approaches to which students are exposed, with influences and expertise from a large range of architectural practices and academics. These range from the fields of design, research, and experimental practice to conservation, urban design and sustainability.
The BAS (Hons) in 2023
The course takes account of the current global and local context. We intend to relook at how we share changing spaces as architects and urban designers in the contemporary African city and beyond. We will also interrogate how modes of communication change teaching and learning, outputs and formats of production. We anticipate the 2023 course to be structured as a form of hybrid learning. This would include face to face teaching combined with a series of online lectures, in studio reviews and studio work, while having full electronic and real time access to libraries, computer labs and software, and where feasible to 3D digital model-building facilities.
Candidates
We are looking for students that are problem-solving, rigorous, imaginative, critical, and experimental. Graphic communication skills are crucial as, we work on a fluid spectrum of analog and digital production. Access to a computer with a hard drive that can connect to the school’s software licenses and a reliable internet connection are required for the 2023 intake.