26’10 South Architects at Alive Architecture

By VISI BLOGGER Pieter-Ernst Maré

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Alive Architecture creates a space for architecture to be enjoyed by the public. The highlight of its first chapter is the submission from 26’10 South Architects.

As a toddler architect, I'm always hunting for design inspirations - be it in magazines or on the internet. I'm sure most professionals do that in their specific fields.

Artists walk galleries filled with inspirational art from the past to the present, soaking up inspiration along with the average "oke" who also enjoys the art as much, if not more. Galleries welcome people and don’t ask them what profession they practice before they enter. Magazines invite everybody to enjoy their curated information, which they share without the expectation that the reader needs a degree in the field they present. They keep it simple and convenient, and the public stays informed.   

With that in mind, I wanted to create a space where architects could show their "art" to the public. I wanted the public to walk in, feel comfortable and see what we as architects do every day - a space where students could learn from professional architects and vice versa, and where the public could engage directly with architecture.

That's how Alive Architecture gallery was born. It's now running into its third week and I'm equally excited and nervous by its success. It's clear from the massive public response that there's a hunger out there for local, raw architectural information. What is it about my field that intrigues them so much? Is it the fact that they haven't seen real architecture before it's built and published - something reserved for a handful of clients?  

I asked several professional architects to exhibit their unpublished work in Johannesburg. We received some real heel-stomping stuff. More than 100 pieces of archi-art is now suspended from scaffolding or dangling from the air.

My personal favourite is the submission from 26’10 South Architects. Their work should be analysed for hours with the full contextual information attached to it, but when I think of their submission, I think of it more like an excited kid mesmerised by the glowing shapes and plans that dance over a wall.

26’10 South Architects is led by Anne Graupner (MagArg Vienna) and Thorsten Deckler (BArch Wits). The practice engages in a range of projects and events in the townships, inner city, suburbs and the periphery of Johannesburg as well as beyond these boundaries. By exploring architecture and urban design in a broad sense, the practice’s output comprises architecture, urban frameworks, exhibitions, writings and teachings.

Both principal practice members have lectured locally and abroad, including at the University of Cordoba, Argentina; the Architectural Association, London and Temple University, Philadelphia. As part of the sharpCITY collective, both partners have co-curated exhibitions on Johannesburg at the Sao Paolo Bienal, the Venice Bienal and the AZW in Vienna, and have published a book called Contemporary South African Architecture in a Landscape of Transition.

26’10 submitted two pieces:

1. A projection called Mining Visuals, composed of a sequence of old mining maps of the Witwatersrand, produced as contextual background visuals for an electronica gig held during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

2. A 1:200 concept model of the Bag Factory, which illustrates the potential of accretion over time as an architectural strategy responsive to the cycles of funding and urgency of repairs to be made to the existing building.  

Alive Architecture needs inspirational works like this to keep the public interested and professionals challenged to rethink the comfort zone of their studios and design methodology. I personally hope that we could build on alive to do just that and become an inspirational space.

More information: http://alive.withtank.com, www.2610south.blogspot.com

About Pieter-Ernst:

Pieter is an architect from Melville, Johannesburg, and is currently employed by Lupini Architects: http://lupiniarc.wordpress.com/

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