Mokena Makeka

Makeka’s career has been built on dealing with the legacy of apartheid on a personal and professional level. He is the founder of Makeka design Lab, born and raised in South Africa. He has practiced architecture in South Africa, Tanzania and Lesotho. He spent his early career fighting the perception that he was only there because of the Black Economic Empowerment Policy (Goodwin, 2015). This was designed to help black professionals integrate into the South African economy in the post-apartheid era.

Most of his work focuses on transforming the imposing architecture of the apartheid era into what he calls delicate and vulnerable. Makeka is most well-known for the renovation of the Cape Town railway station during the 2010 world cup season. The whole point of his design strategy was to open up the station as much as possible because the 1960s station was built with the purpose of segregating railways. He tries as much as possible to remove the idea of controlled entry by focusing away from the trains to passengers’ wellbeing. Makeka also desired for the comfort and security of visiting fans.

A Picture showing the renovation of Cape town the railway station. Photograph by Peter.K

Mokena also worked on other projects like Thusong service centre in Khayelitsha, Cape town. This is a centralized government Service hub in a rural area to help people access information and services from the government. He also aimed at introducing formal housing in the area and creating architecture that truly serves everyone. The Rock Girl Bench project is another that he engaged in which is all about creating safe spaces for women prone to sexual violence.

“How do you democratize a building that was not designed with democracy in mind?” Quoted by Mokena Makeka. (Goodwin, 2015). Makeka’s philosophy focuses on designing for those left behind by both the old and new South Africa.

References

Creatives Database. 2020. Mokena Makeka. [online] Available at: <https://www.shadesofnoir.org.uk/creatives/portfolio/mokena-makeka/> [Accessed 14 October 2021].

Goodwin, D., 2015. 7 Architects Designing a Diverse Future in Africa. [online] Arch Daily. Available at: <https://www.archdaily.com/603169/7-architects-designing-a-diverse-future-in-africa> [Accessed 14 October 2021].