Recap: Friends of dhk

5 September 2024

The career of an architect, urban designer and interior designer is rarely a short story. Instead, there are multiple story lines, the occasional plot twist and even a cliffhanger now and then. Every person who works with dhk is a main character. Some stay on for the full series, while others leave the set to start a new tale elsewhere. Each one has an influence on the chapters of dhk’s own story. To celebrate these individuals, we’ve created a series called “friends of dhk” and these are the people who joined us so far.

Episode 1: 13 March 2024
In the first episode, we caught up with Sophie Zimmermann who worked with dhk from 2017 until embarking on a new journey with a practice in Amsterdam in 2022. It was a treat to find out what she’s been doing since then. She shared her architectural passion for designing sustainable renovations on historic buildings within constrained contexts, to transform and rehabilitate the structures to meet contemporary needs.

Sophie has several years of experience in new build and refurbishment projects, predominantly spanning the residential, hospitality and health care sectors. Prior to joining her current firm in Amsterdam, where she’s a Senior Architect, Sophie saw small and large scale high-end residential buildings through the full building cycle from design to construction.

Episode 2: 27 March 2024
David Talbot was our second guest in the series. He showcased his work designing and building a beautiful timber home, on a magical site in Betty’s Bay, South Africa. David worked at dhk from 2002 until stepping out in 2018 to launch his own practice. The project he shared was one of the first for his new practice, and pushed the boundaries of his knowledge of building with cross-laminated timber to achieve the client’s aspirations for the project while respecting the natural character of the tree-filled site.

While at dhk, David led teams as an Associate Director working on a diverse portfolio of work throughout South Africa. One of his notable projects is Portside, an award-winning landmark in Cape Town’s CBD, set against the spectacular backdrop of Table Mountain. David was part of the project team that included our founding Partners Derick Henstra and Peter Fehrsen, helping to create a building that embodies the energy of a rapidly evolving city for First Rand Bank & Old Mutual.

Episode 3: 8 May 2024
On 8 May, we were treated to an inspiring presentation on “The Redemption Story of Shopping Malls” by Aram Lello. Aram was with dhk for 12 years and served as a Senior Associate. He contributed his expertise to various projects including Tree Tops Hougton in Johannesburg, a contemporary apartment block with architecture that references the world’s largest urban forest with the facade inspired by light filtered between branches and tree trunks.

Aram is now based in Sydney, Australia, where he is a senior associate at ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects. He noted that malls are transforming from mere shopping destinations into multifaceted hubs offering an intuitive, human-centric, meaningful, immersive and accessible retail experience.

During his presentation, he highlighted strategies for reinventing malls and shared examples of projects, including designs from his practice, that incorporate these approaches. Strategies included creating third spaces for gathering and connecting, transforming single-use malls into mixed-use spaces, improving connectivity by linking malls to the surrounding city, providing access to mobility options and facilitating shared transit access. He added that sustainability, designing for experience, and breaking down boundaries by opening visual connections to the streets, were other key considerations for reinventing malls.Our team was also delighted to see Aram referencing our Oxford Parks project in Joburg as a great example of achieving a precinct that recognises people.

Episode 4: 22 May 2024
Simon dialled in from the UK to share what he’s been up to over the past five years while working as a project architectural designer at Studio PDP.  Simon served as an Intern at dhk between 2012 and 2015 and as an Architect for six months in 2018 before expanding his horizons.
His presentation, titled “Old/New, New/New”, gave our team a glimpse into his work on façade retention and historic retrofit projects, as well as new-build projects in the unique context of central London.

The two live projects, currently on site, showed how the old can be retained while creating a new rich urban fabric. One of these projects involves a tricky façade retention and retrofit in a conservation area, while the other is a high-end new-build mixed-use project on Tottenham Court Road. Simon also offered an insight into key characteristics of UK architecture, how the complex planning process informs design decisions and the amount of work required to achieve high-quality façade detailing.

Episode 5: 1 July 2024
Our US-based friend and former dhk teammate, Henry Abosi, sacrificed his time in the early hours to inspire our Johannesburg and Cape Town teams by sharing his architectural journey since leaving South Africa. This journey has led to the establishment of Tableaux Studio in Texas, which is now undertaking projects in Dallas, London and Accra.

Henry joined dhk in 2014 and became an Associate Director during his tenure. He moved to London in 2019 and then to Dallas in 2023. He currently serves as Principal of Tableaux Studio and Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. He’s also a Board Director at De La Warr Pavilion in the UK. He presented some of Tableaux’s innovative projects that respond to cultural and geopolitical contexts in the three global regions. He also discussed how his passion for film influences both his work at the University of Texas and Tableaux Studio’s design process, serving as a foundational element in their work.

While at dhk, Henry played an instrumental role in several of our notable projects, including Sable Park and Axis where he served as the lead architect on both these Cape Town based buildings.

Episode 6: 26 August 2024
In Episode 6, Dominik Zuvela, an Architect at Studio 3LHD in Zagreb, joined us all the way from Croatia. During his presentation, titled “Croatia in Scale: S, M, L, XL”, he showcased the work he’s done in the region since 2021 across a range of architectural projects of various scale and complexity. This also included his personal projects.

Dominik was with dhk from November 2016 to April 2021 and contributed his expertise to various projects, including the award-winning 35 Lower Long in Cape Town’s Foreshore precinct. Completed in 2022, the building is characterised by a singular sculpted massing with dynamic glazed façades that extend seamlessly over the office’s floors and parking levels. He worked on the project alongside a skilled team, including dhk Partners Pierre Swanepoel and Steve Peters, among others.

Dominik was also a trusted member of the dhk’s football team, which is currently competing in the 2024 Architectural Futsal League, which concludes on 4 October.