UCT Landscape Architecture Programme

We are excited to showcase the 2025 Master of Landscape Architecture thesis projects from UP and UCT!

Join us online to hear students present their research on Friday 20 March 2026 from 1 - 2:30pm.

MS Teams Meeting ID: 355 709 433 244 42
Passcode: W36C9k5W

Open to all - no registration required. We look forward to seeing you there!


architecture.uct

Digital tools are fundamental to contemporary spatial design practice. Understanding how to move fluidly from concept to technical drawing to visualization is essential for communicating design ideas effectively.

Introduction to Design Computing is a fast-paced one-week course running 2-6 February 2026, offered in partnership with UCT's CPD department.

The course introduces the basics of digital drawing through a series of hands-on workshops covering 2D and 3D design and drafting software such as AutoCAD and Adobe Suite. Each workshop builds on the previous one, developing a digital workflow from conceptual hand drawing through 2D drafted technical drawings to 2D and 3D digital renders. Participants actively practice using digital drawing tools and apply these skills throughout the week.

Led by Ruth Manda, a freelance landscape architect based in Johannesburg with over seven years of experience on projects ranging from public open spaces to large-scale master plans. Ruth is also a researcher at Rural Futurisms and current Chair of the ILASA Gauteng region.

The course is open to everyone from beginners to experienced professionals looking to develop their digital design skills.

Registration closes 23 January 2026.

Find out more about the course and registration details:
https://ebe.uct.ac.za/cpd/events/introduction-design-computing-0

Please join us in congratulating Evuya Mhletywa, winner of the Corobrik Most Innovative Final Year Landscape Architecture Project at UCT "Guarding the herd: Resilient land management futures in Bolo".

Evuya's project innovatively centers cattle as a way of understanding the landscape as interdependent systems where cultural meaning and ecological resilience are inseparable. Within Xhosa cosmology, cattle are mediators - linking people to their ancestors and grounding social practices such as exchange, ceremony and communal identity. In the rural landscape, cattle shape spatial organisation - defining routes, grazing zones and gathering spaces that structure the rhythm of daily life. As ecological agents, cattle influence soil fertility, vegetation patterns and hydrological cycles, revealing how traditional practices inherently align with sustainable land management. This perspective positions cattle as a framework for integrating Indigenous Knowledge into contemporary landscape architecture, reimagining spaces that honour ancestral wisdom while addressing present-day environmental challenges.