“I never design a building before I’ve seen the site and met the people who will be using it.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
I am Kagiso Morake, an architectural technologist, freelance graphic designer, and enthusiastic climate activist. Driven by a commitment to make the world a better place through creativity and discovery, I aim to weave these values into my work. My journey as an architecture student has not only deepened my passion but has solidified a vision I am dedicated to fulfilling in the years to come. During my honors year, I developed a strong interest in exploring the human and cultural interactions within architectural spaces, a focus that continually enriches my approach to design.
This portfolio reflects my thought process and execution in projects I have designed critically and thoughtfully. I have integrated a range of design principles—such as spatial poetics, sustainability, and spatial planning—into these works. The articulation of these projects showcases my current abilities as an aspiring architect, while also acknowledging the space for continued growth and refinement.
Hives:
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees
Yeoville, Johanneesburg
01
Thriving
Hives: Cultivating Yeoville with Bees
Yeoville, Johannesburg
BAS Honours Project (Semester 01)
This project promotes coexistence between humans and bees, aiming to enhance biodiversity and sustainability. By creating bee-friendly environments in urban areas and educating the public about bee importance, it seeks to improve pollination, food security, and ecosystem health. Benefits include increased crop yields, reduced pesticide usage, and a deeper connection to nature for humans, while bees thrive in enriched habitats. Ultimately, fostering harmony between humans and bees is crucial for a sustainable future.
Concept Diagram
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees Yeoville, Johanneesburg
Beekeeping Timeline
The Disappearing Garden
Cultivating Strategy
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees
Yeoville, Johanneesburg
combines the concepts of guerrilla gardening (unauthorized gardening on land that is not owned by the gardeners) and creating a continuous habitat (corridor) for bees.
Guerrilla Bee Garden Corridor pollinator corridor
Guerrilla Bee Garden Corridor
Guerrilla Bee Garden Corridor pollinator corridor
“Guerrilla bee garden corridor”refers to a network of green spaces, often in urban or neglected areas, created through guerrilla gardening efforts specifically to support bees and other pollinators. These corridors aim to provide habitats, food sources, and safe passage for bees, enhancing biodiversity and promoting the health of pollinator populations in urban environments. The term combines the concepts of guerrilla gardening (unauthorized gardening on land that is not owned by the gardeners) and creating a continuous habitat (corridor) for bees.
Yeoville Street Section - Grass as the dominating side walk plant and hedges and flowers in some parts of Yeoville.
“Guerrilla bee garden corridor”refers to a network of green spaces, often in urban or neglected areas, created through guerrilla gardening efforts specifically to support bees and other pollinators. These corridors aim to provide habitats, food sources, and safe passage for bees, enhancing biodiversity and promoting the health of pollinator populations in urban environments. The term combines the concepts of guerrilla gardening (unauthorized gardening on land that is not owned by the gardeners) and creating a continuous habitat (corridor) for bees.
Yeoville Street Section - Grass as the dominating side walk plant and hedges and flowers in some parts of Yeoville.
Proposed Pollinator Corridors - Plant Beds to grow vegetable, herbs and seasonal flower that will provide sufficient pollen.
Proposed Pollinator Corridors - Plant Beds to grow vegetable, herbs and seasonal flower that will provide sufficient pollen.
grow their own prefered plants.
Current
The seed beds will be publicly available where the community and designated gardners will look
Pollen Flower
The flowers will be planted on the street by the residents or designated gardners.
Vertical Planter Unit Units will be used for household where each house hold can
Current
Proposed Pollinator Corridors - Plant Beds to grow vegetable, herbs and seasonal flower that will provide sufficient pollen.
Current Yeoville Street Section - Grass as the dominating side walk plant and hedges and flowers in some parts of Yeoville.
Honours
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees
Yeoville, Johanneesburg
The Economy of Honey
The economy of honey
observation area for the bee keepers and the public for educational purposes.
Oculus is made of fly mesh panels with a timber frame. The usage of panels allows for easy construction and quick fixes when a panel gets damaged. The Panels are fixed to a substructure that is fixed to the main structure, to allow stability of the oculus.
The consumable herb garden provides community and the inhibitors with a profitable venture by attracting bees, enhancing crop yields, and offering various products like fresh herbs
Frances Street - Old Apostolic church
Grafton Street - Carwash
Bee Oculus (Mother Unit)
The Bee Oculus will be the habitat where the bees will live. It will also be an
North Elevation Scale 1:100
Honours
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees
Yeoville, Johanneesburg
Water Collection
The butterfly roof will collect rainfall water and store it in water tanks allocated at the top level to be used throughout the building.
Structural Framing Structural Composition consisting of beams, columns & joists. Allowance for Service lines to pass through.
Garden
A herb garden is accommodated at the top level and seeps into certain parts of the building. The
BAS Honours
Thriving Hives:Cultivating Yeoville With Bees
Yeoville, Johanneesburg
02
Documenting St. Dominic’s Catholic Church (Hand Drawings)
Boksburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
BAS Honours Project (Semester 01)
This document offers a comprehensive architectural and historical analysis of St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Boksburg, South Africa. It delves into the church’s architectural style, which combines early Christian basilica structure with vernacular and Art Deco elements, showcasing its evolution since its completion in 1936. With a focus on key features—such as towering arches, stained glass windows, and a buttress system for high ceilings and optimal acoustics—the report highlights both the aesthetic and functional aspects of the structure.
Additionally, the document chronicles the church’s significance in the Boksburg community, detailing the adaptations made to support the congregation’s growth and the building’s cultural impact. The church’s architect, Brendan Joseph Clinch, brought his European training to South Africa, designing several significant Catholic buildings and leaving a lasting architectural legacy.
This documentation captures St. Dominic’s Catholic Church as a preserved testament to faith, history, and community identity.
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Fieldwork
Field work was conducted in 2 sites visits and communication with an architect the church contracts for any Church renovations or project. The first site visit I gained access to the church and took a few photographs to have base images to analyse the design. The contracted architect helped me understand the shifts and changes conducted to the church site which were not alot but was worth knowing about.
Original Architectural Drawings (Ekuruleni Town Council)
North Elevation
Domininc’s Catholic
Boksburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Architectural Style Form :
The church architectural style is a early Christian Bascilica church plan developed between the 4th and 6th century with a vernacular style with Art Deco detailing. The style is derived from the Roman Empire Basicilica which was used as a public gathering space, law court and emperor commemoration space.
The church plan is rectangular and consists of the narthex, nave, aisle choir and aspen is this regard the sanctuary and altar. The upper level is the gallery where the organ gallery is located.
Aspen & Choir
Nave
Aisle
Side Towers
Organ Gallery
Staircase
Narthex
Sacristy
Structural Frame
The columns, beams and aisles
St. Domininc’s Catholic Church
Boksburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Section AA
The church boasts voluminous ceiling heights of 36 feet (10.9 meters), made possible by the buttress structural system. The Nave, which is the central and most expansive section of the church, is filled in natural light streaming through the stained glass windows, creating an inviting atmosphere for the congregation.
Ascending from the Nave, the Sanctuary offers a slightly shallower ceiling height but remains spacious. The elevation provides elevated views of the Altar, the focal point of Mass ceremonies.
Positioned at the rear and above the congregation, the
Organ Gallery ensures optimal acoustics by preventing sound waves from being absorbed by the congregants. Placing the Choir among the attendees would cause sound waves to be disrupted by the bodies present, resulting in inferior acoustics.
New Spatialities in a Time of Plague
Alexandra
Entered for : Archdaily Pandemic Architecture Ideas Competition Open Call & WAF Isolation Transformed: Global Design Competition
The Corona virus Pandemic has not only strained the economy but has forced people to stay in their homes for long periods of time. This pandemic simply showed us that the future is unpredictable and as designers we must be able to adapt. The Alexandra High Rise as a beacon of hope for all those who inhabit informal settlements. The high rise is a structure of subtle satire as it intends to nudge at the government in order to emphasise their responsibility to supply an adequate infastructure and basic services to these overpopulated areas. Temporarily solving the micro issues of social distancing, food & water supply as well as access to safe education and medical care, but with the intention of permanently inspiring the addition of our infastructural pillars into informal settlements.
The initial setup of the informal settlement is clustered and potentially increasing human contact which can increase the spread of the virus.
The proposed high rise will help dwellers social distance to prevent the spreding of the virus while catering for the large population’s requirments.
The government provides the basic infrastructure.
THE
• Densly populated
• Lack of infastructure
Basic Services like school, medical care, food and water are connected to the core.
• Makeshift housing
• No readily available
• No set planning
Service core that is also a disinfecting zone for dwellers.
Dwellings are vertically stacked in a orderly manner to abide to social distance protocols.
The initial setup of the informal settlement
Current vs Proposed
SITE
Informal Settlments around the world
Average Time taken for dweller to get from their site to the nearest basic service
Advertising Space to generate revenue.
Education and Learning facilities.
Water Supply from a water storage tank.
Food Collection and Retail.
Employment and Work facilities.
Medical Care facilities
Location : Miami, United States of America
Director: Mark Bullivant
Team Leader: Kerian Robertson
Project Team: Arthur Lehloenya. Harold Johnson. Camryn Cochrane
