‘Digital Constructions’ will be held this year in Cape Town, to coincide with the AZA2012 Biennial Festival, a new recurring urban culture and architecture festival. Architecture ZA 2012 aims to bring together leading-edge thinkers and multi-disciplinary practitioners from around the globe, including local and international architects and cultural producers of the city.
The workshop is scheduled to finish before the festival which will take place from 20 to 24 September 2012, to allow for the preparation of a temporary exhibition showcasing the workshop results, included in the festival.
The AZA2012 Biennial website: http://architectureza.org/aza2012.html
Cape Town is an intriguing city located amongst landscapes of exceptional natural beauty and with a famously pleasurable weather climate all year round.
There are many possibilities for visits that can be combined with participation in the Digital Constructions workshop, of which below are just a few selected highlights:
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
The no-pain way up Cape Town’s most famous natural landmark, with 360-degree views from cable cars as they rise to within easy walking distance of the summit.
www.tablemountain.net
Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
Part of the Table Mountain National Park, this magnificent reserve covers the southern tip of the Cape and includes spectacular hikes, quiet beaches, and great opportunities to view wildlife, including eight species of antelope, zebras, and baboons.
www.tmnp.co.za
Chapman’s Peak Drive
Cut into the mountain wall and hugging near vertical cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek, this extraordinary stretch of coastal road provides one of the most thrilling drives in South Africa.
www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za
District Six Museum
Emotionally moving and informative exhibition devoted to the people who lived in the once multicultural area of the inner city known as District Six, largely demolished during apartheid.
www.districtsix.co.za
Robben Island
Sail out about 7 miles (11 kilometers) in Table Bay from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the Waterfront to this former island prison, now a United Nations World Heritage Site. The two-and-a-half-hour tour of the flat, bleak island is led by former prisoners and includes a stop at Mandela’s cell, the lime quarry where prisoners toiled, and the rocky headlands—now home to jackass penguins.
www.robben-island.org.za
S.A. National Gallery
South Africa’s premier public gallery has a fantastic collection of art ranging from old Dutch masters to contemporary pieces such as Jane Alexander’s striking sculpture “Butcher Boys;” decorative carvings by Herbert Meyerowitz are part of the gallery’s doors.
www.iziko.org.za/sang
Township tours
Learn about the challenges facing Cape Town’s poorest communities, as well as the numerous success stories. Half-day tours, usually by minibus, commonly take in the major townships of Langa and Khayelitsha. Walking tours in the smaller townships of Masiphumelele and Imizamo Yethu are also available.
www.tourismcapetown.co.za
Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
More than just the departure point for Robben Island, the artfully restored, perpetually buzzing Waterfront is shopping and entertainment central for tourists and locals alike. Named after Queen Victoria and her son Alfred, it remains, at heart, a working harbor and is best appreciated on a boat tour; Waterfront Boat Company (www.waterfrontboats.co.za) offers sunset cruises on handsome wooden schooners.
www.waterfront.co.za
