VDMMA

VAN DER MERWE MISZEWSKI ARCHITECTS Pty Ltd was founded in 1991 by Anya van der Merwe and Macio Miszewski. The practice, now company, has steadily continued to grow in both turnover and in the range of projects being undertaken. VDMMA is located at 163 Bree Street, Cape Town in a Grade 1 listed building which it acquired in 1996, renovated and restored to best suit the architectural practice. Today the staff complement comprises 10 Architects, including 3 Directors (Lloyd Rubidge from 2007) and 2 Associates.

VDMMA has completed a wide range of building types, including educational, cultural, commercial, retail, restoration & residential projects, as well as feasibility studies for large scale developments. The residential projects include group housing, apartment buildings and individual residences.

The company has received numerous national awards, including SAIA Awards, (South African Institute for Architecture, regional and national), SAPOA Awards (South African Property Owners Association), SAISC Awards(South African Institute of Steel Construction), as well as various media awards.

VDMMA has been recognised internationally, including the prestigious AR+D award hosted by Architectural Review Journal (London) - in ‘recognition of excellence in executed designs’, the World Architecture Award for the Best Building in Africa/Middle East and the Chicago Athenaeum / European Centre for Architecture Award 09 for ‘architectural excellence’.

The Tree House was voted the “Best Building in South Africa” in a public opinion poll hosted by VISI Magazine and CTICC1 was voted Cape Town’s “favourite building” by KFM Radio listeners.

Publications include local and international books, journals and periodicals. Publishers include Phaidon, Rizolli, Architectural Review (London), Wallpaper, Casamica, te Neues; Haüser and others. The November / December 2008 edition of Architecture South Africa focused on the practice and its “Sofia Gray” Memorial Lecture and Exhibition, which the practice was invited to present in August 2008 at the SAIA congress in Bloemfontein.

VDMMA is a member of the Green Building Council of South Africa and has been involved in a variety of sustainable projects, including the design of two of the first projects in South Africa to seek Green Star Rating. Lectures were presented by the practice at the launch of the Green Building Council Conference 08 and at the ‘Conversations on Architecture’ Conference 08.

We continue to participate and contribute to academic life. Prof Anya van der Merwe Miszewski is an Adjunct (Part time) Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Cape Town and all Directors regularly contribute their time as External Examiners or visiting Lecturers at a variety of institutions nationally.

We place great emphasis on the close collaboration of the professional team together with the client, the end user of the project. A holistic approach addresses all aspects of the project, including interiors and landscaping, from commencement through to completion. The central binding philosophy of the practice concerns a shared dedication to the pursuit of excellence in design – to weld together appropriate design within carefully established financial parameters. The goal is to best interpret the unique requirements of each client through creativity and inventiveness, formally striving towards the creation of an architecture, which suggests timeless simplicity and elegance.