Embracing curiosity, playfulness and interconnectedness to imagine new ways of being.
We strive to develop projects in a way that emphasises design and construction as their own worthwhile vehicles for learning and human development. By taking a systems perspective, regenerative developments work on developing the health and capacity of the systems they’re part of, both social and natural.
Regenerative developments look beyond sustainable developments by recognising ourselves as part of a co-evolutionary whole and applying management techniques to restore systems to an improved state, rather than a neutral “making things less bad” state.
Our design and development approach.
Akoma’s aim has always been to radically impact how we shape our built environment, and how it shapes us.
This goes beyond using alternative materials and sustainable infrastructure solutions. The process of how we develop deserves as much attention as what we develop, as we believe it can be a critical vehicle for change. Indeed, current circumstances require it to be…
Viewing the development process from this lens, any project has the potential to become an incubator, a seed, for further learning, knowledge sharing, skills transfer, micro-enterprise creation, and much more.
Regeneration builds capacity;
sustainability, at best, maintains it.
Featured project: Linbro Gardens.
Linbro Gardens is reimagining the deeply fragmented urban life in South Africa by creating a mixed-income residential development that is humane, connected and ecologically sensitive.
Located in Linbro Park, a well-situated yet underdeveloped suburb 15 minutes from central Johannesburg, Linbro Gardens seeks to reimagine urban life in Johannesburg; presenting a more humane, connected alternative to the conventional model of suburban residential development.
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Akoma was approached by the landowner who expressed her family’s intention of leaving a legacy behind by building a mixed-income, mixed-age ecologically sensitive community.
In such a purpose-driven initiative, we believe it is important all partners are aligned on their values and personal motivations for the project, ultimately moving us beyond the conventional, transactional relationships so common in the industry. Ensuring a common vision and skin in the game allows Akoma to take on a wider role in shaping and deliver the project, including:
– Concept development
– Financial modelling
– Development management
– Fundraising
– Architectural design
– Microenterprise & skills development
– Branding and marketing
– Project & construction management
– Hospitality operations
Roles of place
In order to reach its true potential from a physical, psychological, social, cultural, economical, and environmental perspective, we need to view a project’s purpose beyond creating a space for various uses of buildings. What is the role of the project within its greater ecosystem.
In building each of the below ‘roles of place’, we are setting out to develop relationships, processes and technologies which we hope will inspire other developers and push the impact of this project beyond the build itself.
Featured project: Project 58.
In the heart of the Cradle of Humankind, Project 58 is a place to reconnect with yourself, others, and nature. By creating ecologically restorative spaces and programs, Project 58 seeks to enable a more conscious and connected existence by encouraging a realignment with nature and ourselves.
“The project is a mechanism, a catalyst, a start of something new… a different way of being.” – expressed during a Bohm Dialogue in January 2019.
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Our Akoma team was involved in driving Project 58 as partners and development managers right from the start of the development, following the initial land purchase. This began with conceptualising a masterplan that spoke to our values of collaboration, community, contemplation, regeneration and learning – while also meeting investor expectations.
The conceptualisation began as a series of workshops with a diverse group of 40+ curated collaborators. This culminated in a plan that allowed us to raise further funding, begin designing and initial work on site. Our activities throughout the project included:
– Concept development & business models
– Appointing professional team
– Appointing in-house operators and team to manage the various business units (restaurant, farm, hospitality, etc.)
– Raising funds from aligned investors
– Establishing and running skills transfer programme for locals (stabilised rammed earth construction, green building, agriculture, hospitality)
– Architectural design
– Branding & marketing (website, social media, etc.)
– Project & construction management
– Event management
Approach
It is through an organic process of collaboration that these mappings have been produced. Artists, architects, permaculturalists, spiritualists, investors, business operators, yogis, doctors, psychologists, community members, and more, came together to a collective intelligence and site understanding to produce the following recommendations. An understanding of not only hominoids that roamed the land we are working with today but also the geology of the area that has allowed us to make such discoveries about the hominoids.. This process was a visceral and tactile one, of walking, touching and listening to an ancient site.
Mapping is a research process that is never able to be fully complete, yet with a diverse team of professionals fewer aspects of the site’s character are missed. The following maps detail a preliminary but holistic understanding of the site. The team was encouraged to see these recommendations not as a final decision but one that was a future link to the next step in the non-linear nature of the design.