The brief calls for the radical reinvention of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and its surrounding urban block, challenging the traditional understanding of what a museum can be within a contemporary African city. Rather than simply restoring the existing building, the project encourages a dialogue between old and new by expanding the museum to accommodate its growing collection while making all 10,000 artworks accessible to the public. It also asks students to rethink heritage, public space, and the relationship between the museum, Joubert Park, and the surrounding urban context.
Beyond the architectural intervention, the brief questions the role of the museum as a civic institution. It encourages the integration of education, community engagement, public gathering, and cultural preservation while reconnecting the site to the wider city through improved accessibility, including the proposed bridge across the railway cutting. Ultimately, the project seeks to transform the Johannesburg Art Gallery into an inclusive urban destination that reflects the social, cultural, and historical realities of Johannesburg today.
Cities are often remembered through their buildings, yet it is the ground beneath them that carries their deepest memories. Over time, layers of history, culture, labour, and identity become buried beneath new developments, leaving many stories unheard. Situated within Johannesburg, the Johannesburg Art Gallery becomes the vehicle through which these hidden narratives are uncovered. Inspired by the idea of turning the soil inside out, the project reimagines architecture as a vessel for memory, belonging, and learning. Rather than erasing the existing museum, the proposal builds upon its history, creating a dialogue between past, present, and future. Visitors move through spaces that reveal buried archives, community stories, artistic expression, and opportunities for education and growth. Through the use of rammed earth, existing limestone, and brick, the architecture remains grounded in both place and memory. The museum no longer serves only as a repository of objects, but as a living urban archive where Johannesburg can continually rediscover itself.