Selected BDG : the work of Building Design Group Architects 1968-1977

The practice and projects of Building Design Group Architects (BDG), a collaborative of architects and students in Durban during the period 1968-1977. It traces the careers of its principal members, firstly as students at the Universtity of Natal, and later in private practice through the formation and practice of BDG.—– BDG operated at the fringes of conventional practice. Through a diminished office hierarchy, a team culture was extablished whereby the endeavours of all personnel were to the common purpose of furthering the architectural objectives of the practice. Responsibilities were shared by qualified architects and students alike.—– BDG were young and uninhibited by the dogmas of the established profession, architectural compromise being supplanted by investigation and experimentation. The practice operated in a studio atmosphere where a heightened expectation was imposed on each project design and individual concerned.—– The resulting product of the practice was a vibrant oeuvre of work, predominantly residential; the designs asked questions of the conventions of building form, spatial relationships, technology and building economics. The answers to these questions manifested in an architecture resonating with regional identity.—– The study identifies the early careers of many important architects who were associated with BDG, and who would contribute to the development of contemporary South African architecture.