Max Melvill on Using Architecture to Build Communities
I met Max and Ashleigh of The MAAK earlier this year at an architectural tour of their New Rest Valley Creche project, about an hour away from Cape Town, South Africa. That day, they touched on their intention for the educational facility to be a point of pride in the community, without the building exuding arrogance. What they said really stuck with me, so I decided to reach out to Max and Ashleigh to chat about how place and people play a role in The MAAK’s design process.
The MAAK is an award-winning architecture studio based in Cape Town, South Africa. Co-founded by Max Melvill and Ashleigh Killa in 2016, the studio specializes in what they call ‘social-impact architecture’. Spanning across educational, experimental and conventional modes of making, The MAAK’s body of work challenges typical means of architectural production in search of more thoughtful ways to care for, evolve and build our world.
Their Rahmah Library project in District Six, using bricks made of local clay and rubble from buildings demolished during Apartheid, was recently featured in Dezeen.
WHERE ARE YOUR ROOTS? The MAAK is an architecture studio with roots in Cape Town, South Africa. We (Max Melvill and Ashleigh Killa) founded the studio in 2016 as a response to the void of practices solely dedicated to community/public-oriented architecture in our local context. Although we are based in Cape Town, we want to be involved in shaping the most impactful public projects around the world. To date, we have successfully completed projects across South Africa and Europe.
TELL US ABOUT WHERE YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? Our current studio lies at the heart of the artist-led project space in Cape Town called The Ramp. The MAAK was one of the founding partners of the space, which is themed around an ethos of shared access to resources, skills and a large workshop. It is a hands-on maker space that we proudly share with an amazing group of local furniture designers, ceramists, model makers, visual artists, welders, etc. The artist-led focus of The Ramp reflects our community-oriented mindset and suits our hyper-collaborative nature. We have always had a hands-on approach to architecture, so it’s an absolute dream to work in a place where one minute we're drafting building plans on our computers and the next we're covered in sawdust in the workshop, prototyping a new construction detail. If anyone, who is interested, is in Cape Town please come visit us—we have a lot of fun!
New Rest Valley Creche, Photography by Kent Andreasen
DESCRIBE WHAT YOU MAKE AND WHAT YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT. Our main focus as a studio is what we call ‘social impact architecture’. This means we focus on public-oriented buildings for those who need it (not just those who can afford it!). This interest stems from a deep passion for people. As such, we often say we are more interested in using architecture to build communities than simply build buildings. This mindset informs the user-centered approach of the studio and our explorative use of materials. A lot of architecture around the world has lost touch with humanity. Through our work, we are constantly trying to find tangible ways to address this. This includes a range of experimental projects that are aimed at questioning the conventional boundaries of the field. As a studio, we feel a responsibility to continually test the limits of architecture in order to stay relevant as an industry. When some people, looking at our more experimental work, say “but that isn’t architecture?!”, I guess that is the point.
Rahmah Library, Photography by Kent Andreasen
HOW DOES PLACE INFORM WHAT YOU DO? Every project at The MAAK starts with two key considerations—people and place. We are interested in an Architecture that sits in between these two elements and connects them in a meaningful way. A building that is built without genuinely acknowledging the people who will use it or the context it becomes a part of is selfish and/or misplaced. Buildings last for a very long time and it is important to take that seriously! The divisive legacy of Apartheid spatial planning in South Africa is a haunting reminder of this.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON AFRICAN DESIGN? Authentic design is a reflection of hyper-contextual nuances and regional values. The increasing interest in design across Africa is amazing, but we need to be careful about continually bundling it all together, thoughtlessly, as one. When considering our diverse cultures and backgrounds, it is even difficult to comment on just South African design (we wouldn’t know where to start...). This being said, South Africa (and Africa more broadly) is home to some of the most talented designers and makers in the world. The global spotlight shining on the continent at the moment is long overdue and very well deserved!
District Six Bricks, Photography by Paris Brummer
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PART OF YOUR PROCESS? The most exciting part of any scheme is always born from a place that is free from preconceptions or project prejudice—including referencing our own previously successful work and external project inspirations. We call this place ‘the room of not knowing’. Sometimes it takes us a while, and we don’t always know the best way to get there, but it is in this mindset that we create our best work and ultimately have the most fun. Whenever we are in doubt, we return to play and return to making.
TELL US ABOUT A LOCAL UNSUNG HERO. We are endlessly inspired by the everyday makers in society. These are people who are traditionally not celebrated as ‘designers’ but have long-pioneered creative thinking and material innovation. As an industry, we can learn so much from a simple stool created on a public pavement or the way people informally define space to gather. South Africa is full of such examples. South Africa is full of unsung heroes!
Photography by Kent Andreasen and Sune van Tonder
WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE? Aside from the really exciting projects that we are currently working on, we are in the process of finally launching the ‘MAAK shop’. Our shop will be a marketplace for us to showcase and sell a unique range of limited edition architectural fittings and products that we develop, in-house, for each building we design. Each product story will be told through the lens of its ‘birth project’ and will create an exciting way for people to celebrate and collect a small part of what we do. The launch collection will feature the timber door handle, wall light, bookshelves and clay push plates that we created for the recently completed Rahmah Library project. Not everything is 100% ready yet, but people are encouraged to have a look on our website for a teaser of what’s to come!
