Eco Design Architects & Consultants

About us

Eco Design Architects & Consultants is a Cape Town, South Africa-based architectural practice specialising in ecologically friendly green building and consulting. Established in 1998 by architect Andy Horn, the practice has operated for more than 25 years and has been at the forefront of South Africa's green building movement, working with natural building materials and methods including straw bale, adobe, cob, rammed earth, light clay straw, hemp-lime, sandbag, stone, and urbanite (recycled demolition rubble) construction — techniques applicable to both new-build and the sensitive renovation and extension of existing structures.

Eco Design's sustainable design work has been widely published locally and internationally and has earned significant international recognition, including the 2004 Sustainable Building Best Practice Award for Residential Projects in the Africa Region and the Silver Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction in Africa and the Middle East (2005, for the Nieuwoudtville Caravan Site Upgrade). Notable renovation and heritage work includes a revitalisation project for a heritage site in Mamre, near Cape Town, which used local materials while running public-participation forums and skills-training programmes to empower the surrounding community — addressing unemployment and environmental impact together.

The practice also publishes construction and information manuals on natural building technologies specific to the South African context (including a 'lime dung plaster recipe' guide), publishes 'moon phase harvesting' timber-harvesting calendars used in traditional sustainable timber sourcing, and designs eco-friendly lighting from recycled and locally harvested materials under the 'E-WIRE' brand. Eco Design Architects & Consultants is based at 20 Alexandra Avenue, Fresnaye, Cape Town, South Africa.