#ArchForArch 6: Bringing the Arch for Arch to life

In our final episode, we learn what it took to pull off this momentous challenge.

Part of the Project

This past October, Design Indaba, in partnership with generous sponsor, Liberty, unveiled the Arch for Arch in Cape Town. A nine metre tall, architectural tribute to the beloved Archbishop Desmond Tutu, affectionately known as the Arch, this Sunday, a smaller replica of the wooden structure was installed at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

This final installment of our #ArchForArch series looks at the ground-breaking project from inception to completion and gives a peek into the launch event which saw the likes of the Dalai Lama, Bono, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille and more paying tribute to and wishing the Arch a happy birthday.

Designed and created by Craig Dykers – co-founder of Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta – with support from the Johannesburg-based Local Studio’s Thomas Chapman, the Arch for Arch consists of 14 arched beams of wood. A nod to the South African Constitution’s preamble – which consists of 14 lines – the work also serves as both a tribute to Tutu and to the founding principles upon which the democratic South Africa was built.

To learn more about this historic project, check out episodes one, two, three, four and five of our #ArchForArch series.