Future Designers Reimagine the Face of Tyger Valley

BHC School of Design students take on a real-world design challenge to rethink one of Cape Town’s established retail destinations.

What would Tyger Valley look like through the eyes of the next generation of South African designers?

Pareto Limited – one of South Africa’s leading real estate investor and developers – and Momentum Metropolitan Life Limited, through Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, have partnered with BHC School of Design to give emerging designers the opportunity to respond to a real-world challenge: reimagine Tyger Valley’s facade through the lens of future design.

Eleven BHC students have developed original concepts exploring sustainability, community and heritage, while considering how design can shape identity, experience and the relationship between a place and the people who use it.

The result is Tyger Valley Reimagined – 11 distinct interpretations of how the centre’s facade could evolve for the future.

“At Pareto, we believe creating meaningful places also means creating space for new thinking. This project gives young designers a real asset, a real challenge and a platform for their ideas to be seen. In return, we get the opportunity to see one of our properties through a completely different lens,” says Malose Kekana, Group CEO of Pareto Limited.

From the classroom to a real-world canvas

Rather than responding to a hypothetical design brief, the students were challenged to engage with an existing commercial property and consider the realities of designing for a space experienced by thousands of people.

The concepts include Rooted Convergence, Thresholds of Connection, Iron Roots, Living Layers, The Valley in Bloom and Interwoven, among others, each offering a distinct response to the possibilities of Tyger Valley’s future identity.

“Tyger Valley is more than a shopping centre. For over 40 years it has been part of the story of Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs, growing alongside the communities it serves and helping to shape the area around it. That history gives this project real significance.

“We are asking our students not simply to redesign a facade, but to consider how an established landmark can evolve without losing its connection to place and people. They have had to think about heritage, identity, community and sustainability, and ultimately ask what Tyger Valley should represent for the next generation.

“For BHC, this is exactly where design education becomes meaningful: when students are trusted with real places, real histories and real communities, and are given the opportunity to imagine what comes next,” says Jeremy Volkmann, owner and managing director of BHC School of Design.

The competition forms part of a broader partnership between Pareto, Tyger Valley and BHC School of Design, focused on connecting education with industry and creating meaningful opportunities for emerging South African design talent.

See the designs and have your say

The public can also explore all 11 concepts online, watch the students explain their thinking and cast their vote:

• Mieke Brink: Rooted Convergence
• Kirsten Driemeyer: STRATA
• Gina Olles: Thresholds of Connection
• Jade Worth: Iron Roots
• Kwacha Chilando: Awakened Edge
• Lourens Brown: Living Layers
• Jessy Muamba: The Rising Lily
• Isabella Swart: Emergence
• Ghita van der Merwe: The Valley in Bloom
• Zahaa Firfirey: KORE
• Ezra Hattingh: Interwoven

Awards ceremony

The judges are reviewing the 11 submissions and have until 26 October 2026 to finalise their assessments. The judges’ decisions and public votes will then be consolidated ahead of an awards ceremony at Tyger Valley Shopping Centre in November 2026, where the winning concepts will be announced and the students behind the work celebrated. | pareto.co.za