Observe deeply
Read movement, material, climate, history and everyday ritual before drawing conclusions. The site is not a blank page.
Selected work / 2024—2026
Hannah Ruth Atkins
Bachelor of Architectural Studies student shaping people-first, ecologically grounded spaces.
BAS III / Portfolio 2026
Dean’s Merit List
2024 + 2025
Design position
Architecture can hold memory, ecology and the everyday life between its walls.
I begin with bioculture — the living relationship between people, place and biodiversity — and pursue technical poetics in response.
People + biodiversity first01 / Selected work
Built from
observation.
Selected drawings
Line, material
and atmosphere.
The portfolio moves between hand drawing, collage, spatial modelling and technical resolution — each used as a way to test how a building meets its context.
02 / Approach
People and biodiversity come first. From there, function, sustainability, beauty and innovation can follow with integrity.
Find the human thread
Translate research into a clear experiential idea — a stoep, a threshold, a place of relief, a space of repair.
Resolve poetically
Test the idea through section, model, light, material and assembly until the technical response strengthens the lived experience.
Cape TownArchitecture / Art / Ecology
03 / About Hannah
Curious by
nature.
My interest in architecture began with a mural and the realisation that creative work can change how someone experiences a place.
While painting murals at school, I watched a child stop in awe. That moment made the power of space feel tangible. Architecture extends that possibility into three dimensions: it can meet real needs, shape daily life and create experiences far beyond the page.
I am drawn to public buildings, heritage, sustainable design and landscape integration. My long-term ambition is humanitarian architecture — work that is empathetic, technically grounded and attentive to the people and ecologies that inhabit it.
Kengo KumaPeter ZumthorThomas HeatherwickPhenomenologyTravelBooksHikingWeaving
04 / Education + recognition
Rigour behind
the work.
Bachelor of Architectural Studies at the University of Cape Town, with consistent academic recognition across the first two years.
Dean’s Merit List
UCT Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment / 2024 + 2025
Theory of Structures IV
Highest listed Year 2 module result
Visual Arts
Top 1% nationally / IEB 2022
2024—Present
Bachelor of Architectural Studies
University of Cape Town
Current third-year student / BAS III
Selected modulesResult
Theory of Structures IV80
Design + Theory Studio I75
History + Theory of Architecture I75
Technology II72
Design + Theory Studio III72
Technology III71
05 / Tools + attributes
Ideas, drawn
and resolved.
A balanced toolkit spanning architectural documentation, visual communication, modelling and presentation — supported by hand drawing, illustration and collaborative problem-solving.
InDesignAdvanced
PhotoshopAdvanced
RevitProficient
AutoCADProficient
LumionIntermediate
IllustratorDeveloping
Hand drawingCollageModel makingIllustrationCommunicationTeamworkResponsibleProactiveCurious
Open to international internship opportunities
For studio opportunities, collaborations or a conversation about the work, get in touch.
Let’s createsomething meaningful.