The alignment of the shipping containers creates a courtyard for outdoor seating away from the street.

The building was sited near the sidewalk to create a city-like sense of scale in a suburban setting.

The interior also features simple steel detailing, including this staircase.

Reclaimed timber was used for the ceilings on the underside of the containers that form the second level.

The simple interior finishes include reclaimed timber and concrete floors.

The architects stenciled the Foghound logo on the exterior, which is illumiated at night.

The architects retained the original blue shade of the shipping containers.

“One of the goals of Zenkaya was to create employment in a country crippled by [an unemployment rate of over 25 percent],” explains the architect, who likes to call himself a social entrepreneur.

New Jerusalem Orphanage (Johannesburg, South Africa) 4D and A Architects used more than two dozen containers to help give this institution a more expansive, and inexpensive, home. Beyond the incredible service this structure provides, the use of space and the varied angles of each container give it a compelling modernist look. Photo by Dennis Guichard

Soccer City Stadium (Johannesburg, South Africa: 2010 World Cup) The “African Pot,” site of many vuvuzelas and victories during the 2010 contest, was designed to resemble the calabash, a curved gourd that was one of the earliest cultivated plants. At night, lights highlight a ring of tan, crimson, and clay colored tiles wrapped around the exterior. Photo by shanediaz120, Creative Commons

Moses Mabhida Stadium (Durban, South Africa: 2010 World Cup) The grandiose steel arch stretching over this stadium, inspired by the “Y” in the South African flag, could also stand in as a metaphor of continuity and reuse, since this stadiums has become a Durban icon. With seating shaded to resemble water flowing into the ocean and a covering of Teflon-coated glass fiber that glows when lit against the night sky, it strikes quite a profile. Attendees can take it all in and ride a funicular to the apex of the arch. Photo by Marcus Bredt

The best place in the city to find knick nacks and jewelry, Greenmarket Square is also one of your best bets for picking up traditional textiles. During our recent trip we were able to find everything from children’s patterned dresses from the Congo to colorful swatches from Malawi. However, if you’re going to venture don’t go wide-eyed—this will be your best place to haggle for a good deal.

New Abo¯d homes in South Africa.

Where once there was a timeworn 1950s bungalow in the Metropolitan Green Belt south of London, there now stands a dynamic house whose two volumes are joined by a glass atrium. The project was designed by Grant Freeman of OB Architecture.

Mill Junction Student Housing (Johannesburg, South Africa) The developers at Citiq decided to one-up anybody reclaiming and reusing building material by fashioning an 11-story dorm out of shipping containers and abandoned grain silos. This colorful space near the city’s central business district accommodates nearly 400 students in a mish-mash of metal shapes. Photo by Citiq

The interior of the new glass atrium. The renovation adds 55,000 square feet to the complex, and a variety of green features, such as water-efficient plumbing, use of regionally sourced materials, and a design that capitalizes on natural light.

Malapa Hominid Fossil Site Cover and Visitors' Platform (Krynauw Nel Associates: Guateng, South Africa) This sophisticated, polygonal lookout by the renowned South African architect Krynauw Nel is located on one of the richest veins of early human fossils in existence.

The renovation also added more public space to the complex in the form of a modern courtyard. Native, drought-resistance plants limit water use.

360 Table by Saks CornerTrained as a photographer and influenced by Danish design, Dan Saks has long been drawn to simple, vintage pieces. As it became increasingly difficult to source quality originals, he started to create his own designs. The Cape Town designer says he likes to keep “an element of playfulness,” especially in terms of mixing materials. Construction depends on what materials are available: salvaged century-old parquet became the top of a table. Joinery details are exposed on the 360 Table, which comes in a range of colors.

Parque Bench by Neil GranthamUnlike most big cities, Johannesburg has no ocean or major rivers to define it. Yet Neil Grantham’s Parque Bench, made of Zimbabwean teak or other wood, evokes both a small hull and a boardwalk in the best possible ways. Depending on the angle of approach, the curves may not be plainly visible at first. The bench’s three frames are based on the segmental arch, Grantham says. “As the pressure is applied to the top, it deflects that stress down to the bottom,” he says. “The idea was that the slats seem to float in the end.”

Itawuli by MungoMungo's flat-weave towels, made on antique looms in Plettenberg Bay, have traditionally reflected a strong British influence. But they've taken a detour with their new diamond weave towels in colorways like mulberry with partridge brown, hot orange, and forest green. While the pattern has an echo of traditional shweshwe fabric from the Eastern Cape, the contrasting stripe is more typical of Basutu blankets. Made of 100% cotton from Swaziland.

The POD INDAWO, designed in Johannesburg by architect architect Clara da Cruz Almeida and the interior designer team Dokter and Misses, tries to address some of the country's housing issues in roughly 186 square feet by stacking space, incorporating custom storage solutions, and—most relevant to the South African context—maximizing sunlight and outdoor exposure.

The POD INDAWO prototype prefab home from South Africa—the name comes from an indigenous word for place—offers a sustainable, affordable solution to overcome the high barrier to homeownership.

Recycling bins, also by Pedersen and Lennard, retail for $69 (for the small black version) and $115 (for the large white version).

The Woodstock Design District Considered the premiere destination for cutting-edge art in Cape Town, just a decade ago the city’s former industrial area of Woodstock was in shambles. As has been the case throughout history, artists took advantage of the area’s large spaces and cheap rents to move in and set up shop. Called by many “the Williamsburg of Cape Town” this similarity isn’t a coincidence: The district owes many thanks to its original champions, Justin Rhodes of New York, and Cameron Munro, a Zimbabwean—who after meeting in NYC as students moved to Cape Town to pioneer an urban renewal transformation. As the pair told the NYTimes in 2011 “It [Woodstock] was close to the city, it had a lot of beautiful buildings, but… was still a bit grotty…Cameron and I had met in Williamsburg in Brooklyn just at the moment that neighborhood was coming up, and we could see that Woodstock was just the same. It seemed like a no-brainer.” Starting small with a niche gallery, the pair also worked on making Woodstock a major design destination. Photo by Laura Feinstein.

The new structure joins and modernizes the existing Ambassador’s Residence, built in 1936, and the Chancery building, built in 1963, by way of a glass atrium.

A modern hallway connects the Chancery and Residence buildings.

The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre by Peter Rich Architects in South Africa was built by local laborers using a 600-year-old earth brick technique.

The compact, custom bathroom. Currently estimated to cost between roughly $18,000 and $63,000 depending on options, the pod not only offers a choice of on- or off-grid living (with the installation of solar cells), but presents a new framework for more local, sustainable housing, according to Almeida.

Within the small, bi-level dwelling of steel, wood and aluminum, a system of space and energy conservation govern every feature, from the white-and-mint exterior that reflects solar heat to the inclusion of a slim ladder to reach the upper mezzanine. Adriaan Hugo of Dokter and Misses incorporated custom piecework, as well as a foldaway couch and table, to make the interior feel as large as possible.

Made famous by 2013‘s Academy Award winning documentary Searching For Sugarman, Mabu Vinyl is the site of Stephen "Sugar" Segerman’s epic quest to answer just what became of his beloved guitar hero Sixto Rodriguez. Since the film took award’s season by storm the quiet and eclectic vinyl store has become something of a tourist destination—but as the photo above can attest to, it’s still a relaxing place to browse and experience a piece of Cape Town unchanged by time.

“In South Africa, a lot of the population live in backyard shacks,” says architect Clara da Cruz Almeida. “So why don’t we make it better and desirable?” The display unit features a glass side wall that gives a glimpse of the interior.

While the bi-level space gives the impression of airiness in a relatively confined room, those clamoring for more space can simply fold up the couch and go out on the custom deck, which the designers call the lounge, to rest under the retractable awning. There’s an easy expansion plan, too, since multiple steel-framed modular units can be linked together to create a larger, custom dwelling.

Breadbins in yellow, green, black and white by Pedersen and Lennard for Fab x South Africa. Available at fab.com for $99 each.

Faceted bamboo cutting board designed by Snapp Design, available at Fab X South Africa for $49.90.

Jewelry hand-made by artisans, including Ndebele bracelets and necklaces by Katherine-Mary Pichulik and a capstone piece, a necklace by Beloved Beadwork that Fab founder Bradford Shellhammer points as one of the items that best encapsulate the Fab x South Africa collection. Bracelet ($12.50), necklace ($25), and Thousand Hills beaded necklace ($135) available through fab.com.