DESIGN

DETAILS

Luka Pantic, architect

An architect whose work can be seen all around Harare - as well as in Zambia, Botswana, Serbia, Montenegro and Italy - Pantic was this year chosen by UNESCO, along with Dutch planners Cityforster, to redesign the museum and visitor centre at the Great Zimbabwe heritage site

1 // I use my VR headset to explore my projects, walking through them to see if there are any spaces that need to be improved or changed. Using VR is also a great way to see how sunlight affects a room and how the spaces feel.

2 // I’m working on an interior design project for the new Museum Of African Liberation in Harare, and I’ve been using these books for cultural and design research. The Museum is currently being built and is due for completion in 2025.

3 // I like using fancy pens and pencils – especially ones from Lamy, Pilot and Zebra. My father, also an architect, gave me a triangular Rotring. You can no longer buy them, so it’s very precious.

4 // You need the right shoes for basketball, but finding a size 12 is not always easy. I’m very tall so this is the perfect sport for me. I know I’m no longer 20, but I do still manage to bounce the ball and occasionally shoot it in the right direction.

5 // I’m always up for a game of volleyball so I play wherever there’s a court. There are one or two rubber-surfaced courts in Harare which are better to play on than asphalt. The Zim volleyball crowd is great fun and there’s always a match between rival clubs.

6 // You can never have enough biltong. I make my own. Start to finish, the process takes less than two weeks, and it means that I have a never-ending supply. I’m really pleased with this special biltong slicer that I found here in Harare. I always love a bit of kit.

7 // Rammed earth bricks give great sound insulation and warm up and cool down slowly so they give just the right temperature day and night. I love how they look, and the fact that you don’t have to use cement so it really helps to reduce your carbon footprint.

8 // A comfortable desk chair is absolutely essential, but it’s great if it looks good too. This one, fashioned from beautiful jacaranda wood, was made by a company called Panchipamwe here in Zimbabwe.

9 // I studied and worked in Florence, Italy, then went to Ecuador and Serbia, and finally ended up in Zimbabwe. I have a lot of education and experience, but sometimes my job is just a bit of colouring in.

10 // Neufert is the bible of architect standards. It illustrates how various industries and buildings typically work and how the layouts should be arranged in order to work best for the occupants. I often use it when I’m starting a new design project.

11 // My Mavic Air drone helps me to create topographical surveys that we use to see land boundaries and features. I also use it to take photos of sites and buildings to create stunning videos and images for presentations for clients. Drone racing is quite a lot of fun, too...

12 // No project is successful without a decent amount of coffee. Zimbabwe’s La Lucia is one of my favourite brands. I have at least five cups before lunch, and a couple after just to help keep me awake for the afternoon.