Homes with history, made for the way you live now
I'm Kirsten, a Cape Town architect who designs and restores heritage homes for the way you live today, while honouring each home's history.
How I can help
Restore
Repairing and reviving original features, so what makes the house special is kept and cared for.
Adapt
Reworking layout, light and everyday comfort so an older home suits the way your household lives now.
Extend
Adding to a heritage home, or building new beside one, in a way that sits comfortably with its history.
Projects
A selection of heritage restorations, renovations and additions.
Concept
Concept
Concept
About Kirsten
Heritage architecture is rich with history, detail and emotion. There is soul in these buildings, and love too, in all the labour it took to build them. Every time I work on a heritage home that has stood the test of time, it feels like an honour.
But a home is also somewhere to live, and these houses weren't designed for the way we live today. That's where I come in.
I design and restore heritage homes so they work for you now, without losing what makes them special. Whether that means opening up a dark kitchen, making room for a growing family, or repairing what time has worn away, my aim is a home that is easy to live in and still tells its own story.
Heritage work calls for care and patience, and it's where I do my best work. I listen first, to you and to the house. Then we look at what's original and worth keeping, what can change, and how the two can sit together comfortably.
- Registration
- Registered Professional Architect, South African Council for the Architectural Profession (PR ARCH 37134242)
- Education
- University of Cape Town: BAS, BAS(Hons) and MArch (Prof)
- Heritage training
- Heritage Resources Management course, University of Cape Town, 2021
- Memberships
- South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) and Cape Institute for Architecture (CIFA)
- Community
- Architecture and Heritage Committee, Observatory Civic Association, 2018 to 2020
Before you meet your architect
A free guide with 20 questions to think about, and the documents to gather, before your first consultation. It helps you arrive with clarity rather than guesswork.
You'll also find a checklist of the documents worth finding first: previously approved plans, your SG diagram and your title deed.
Wondering what heritage approval actually involves? Read: Renovating a heritage building →
A few of the questions inside
Your project
- Why do you want to renovate or build now, and what isn't working about your current home or site?
- What would success look like when the project is finished?
Your site and building
- How old is the building, and do you know if it's in a heritage area or protected in any way?
- If your home is older, which original features would you like to keep, restore, or reveal?
Budget and time
- Have you set a budget, and does it include professional fees, consultants, approvals, and a contingency?
- Is there a date you need to be in the finished home, and what's driving it?
Working together
- How involved do you want to be from day to day?
- What would make you feel well looked after by your architect?
Limited-edition print
Facades: Volume I
A limited-edition print of 12 Western Cape heritage houses
A limited-edition print featuring the front elevations of twelve Western Cape heritage homes, each one personally surveyed and drawn by Kirsten Burgess. Only 60 will be printed.
When you're ready to talk
Tell me about your home and what you'd like it to become. Don't worry if you can't answer everything yet. Bring what you have, and we'll work out the rest together.
- Phone
- 076 902 3476
- @kburgessarchitects