Urban design, planning, landscape and cartography, grounded in place.
34 Degrees Design helps developers, municipalities, architects, institutions, hospitality clients and private landowners create more connected, legible and meaningful places.
The practice works at the intersection of urban design, planning, landscape, public realm, spatial analysis and cartography. Its strength lies in reading places across scales: from region to town, from precinct to street, from terrain to movement network, and from public space to lived experience.
Led by Andres de Wet, the practice combines South African grounding with international experience across public-sector planning, urban revitalisation, academic teaching, multidisciplinary design studios, real-estate advisory forums and large-scale spatial frameworks.
The result is design work that is strategic, visually clear and grounded in the specific character of place.
A selection of professional, advisory and cartographic work is available to view — view the portfolio →
Capabilities
Urban design & placemaking
Precinct planning, spatial frameworks, streetscape thinking, public-realm strategy, movement networks, edge conditions, built-form relationships and meaningful place creation. The practice helps clients move beyond generic layouts toward places that are coherent, connected and legible.
Planning & development visioning
Development frameworks, urban and regional analysis, concept planning, land-use structure, access logic, design narratives and early-stage spatial strategy — clarifying what a place could become, what constraints matter, and how a vision is communicated to stakeholders, investors, authorities or project teams.
Spatial analysis & GIS
Evidence-based reading of terrain, settlement patterns, movement systems, ecological context, land use, access, visibility and regional relationships — making spatial conditions clear, visual and useful for better decisions.
Landscape & place-based design
Design thinking grounded in landform, ecology, climate, vegetation, settlement history and regional identity. Landscape is treated not as decoration, but as a structuring system that shapes how places function, feel and endure.
Cartography
Authored cartographic work for analysis, communication, storytelling, orientation and identity — including professional mapping for projects and the 34 Degrees Design cartographic artwork series, which interprets regions through terrain, settlement, movement and landscape structure.
Design review & advisory
Independent input on spatial quality, public realm, connectivity, landscape integration, placemaking, visual communication and sense of place — useful for developers, architects, municipalities or institutions needing a clear external design perspective before advancing a plan.
Who the practice works with
- Developers
- Architects
- Municipalities
- Planning firms
- Institutions
- Private landowners
- Hospitality clients
- Public-realm clients
- Place-making & destination projects
Selected experience
View portfolio →- Urban revitalisation and public-realm work in Worcester and Rawsonville, Western Cape
- Campus-scale and precinct-level masterplanning for public-sector clients in the United States
- Urban design teaching at the University of Washington Tacoma
- Technical Assistance Panels through the Urban Land Institute Northwest
- Mixed-use aerotropolis masterplanning near Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam
- Urban design thesis work on reconnecting Toronto’s city centre and waterfront
- Award-winning downtown revitalisation work in Georgetown, Kentucky