THE CAGE BECOMES THE STAGE
The Lion’s Den
A house for the tribe.
The brief called for a community brought together by a shared interest and a place to call their own.
For the 2026 PG Bison competition, the proposal brings performers, artists and audiences together. The chosen community embraces theatrical expression, craft and the shared experience of performance.
The memory of a cage.
The abandoned Groote Schuur Zoo becomes more than a site; its history becomes the starting point.
The design uses an existing, long-abandoned zoo landscape as the setting for new theatrical life. An arrival sequence moves visitors from curiosity to encounter, then to connection.
Follow the performance.
Three connected moments form a continuous visitor experience.
The architecture choreographs what happens before, during and after the show. Move through the three moments to see how the experience unfolds.
The cage becomes the stage.
A performance venue that makes room for gathering, watching and belonging.
An amphitheatre, performance space and social areas reshape the site around the people who now animate it.