00:02What does it look like when a young black woman claims the future of South African construction?
00:07It's not about noise, it's about the power of clarity.
00:10A different perspective of a black woman, an architect, is really needed.
00:16So I really want to encourage them that, you know, you shouldn't doubt yourself and your creative ideas.
00:24You should believe in yourself and you should really not doubt your creative skills.
00:28You have a lot to contribute in this industry.
00:32Meet Neom Dhaka, architectural draft person and visionary.
00:36She's rewriting the blueprint of how South Africa builds, bringing dignity and intention to an industry long defined by the
00:43margins.
00:44In the team, me being the one who communicates frequently with the client,
00:52now this is me being a client relation part of things.
00:55And then Chewo is more the one who will now bring the look and feel of how the project is
01:00going to look like,
01:01the materials that she's going to, we're also going to use.
01:04And Paddan on the other side is a very technical guy who goes into the nitty grits,
01:09how this design is going to look like.
01:12And in that, we're able to come together with those set of unique skills.
01:18Neel specializes in experience architecture, designing the full journey of a space from first sketch to final handover.
01:25She leads with a precision system that kills the chaos and cuts the waste.
01:30Construction is generally a very stressful industry to be in, right?
01:35So we create systems and the systems we make sure that there's only one communication line.
01:43In a field where black women are still the exception, Neel is the rule.
01:47She isn't just managing projects.
01:49She's shattering expectations in spaces where female leadership has never been the norm.
01:54She's a good team leader.
01:57She doesn't enforce labor or whatsoever.
02:02She allows you to be free and do and speak your mind and bring your ideas to life.
02:09From residential dreams to commercial interiors, Neel's work is about integrity,
02:15creating spaces that feel intentional, functional and thinking human.
02:19On a daily basis, as Zool architecture, we get a lot of projects that are residential based, right?
02:27And we have created templates for them and we know how to go about it.
02:31So in this case, we have come across more of a commercial and commercial going into,
02:39we try to then incorporate a barber to also create some kind of culture inside the shop.
02:47Her process is holistic.
02:49Every craft from the lighting to the joinery is aligned from day one.
02:53Neel's superpower turning specialists into a single high-performing squad.
02:58So what makes this particular project unique is that everything is in-house
03:03from the design stage up to the construction part of things.
03:08So we took the client through the design stage of things
03:12and then we showed him how then we're going to incorporate or execute how the shop is going to look
03:19like.
03:19The materials, showing him the 3D designs and everything and then started introducing him to the team.
03:26Now from the electrical guy up to the plumbing, the tiling guy and showing him how the final product is
03:35going to look like.
03:36For Neel, leadership means opening the door behind her.
03:39She's mentoring the next generation of designers, giving them the tools to thrive in rooms that weren't always ready for
03:45them.
03:45The legacy that I want to leave behind is having to create more employment, investing in young people also,
03:55to help especially people who come from an unrepresented background.
03:59In her world, every space tells a story of care, collaboration and purpose.
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