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The Team That Has Skin in the Game.
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Most architects will tell you how to make your property look better. The DIGG team will show you how to make it pay. We built DIGG around a frustration we kept seeing in the Cape Town property market: owners sitting on untapped potential with no trusted, practical guide to unlock it. Too many architects design for design's sake. Too many developers overpromise. Too many homeowners leave value on the table. We built DIGG to be different.
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Our Team
Meet the people behind the projects
Judy Downing
Director
Twelve years. Every scale. Every sector. DIGG is led by Judy Downing — a SACAP-registered architect (PAT44740093) who holds a BSc Architecture (Hons) from the University of Pretoria and has spent over a decade working at the highest levels of the profession. Her career spans the full spectrum of architecture — from luxury coastal residences to a 300,000m² mixed-use mega-development in Cape Town. From a SAPOA award-winning office refurbishment in Johannesburg to a 14km² ultra-luxury Aman resort in Saudi Arabia, coordinated under world-renowned designer Jean-Michel Gathy. From 1,000+ group housing units to a complex international cold-storage facility where she personally eliminated over 2,000 BIM coordination clashes in under a month. She has worked at South Africa's leading practices — Swart & Associates, ARC Architects, Boogertman & Partners, Neo Architects, CNR Architects — across commercial, residential, industrial, retail, hospitality and government projects. What that means for you: Judy and our team bring the precision of a billion-rand project to every brief we take on, regardless of size.
The Investor Angle
We don't just design properties. We own them. Since 2016, Judy has been an active short-term rental investor in the Cape Town market. Our team understands the Airbnb platform not from a textbook but from a real P&L. We know what guests respond to, what design decisions drive occupancy, and what property investors actually need from an architect — because we are investors too. This is the difference between a practice that tells you what's possible and one that has personally navigated the same decisions you're facing.
The DIGG Philosophy
Develop simply. Design with purpose. Deliver value. DIGG is not here to win awards for complexity. We believe the best architectural solutions are the ones that work — financially, practically, and for the people who live and work in them. Creative thinking should produce simple, viable answers. Not overcomplicated, expensive ones. That means designing secondary dwellings that navigate council approval efficiently. It means structuring a 160m² building to serve as four rental units or a single home, depending on what the market needs. It means giving estate agents 3D models that help properties sell faster. It means building spaces that generate returns — not just spaces that photograph well.
DIGG Credentials at a Glance
SACAP Registered Architect
PAT44740093
BSc Architecture (Hons)
University of Pretoria
12+ Years
Professional Experience
International Projects
South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Ghana
Active Investors
Cape Town property since 2016
Specialist Software
Revit, BIM 360, Navisworks, Enscape, Twin Motion
Ready to see what your property could be?
Let's start with a conversation. No jargon, no pressure — just an honest look at what's possible for your property.
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