Thomas Chapman is the founder and principal of Local Studio, an architecture firm based in Brixton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Chapman holds masters degrees in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of the Witwatersrand. Both of his degrees explored the reintroduction of “publicness” into the post apartheid city. Since its inception in 2012, Local Studio has directed its efforts to the pursuit of new directions for African architecture and urbanism through innovations in community participation, public space design, and alternative construction methodologies.