Based in Johannesburg, he is the founder of Urban Works, an interdisciplinary design and research practice, and also leads a research unit at the University of Johannesburg. His work focuses on the role of architecture and urban design in achieving the transformation needed to address some of our most complex challenges. After graduating in Architecture from the University of Cape Town in 2001, he worked at Noero Wolff Architects in Cape Town and with Paragon Architects in Johannesburg. Between 2005 and 2006, he was awarded a Chevening Scholarship to study Urban Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. He has worked on architectural and urban projects of major political, cultural and heritage significance in South Africa, including Vilakazi Street, Constitution Hill, Chinatown and Chancellor House (home to the law firm of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo). He has presented his work at international institutions and events in Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Namibia. Govender’s preoccupation with space as an instrument for change underpins much of his work.