Cissie Gool House has become a home for individuals and families facing housing instability, where residents like Denver Arendse, Mariana Louw, and Shahien Fakier build a supportive community. This occupation represents urban resistance against Cape Town's housing crisis, where families share resources and care for one another. Activities such as community film screenings and children playing highlight a vibrant communal life. The project aims to reshape narratives around housing through partnerships with advocacy organizations, promoting initiatives for better housing policies and urban belonging.
Life under occupation focuses on the strength, dignity, and mutual care that residents build in a space marked by legal uncertainty. Rather than framing the occupation as a protest alone, the work highlights it as a solution – an act of urban resistance and survival led by working-class families.
By partnering with housing justice organisations, Windvogel's images will support local advocacy and public education, contributing to wider efforts to rethink housing policy and urban belonging.
Shahien Fakier sits on the bed in his room, which he shares with his partner and a neighbour's child whom they also help care for. He has been living in the building for seven years and works as a handyman, transforming many of the rooms into liveable spaces for families in the occupation to call home.
Residents of Cissie Gool House gather for a community film screening in the main hall. Transformed into a self-organised community, the occupation responds directly to Cape Town's deepening housing crisis.
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