Photographing architecture is never only about documenting a building. It is about noticing how the structure responds to light, how the materials work together and how one space leads into another. Designed by Cape Town architectural practice Peerutin Karol, 8 Bellwood is a five-storey apartment building in Fresnaye, completed in 2021. The development replaced a single residence with five apartments, each occupying its own floor, together with ground-floor parking and a communal swimming pool. What interested me while photographing the building was the balance between its strong contemporary geometry and the warmth introduced through its materials. Rendered surfaces, tiles and expanses of glass are softened by timber flooring and external…