Boukunde - Department of Architecture, UP

What does it mean for architecture to serve the public interest in South Africa?

Public Interest Design in South Africa engages this question through practice, theory and grounded examples. It examines how architects have responded to the spatial consequences of apartheid, inequality, exclusion and fragmented urban development.

The book positions Public Interest Design as a serious field of architectural thought and practice. It foregrounds collaboration, participatory action, advocacy, collective capability, pedagogy and the role of the architect as facilitator.

These concerns are increasingly urgent. South African cities continue to reveal the limits of architecture understood only as object, form or private commission. This book contributes to a broader understanding of architectural agency, one that is shaped through engagement, responsibility and public value.

For students and practitioners, it offers a timely invitation to reconsider what architecture does, who it serves, and how it participates in social and spatial change. https://www.routledge.com/Public-Interest-Design-in-South-Africa/Combrinck-duTrevou-Mokholo/p/book/9781032455037

A significant new contribution to architectural discourse in South Africa has been launched:

Public Interest Design in South Africa
By Prof Carin Combrinck, Claire du Trevou and Tshepo Mokholo
https://lnkd.in/dCAkPEmA

The book brings together important examples of architectural projects and practices in South Africa since 1994 that have worked in the public interest, often outside the visibility of mainstream professional recognition.

Against the continuing socio-spatial legacies of segregation, the book asks how architecture can contribute to democratic engagement, collaborative practice, responsive design, and spatial transformation.

It draws on South African examples, including Warwick Markets in eThekwini, Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrade in Cape Town, the work of Carin Smuts of CS Studios, and a wider collection of smaller interventions across the country.

This is an important text for architects, educators, students, urban practitioners and researchers concerned with the public role of architecture in South Africa and beyond.

What do architecture students, rhinos, theatre, and a workshop full of timber have in common? 🦏🎭🔨

The Human Centred Design studio challenged our Honours students to design and build the world of a performance from the ground up, proving that architecture is about experiences, not just buildings.

We look forward to share more images of their progress.


LearningByDoing UPArchitecture

Applications for admission to the BSc Architecture programme for 2027 close on ❗ 30 June❗Applications are only done online at www.up.ac.za/online-application. Incomplete and late applications are not considered. After the closing date, the Department communicates with applicants through an initial alert via a Short Message Service (SMS) if the applicant has a valid cell number with one of the South African networks, and thereafter by email. It is therefore critical that applicants provide reliable contact details in their applications.

Access our latest Fact File with all the relevant information here: https://drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za/Public/2026-06/BScArchitectureFactFile2027.pdf?VersionId=BZaQuky_lfjIcyzAvLDSOt7BdQ_aggQC

An amazing week of building new networks and shaping new opportunities. Prof Chrisna Du Plessis, Dr Jan Hugo and Christo van der Hoven joined the Technical University of Mombasa, the University of Nairobi and Aarhus University in Denmark. Watch this space for more on the NextGen Build Project

Honours architecture students involved in the Architecture of Dignity research project, led by lecturers Janri Barker and Dr Nico Botes, had their induction at the Gladys Evans Training Centre of the South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind in Sandton earlier this week.

They were warmly welcomed by guide dog puppies before attending a series of short lectures on the three types of assistance available in South Africa: guide dogs for clients with sight impairments, service dogs for those with mobility impairments, and autism support dogs for children aged 5 to 12. The students were introduced to white cane training, walking with trained guide dogs, and the work of the Department of Orientation and Mobility, including its involvement in the site-specific orientation of blind students on the University of Pretoria’s campuses.

This year, this research group is focused on the access criteria necessary to assess and support equitable and independent navigation of the built environment for assistance dog teams in the South African context.

Our sincere thanks to all the staff and dogs at the Association, with special mention to Tanya Schonwald, Head of Strategic Corporate Partnerships, and Pieter van Niekerk, who heads up Public Relations, and his guide-dog O’Shea.

𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Congratulations to Dr Nico Botes, recipient of the Department of Architecture Teaching and Learning Award.

This award recognises teaching that embeds the Department's values through grounded, thoughtful pedagogical practice. Dr Botes's work is recognised for developing a pedagogical approach that initiates beginner students in architecture into the studio by grounding their work in their personal identities and physical bodies, onto which the notion of ‘the other’, served through their agency, is gradually scaffolded and scaled up in complexity over the subsequent years of study.

We are grateful for the care, reflection, and pedagogical commitment that this work represents.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲.

Congratulations to Franchesca de Moura, recipient of the Neill Powell Neill Award for best completed postgraduate research study, and Gaby Hansen, recipient of the Robert Gustav Schmikl Award for best progress in postgraduate research studies.

Postgraduate research remains central to the Department’s contribution to architectural knowledge, built environment scholarship, and the development of research-led design cultures. These awards acknowledge the sustained intellectual work required to produce meaningful and rigorous research.

We extend our sincere thanks to the University of Pretoria for supporting these postgraduate research awards.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲.

The Professional Masters programmes bring together advanced design research, technical resolution, critical enquiry, and professional formation across Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Architecture. The awards in this category recognise excellence in dissertation work, design, documentation, heritage awareness, ecological responsiveness, product design, urban design, hand drawing, planting design, energy-conscious design, and professional practice development.

We are proud of the work produced by this cohort and of the intellectual and professional maturity reflected in their projects.

Our sincere thanks to the sponsors who supported the Professional Masters awards: Bosun Group, Corobrik, NEWURBAN Architects & Urban Designers Polysales (previously Polyflor South Africa), ILASA - The Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa, Bapela Cave Klapwijk, Johannes Matthysen, Matthysen | Landscape Architecture Studio, Newtown Landscape Architects, Dr. Gwen Theron, ARCHNEER STATIONERS, Pretoria Institute for Architecture, SACAPSA, SAIA Architects and the Architecture Archives at the University of Pretoria.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲

The Honours year marks a significant transition in architectural education. It asks students to work with greater independence, conceptual depth, technical precision, and ethical awareness. The awards in this category recognise achievements in design, environmental and landscape thinking, urban citizenship, and overall academic performance.

We congratulate all recipients on the quality of their work and on their contributions to the Department's culture during the 2025 academic year.

Our sincere thanks to the sponsors who supported the Professional Honours awards: Luxury Frontiers, Prof Piet Vosloo, Pretoria Institute for Architecture, and Prof Carin Combrinck.