Bannie Britz remains professionally active, and after nearly 45 years in practice, unflaggingly renders outstanding services to clients, students, colleagues and the public at large. What distinguishes him is his uncompromising faith in good design. He maintains the highest standards, which are scrupulously applied to the most modest commissions and prestigious projects alike. This qualitative approach has not only been of benefit to his clients, but also to his students, colleagues and non-architects.

Within the ambit of South African Architecture, Bannie Britz played an important role as part of a younger generation of architects, who studied and worked abroad during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Unlike many of his peers who studied and worked in Philadelphia (USA), Bannie Britz preferred Europe. His eclectic contribution reflects the ideas of diverse architects such as Theo Crosby, the Smithsons, Alvar Aalto and Archigram.

After his return to South Africa he established his own practice in Pretoria in 1961, and relocated to Johannesburg where the practice became influential and achieved considerable success. The scope of his work ranges from furniture, modest community projects, prestigious residential commissions, to large-scale office and institutional buildings. He has also been involved in urban design projects. Throughout his career, his work has been noted not only for its formal aesthetics, but also its innovative tectonic sensibilities.
From the outset of his career, he generously shared his knowledge with students and colleagues. This commitment was underscored by his appointment as head of the Department of Architecture at the University of the Free State, a position he held with distinction for a number of years. During this period he laid the foundations for the department to become one of the most respected Schools of Architecture in South Africa. His tenure at the university also included the establishment of a number of community projects that has proven sustainable, and which have gained general recognition. His work has received the recognition of his peers, and during his career thus far, he has received 17 merit awards. He has also been recognised by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Kuns en Wetenskap and was awarded their Gold Medal for Architecture.

Bannie Britz has played an active role in promoting the discipline of architecture amongst his colleagues and the general public. He has been an active member of the Institute, and has also served as President of the Free State Institute of Architects. His contribution has been especially important during the period of transition where compulsory membership of the various Institutes was discontinued. He has played a pivotal role in persuading and cajoling architects to remain members of the Institute and also to actively demonstrate the benefits of belonging to the Institute. Bannie Britz has a regular column in a local newspaper promoting good (residential) architecture, a daunting undertaking in the Free State. His writings on architecture are engaging, lucid and unpretentious. In the early 1990’s he completed a degree in Urban Design at the University of the Witwatersrand, exemplifying the notion that we remain students throughout our careers. He obtained his degree with distinction.

His personal philosophy has allowed him to re-invent his work continually and he has fully embraced the changes in the global and our South African society, becoming neither a cad nor a caddie, possibly semi CAD-ded, but still producing beautifully-detailed, hand-drawn drawings in his office on the outskirts of the city of Bloemfontein. We salute Barend Johannes Britz, who leads by example, and who belongs to that special group of individuals that enthuses disillusioned colleagues, offers sustenance to students and repeatedly amazes and elevates his clients’ spatial experiences above the mundane.