Hassan was inaugurated during the Presidential gala dinner held on Friday, 1 September 2006 in Bloemfontein. In his inaugural address he confirmed the Institute’s commitment to transformation within the profession, and called on black colleagues to take up a more active role in the work and activities of the SAIA.

The Board also honoured two of its members for outstanding contributions to Architecture and to the Profession. As one of her last presidential duties, outgoing President Patricia Emmett presented the Institute’s Gold Medal to Dr Julian Elliott of Cape Town, and the Medal of Distinction to Prof Danie Theron of Port Elizabeth. The Gold Medal is made in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Architecture and the Medal of Distinction in recognition of an outstanding contribution through distinguished service to the profession and for architecture.

The final highlight of the evening was the announcement and presentation of the Institute’s Award for Excellence by Trish Emmett and Peter Du Trevou, Managing Director of Corobrik. The recipients were:

BEAU CONSTANCE
A family residence for a private client on a wine estate in Constantia by Metropolis Design

SINGITA LEBOMBO
A tourist facility in the Kruger National Park, for Singita Marketing (Pty) Ltd by omm Design Workshop

THE SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY : BERLIN
For the Department of Public Works and the Department of Foreign Affairs by MMA Architects

THE NEW CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
For the Johannesburg Development Agency by omm Design Workshop & Urban Solutions

The Award for Excellence, conferred every second year, is for an exceptional achievement in the field of architecture. It is the most prestigious award in architecture and the highest accolade that the SAIA and the architectural profession can confer on a building. The Award for Excellence is sponsored by Corobrik and as the award is not a competition, more than one award, or none, may be made.

The SAIA Biennial Conference and Convention, entitled Ten/06, was hosted by the Free State Institute of Architects and the Department of Architecture of the University of the Free State. The programme comprised lectures by local architects Hugh Fraser and Piet Louw, the announcement of the winners of the Steel in the detail of the South African Mini House Students Competition by Dr Hennie de Clercq. The keynote address was by Richard Murphy (below), of Scotland who was voted “Scottish Architect of the Year” during 2006. Richard Murphy Architects has received numerous medals, awards and commendations since the practice was founded in 1991. His trip to South Africa was sponsored by the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction.

The Conference was concluded with a detail presentation of the SAIA Award of Merit projects. The certificates were presented to the recipients during the lunch hour. The projects include private homes and residential developments, corporate buildings, religious and education-related projects, two toll plazas, tourist facilities and public buildings. Click here to view the list of projects.

Two students, who received the PG Group Scholarship earlier in the year, attended the Conference and dinner as guest of the Institute. They are Helen Reeves of the KwaZulu-Natal University of Technology and Mias de Vries of the University of Pretoria. The Vivienne Japha Memorial Award, comprising a reference work, was also presented to the University Schools of Architecture.

The SAIA convention took place on Friday afternoon at the end of the term of office of the Board of Representatives for the period 2005-2006. Patricia Emmett delivered the SAIA Biennial Report and Su Linning the Executive Report incorporating the Financial Statements. Pierre Blaauw of SAFCEC, who had managed the Charter Group Secretariat for a two year period, concluded the afternoon’s programme with a presentation on the Construction Transformation Charter and the Scorecard.