| Llewellyn Virgil
van Wyk was born in Cape Town in 1955. He matriculated in 1972
from Durbanville High School and immediately went to work in
the practice of Michael Lowe and Lindsay Falck Architects until
commencing his compulsory conscription in 1973. He resumed working
for Lowe Simpson and Associates in 1973 and began his studies
in architecture at UCT in 1975, graduating in 1980. Llewellyn
served with Lindsay Bremner on the editorial board of Communicat,
the ‘journal’ of the School of Architecture, from
1976-1979.
Llewellyn opened his own practice in 1982 before forming
the practice of Norman Calitz and Llewellyn van Wyk Architects
in 1984. He left the practice in 2002 to take up a research
position at the CSIR.
Llewellyn was elected as a Councillor of the City of Cape
Town in 1984 and served in this position until 1996. He served
on the Housing Committee and the Town Planning Committee until
1995, serving as Deputy Mayor from 1993-1995. In 1995 he became
Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of the City of Cape
Town before retiring from politics in 1996.
Llewellyn was elected to the Main Committee of the Cape Institute
of Architects in 1987, serving as Vice-President from 1991-1993
and as President from 1993-1996.
He has served on the National Board of the South African
Institute of Architects since 1991, becoming Vice-President
in 1998 and serving as President from 1999-2002. Llewellyn
has served on the National Board of SAIA in a number of positions.
He was tasked with chairing the constitutional subcommittee
which prepared a new constitution for the Institute in recognition
of voluntary association. Thereafter he was requested to draft
a Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan for the Institute. He
also drafted a number of policy statements for the Institute,
particularly on the environment and habitat.
In 1996 Llewellyn secured funding for the launch of a new
SAIA publication, the Digest of South African Architecture,
now into its 10th year of publication. He served as Chairman
of the Editorial Board from its inception until 2002. Subsequent
to this, a similar journal was launched for Namibia, and currently
he is developing a similar journal for Botswana. Llewellyn
also oversaw the new contract for Architecture SA, the official
journal of SAIA.
Llewellyn represented SAIA on the SACAP working committees
of Research and the Identification of Work, where he drafted
the matrix for the Identification of Work. He has presented
the views of SAIA with regard to the promulgation of a number
of legislative Bills including the SACAP, CIDB and CBE Bills.
Llewellyn has represented SAIA on the International Union
of Architects’ (UIA) Workgroup for Practice and was
elected to the Council of the Commonwealth Association of
Architects (CAA) in 2000, as Chair of Practice. He was elected
President of the CAA in 2003.
Most recently Llewellyn proposed a new vision for the Institute
based on the recognition of the importance of ecology in human
and thus architectural development.
Llewellyn’s strategic thinking has contributed to the
development and transformation of the way in which we practice
architecture in South Africa and beyond. Life membership is
conferred on him in recognition of this and in the hope that
his prophetic influence will continue to be felt and woven
into the future of SAIA and of architecture in our society.
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