SAIA Pulse 03/2026
Updated: Sep 10
SAIA is proud to highlight the upcoming Corobrik SAIA Awards of Excellence and the Coverland SAIA Awards of Merit. The biennial Corobrik SAIA Awards of Excellence feature 54 entries submitted by the regions that progressed from the 2025 Regional Awards programme, representing the highest standard of architectural achievement across South Africa.
Corobrik and Coverland Awards
National adjudication visits are scheduled over nine days in March, conducted by a panel chaired by SAIA President Arch. Janet Saaiman, joined by Arch. Mfundo Maphamulo (KZNIA), Professor Emeritus Iain Low (UCT), Arch. Sonja Spamer (UCT), Art Deco specialist Petra Mason, and Corobrik representative Shauneez Naidoo. The #CorobrikSAIAAwards event will be held at the Rand Club on Thursday evening, 28 May 2026.
The Coverland SAIA Awards of Merit recognise excellence in roof tile application, open and free to SAIA members and not restricted to Coverland products.
Call for entries and CPD points
Entries are open for design submission to the Steel Awards, or to volunteer as an adjudicator; entrants must have a current practice declaration on the ePortal site.
As of October 2025, SACAP-registered professionals who adjudicate awards for recognised voluntary associations or built-environment organisations, or who serve on committees, are eligible to claim Category 1 CPD points.
International collaboration
The Architects Registration Board United Kingdom (ARB UK), the statutory regulator of architects in the UK, conducted a tour of South Africa to explore a reciprocal arrangement with SACAP. SAIA's President, CEO and CMO hosted the delegation at the Sandton office, conveying the diversity, strengths and challenges of the South African profession and exploring the case for a formal Mutual Recognition Agreement to unlock opportunities for professional mobility.
Industry development and advocacy
Architect Themba Orvall Maluleke has been appointed Chairperson of the African Union of Architects (AUA) Research and Technology Commission. Themba is Executive Chairman of Orvall Corporate Group, is pursuing his doctorate at UKZN, and brings over two decades of experience in architecture and property development.
The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) Education Committee is researching how to embed climate literacy in architectural education, and South Africa has been invited to nominate one representative per Higher Education Institution (up to 10) to take part in a national focus group.
SAIA's own perspective holds that climate literacy — an informed understanding of climate science, environmental systems, carbon impact, resilience and sustainable design — is not an optional add-on but fundamental to the profession's future relevance on a continent facing intensifying climate pressures.
Congratulations and recognition
Aidan Schippers, now an intern at DHK, received a medal from the Commonwealth Association of Architects in recognition of his contribution as a student.
EPWP Infrastructure Guidelines
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is reviewing the Third Edition (June 2015) of the EPWP Infrastructure Guidelines to produce a Fourth Edition, with enhancements covering the Decent Work Agenda, social facilitation, exit strategies, reporting standards, expanded scope (ICT infrastructure, mine and brownfield rehabilitation, land reclamation) and technical refinement. Feedback on the draft can be directed to Odwa Tiya of the EPWP Branch.
Docomomo, UIA and RESIDE
Docomomo South Africa, the local chapter of Docomomo International, continues to document modern-movement buildings and sites and recently contributed to the publication Modernism in Africa. SAIA is an institutional member, entitled to free journal copies and reduced conference registrations, and is seeking a nominated point person.
Early-bird registration for the UIA 2026 Atlas of Learning Environments closes on 29 March 2026. As a partner of the RESIDE Summit (20–21 May, Sandton Convention Centre), SAIA members receive a registration discount.
Architects in conversation
A discussion piece examines the consequences of the post-2000 restructuring of B.Arch degrees into three-year undergraduate plus honours plus master's programmes, and the resulting disparity for the nearly 3,000 architects still practising with an 'old' six-year bachelor's degree — a disparity that affects academic posts, public-sector progression and tender scoring. An online workshop on the topic was held on 10 March 2026.
Research participation invited
PhD candidate Quintin De Klerk (University of Pretoria) is researching dispute resolution, payment systems and cash-flow management in South Africa's construction industry via a short anonymous survey. PhD candidate Ferdinand Senam Hassan, also at Pretoria, is surveying construction and design professionals on the adoption of mass timber (engineered wood) as a structural material.
Membership and community
SAIA said farewell to Avela Lindiwe Swana, thanking her for her contributions in administration, governance and strategic thinking, and welcomed Tshwanelo Cecilia Khambule (a BAS candidate from Wits University) as the new Administrative Assistant.
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