The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) is an association of affiliated and regional institutes that promotes excellence of architectural design in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It replaced the Institute of South African Architects and a number of regional bodies in 1996.

Background

SAIA was formed in 1996, replacing the Institute of South African Architects (formed in 1927) and six regional institutes, namely the Border, Cape, Eastern Province, KwaZulu-Natal,

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

and

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. Membership is open to any qualified architect and candidate membership is open to anyone studying towards becoming an architect.

Activities

Since 2010 the SAIA has hosted a biannual conference and exhibition to share ideas. In 2018 the AZA conference was held jointly at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

and

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; af, Tshwane-Universiteit vir Tegnologie) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West an ...

Awards and prizes

The Corobrik SAIA Awards are given out at a biannual ceremony to reward excellence in South African architecture. The Awards of Excellence have been given out since 1990, while the Awards of Merit were introduced in 1999. In 2016 there were seven Awards of Excellence, seven Awards of Merit and sixteen commendations handed out. In 2018 six Awards of Excellence were given to five buildings and a research project. There were twenty four Awards of Merit and five commendations bestowed. The SAIA also awards a Gold Medal for Architecture to an outstanding individual, a Medal of Distinction to someone who has given distinguished service to the profession and an Architectural Writers and Critics Award for an individual's contribution to architectural writing or criticism.

References

External links

* {{official, https://saia.org.za/ 1996 establishments in South Africa Architecture in South Africa Architecture-related professional associations Commonwealth Association of Architects Professional associations based in South Africa