The South African Institute of Architects, a national representative body serving the interests of architects and architectural firms successfully hosted the International Union of Architects (UIA) 25th World Congress 2014 in Durban. The World Congress, which is the Architecture’s Profession equivalent of the Soccer World Cup was a resounding success, which saw more than 4,200 delegates from all over the world attending the World Congress.
Watch the overview of the event on video by clicking here.
The UIA is a non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations, and it represents professional associations of architects in 124 countries, and approximately 1, 3 million architects worldwide. Reflecting on the success of the Congress, SAIA President, Sindile Ngonyama noted that; “South African had staged the Congress in an unprecedented high level of quality and the architects that participated in all the various events had only good words and praise regarding the manner in which SAIA had organized the event”.
The World Congress attracted the participations of senior government officials that included the Honourable Minister of Public Works, Mr. Thulas Nxesi, and the Honourable Minister of Higher Education Mr. Blade Nzimande amongst others. The key theme of the Congress was “Otherwhere: which had the sub themes of resilience, ecology and values.
“On the backdrop of hosting of the UIA World Congress, SAIA has now shifted its focus to the implementation of its Strategic and Business Plans that were approved by the Board earlier this year. Our work is now really cut out for the next five years as we seek to attain our vision of ensuring that SAIA architects position themselves as the authoritative voice in the built environment”, said Obert Chakarisa, SAIA Chief Executive Officer.
Obert Chakarisa added that SAIA is ready to consolidate its partnerships with the various stakeholders, include both provincial and national government in ensuring that the built environment sees the emergence of both sustainable and responsible architectural designs.
“Our industry still has a lot of ground to cover in the area of transformation and SAIA has set clear targets to achieve in its drive to promote transformation of the architectural profession,” concluded Obert Chakarisa.
About the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA)
SAIA is the representative national body of professional architects as well as corporate architectural firms. With a total of eleven (11) regional affiliates, SAIA continues to be the leading voice of architects in South Africa, in the SADC region, on the African continent and globally. Members of the Institute, registered as professional architects, are educated and trained to provide leadership, critical judgement, specialist knowledge, skills and aptitude, for the design and development of the built environment.
For more information contact; Debbie Kirk, Marketing Manager, South African Institute of Architects (SAIA)
