SAIA Gold Medal for Architecture

SAOTA has received the 2026 SAIA Gold Medal for Architecture, the highest honour awarded by the South African Institute of Architects. This marks the first time the medal has been awarded to an architectural practice rather than an individual architect. 

The recognition comes as SAOTA celebrates its fortieth year. Founded in Cape Town in 1986, the practice has grown from a South African architecture studio into an internationally recognised architecture practice, with work spanning residential, hospitality, commercial, workplace, education and social-impact architecture across six continents. 

The award acknowledges the collective contribution of the people who have shaped SAOTA since its beginnings: our founders, principals and architects, consultants and collaborators, and the clients who have entrusted us with their projects. 

For SAOTA, recognition from one’s own profession is the recognition that matters most. The practice regards the medal as belonging to everyone who has built it over four decades.  

Working from a single design studio in Cape Town, SAOTA has been commissioned across six continents, in 90 countries and 200 cities, with 85% of its clients based outside South Africa. Together with ARRCC and OKHA, the practice continues to work across diverse sectors and contexts, while investing in future generations of architects through internships, graduate opportunities and bursary programmes. 

The award comes ahead of Shaped by Place: 40 Years of Architectural Practice, a month-long public exhibition opening in Cape Town in October 2026. Through architectural models, imagery and curated narratives, the exhibition will explore the thinking behind the work and the people, places and ideas that have shaped SAOTA’s first forty years, while looking ahead to the future of architecture and design.