Buffelsdrift in Ladismith, Western Cape, won the 2022 Corobrick SAIA Award of Merit. This prestigious award is given by the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) to recognise outstanding architecture and design. The project is a collaboration between SAOTA and Jaco Booyens Architect. The award was presented to Booyens and SAOTA Principal Greg Truen at the SAIA awards ceremony.

Buffelsdrift is an adaptive reuse heritage project. The site houses several Cape Dutch buildings that were built on the farm during the mid-1800s, with the main house dating back to 1852. The design of the project was inspired by the surrounding landscape, with a focus on using natural materials and creating a seamless connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces. The buildings were built from locally sourced stone and timber, and the large windows and open-plan design allow for ample natural light and stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

The Corobrick SAIA Award of Merit recognises the exceptional skill and creativity of the architects who designed project. The award also acknowledges the importance of sustainable and environmentally responsible design, which is evident in the use of traditional techniques with a contemporary reading and heritage reinterpretation, which transforms and enhances the original structures into a seamless new narrative between vernacular architecture and contemporary interior design and into its new adaptive use into a place of leisure and retreat.