Graduate School of Architecture

Graduate School of Architecture The GSA remains a new School of architecture that differentiates itself significantly from other South African schools and schools in Africa and the Diaspora.

Building up to the Chronograms of Architecture Symposium and Exhibition taking place on Thursday, 4 June, B Arch Hons st...
29/05/2026

Building up to the Chronograms of Architecture Symposium and Exhibition taking place on Thursday, 4 June, B Arch Hons students have developed their own chronograms through a series of workshops, led by Lily Jencks, “Drawing History: Learning from Charles Jencks’ Evolutionary Diagrams,” where students developed positions through individual manifestos and engaged in collective thinking across their research units, drawing connections, tracing ideas, and grappling with mapping architectural histories together


Date: Thursday, 4 – 24 June 2026
Time: 16:00 – 21:00 SAST
Venue: UJ FADA Gallery & Auditorium
RSVP: See Linktree
CAT 1, 0.3 CPD Points


Exhibition
The Chronograms of Architecture Exhibition showcases diagrams by Charles Jencks, the renowned post-modern architecture writer and critic, spanning from 1920 to 2000, along with nine commissioned diagrams by contemporary architects, historians, and researchers. Previously exhibited in London and Brussels, it is being hosted in Johannesburg this year, in conversation with the GSA; featuring student diagrams developed through workshops with and the Architectural History and Theory module convened this year by 


Symposium
The exhibition coincides with a symposium taking place at the FADA Auditorium. The symposium brings together past and present participants in the Chronograms of Architecture project and will be moderated by Axel, deputy editor of e-Flux Architecture.

 
The works in this exhibition have been commissioned as part of Chronograms of Architecture, a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and the Jencks Foundation at The Cosmic House.
 
The exhibition is generously supported by The Cosmic House.

Reminder to join tonight’s GSA Practice Lecture: The Architecture of Practice by Martin Lardner-Burke - dhkDate: Tuesday...
26/05/2026

Reminder to join tonight’s GSA Practice Lecture: The Architecture of Practice by Martin Lardner-Burke - dhk

Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Time: 18:00 – 19:00 
Venue: Online on MS Teams
RSVP: See Linktree

Cat 1, 0. 1 CPD Credits

In 2026, the GSA is inviting architectural and spatial practitioners to speak to our community about how they are transforming their practice ground, through recombination, collaboration, refusal or making anew. Rather than the customary presentation of completed buildings, this lecture series foregrounds adaptive practice models - contingent, responsive, and continuously redefined.

Each Practice Lecture offers a practitioner the opportunity to reflect together with the community on the constitution of their practice, and how its organisation, evolution, fluidity, collaboration, systems and networks form a Practice Ground - a way of conducting and sustaining spatial production. As part of our practice ground, these sessions are always online, in the evenings, to ensure the widest possible participation in this collective reimagination of architectural doing.

Martin is a Principal at dhk Architects and Vice President of the Gauteng Institute for Architecture (GIfA). Throughout his career, he has consistently delivered well-conceived and executed architectural solutions underpinned by his sound leadership, extensive knowledge, and meticulous attention to design detail.

The lecture is entitled “The Architecture of Practice”. It will focus on who dhk is as a studio, how they approach their work, how they have remained relevant as a large practice, and how, for nearly three decades, they have stayed true to their design-led ethos with designs that respect their social, functional and environmental context. Martin will also touch on what it means for a proudly South African business to be part of the 10N Collective, the global collective of experts in architecture, urbanism and related design disciplines.
https://www.dhk.co.za/



Students from the Architectural History and Theory programme visited Ponte City Apartments as part of an immersive engag...
19/05/2026

Students from the Architectural History and Theory programme visited Ponte City Apartments as part of an immersive engagement with the urban fabric of Johannesburg. The visit, facilitated by offered students a guided tour exploring the complex history and cultural significance of the iconic residential tower. Through the tour, students gained insight into the building’s architectural legacy, its social transformations, and its enduring presence within the city.

The experience culminated in a film screening within the building’s central core, creating a unique atmosphere that allowed students to reflect on the relationship between architecture and urban life. The visit formed part of a broader effort to encourage critical engagement with Johannesburg as a lived and layered city.


Highlights from our first GSA Shop Talk featuring invited guest speaker Phillip Hollander. The session concluded with a ...
19/05/2026

Highlights from our first GSA Shop Talk featuring invited guest speaker Phillip Hollander. The session concluded with a presentation by Phelisa Siboyana, representative of event sponsor Standard Bank, who shared valuable professional financial advice with our postgraduate students and professional architects.


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’s Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of ...
11/05/2026

’s Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of non-human species. Based at Red Sands Country Lodge from 5–8 May 2026, the field study immersed Unit 5 students in the climatic pressures, ecological systems, and atmospheric conditions of the Kalahari landscape. Through landscape transects, nocturnal observation walks, and rapid terrain sketching, students investigated heat, exposure, scarcity, and environmental resilience as spatial and material drivers.

The expedition positioned species as “design tutors,” encouraging students to analyse shelter, thermal regulation, water strategies, edge conditions, and symbiotic relationships within desert ecologies. Outputs included field notebooks, analytical diagrams, adaptation drawings, and speculative test models that translated ecological intelligence into architectural thinking. The programme challenged students to develop an “architecture for all species,” where environmental adaptation, coexistence, and climate resilience became central design methodologies rather than secondary technical concerns.




’s Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of ...
11/05/2026

’s Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of non-human species. Based at Red Sands Country Lodge from 5–8 May 2026, the field study immersed Unit 5 students in the climatic pressures, ecological systems, and atmospheric conditions of the Kalahari landscape. Through landscape transects, nocturnal observation walks, and rapid terrain sketching, students investigated heat, exposure, scarcity, and environmental resilience as spatial and material drivers.

The expedition positioned species as “design tutors,” encouraging students to analyse shelter, thermal regulation, water strategies, edge conditions, and symbiotic relationships within desert ecologies. Outputs included field notebooks, analytical diagrams, adaptation drawings, and speculative test models that translated ecological intelligence into architectural thinking. The programme challenged students to develop an “architecture for all species,” where environmental adaptation, coexistence, and climate resilience became central design methodologies rather than secondary technical concerns.


The Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of...
11/05/2026

The Kalahari Expedition explored how architecture could learn from extreme environments and the adaptive intelligence of non-human species. Based at Red Sands Country Lodge from 5–8 May 2026, the field study immersed Unit 5 students in the climatic pressures, ecological systems, and atmospheric conditions of the Kalahari landscape. Through landscape transects, nocturnal observation walks, and rapid terrain sketching, students investigated heat, exposure, scarcity, and environmental resilience as spatial and material drivers.
The expedition positioned species as “design tutors,” encouraging students to analyse shelter, thermal regulation, water strategies, edge conditions, and symbiotic relationships within desert ecologies. Outputs included field notebooks, analytical diagrams, adaptation drawings, and speculative test models that translated ecological intelligence into architectural thinking. The programme challenged students to develop an “architecture for all species,” where environmental adaptation, coexistence, and climate resilience became central design methodologies rather than secondary technical concerns.

Highlights from an engaging and insightful presentation and discussion with Andy Barnes of Grimshaw at last night’s GSA ...
24/04/2026

Highlights from an engaging and insightful presentation and discussion with Andy Barnes of Grimshaw at last night’s GSA Talk. We are delighted to be starting a collaboration with RIBA Africa - and last night’s talk was the first offering in that collaboration. As the first guest speaker invited by RIBA Africa, Andy presented Grimshaw’s work with the Eden Project - a shared journey over twenty-five years, exploring the integration of architecture, the natural world, and people-led experiences, helping to realise a more regenerative future.

We look forward to continuing and strengthening the collaboration between the GSA and RIBA Africa.






We are pleased to announce that Ngillan Faal, GSA’s Unit System Convenor, has been appointed Acting Director of the Grad...
16/04/2026

We are pleased to announce that Ngillan Faal, GSA’s Unit System Convenor, has been appointed Acting Director of the Graduate School of Architecture (GSA) at the University of Johannesburg, effective 1 April 2026.

, now Acting Director of the Graduate School of Architecture (GSA) at the University of Johannesburg and Unit System Convenor at the GSA, is a professional architect and urbanist with an extensive career in Johannesburg and London. Her work includes award-winning projects and significant contributions to urban, climate, and policy initiatives. Her interdisciplinary research engages genealogies of spatial practice and urbanity in Africa, most recently through Unit 7 at the GSA and her studio, Kompin.

The GSA extends its sincere thanks to the previous Acting Director, Guy Trangos, who has stepped down from the role, and wishes him well in his future endeavours.




postgraduateschool

GSA Cross Crits taking place 14 - 16 April 2026
15/04/2026

GSA Cross Crits taking place 14 - 16 April 2026





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Graduate School Of Architecture, JBS Park, University Of Johannesburg, 69 Kingsway Avenue
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