Architectural Practice and Education in South Africa: From Local Transformation to Global Participation

The advent of a democratic dispensation in the Republic of South Africa a decade ago has resulted in considerable challenges for the country's architectural practitioners and academics. This article investigates some of the problems, opportunities, and responses of the democracy that has emerged from the repression and isolation of the apartheid era. The effect of local transformations and globalization on South African architects and educational institutions is described, and the need to develop a responsible local strategy to guide global participation is identified and considered.