New Frontiers in Architecture, Urbanism, and Spatial Planning
The primary intent of the School of Architecture and Planning (SoAP) is to provide an excellent learning environment, offering accredited professional degrees in architecture, planning, and related interdisciplinary urban studies and urban design. With a view to equipping students to shape the future in these professions, and to contribute to the sustainable growth of their communities, SoAP’s intensive curricula, in addition to its research centres, explore the emergent territories of knowledge in these fields. Existing and future scholars and practitioners, operating in national and international arenas, are convened at our School to explore the full spectrum of current trends in design and planning, to find solutions to the challenges of global urbanism, urbanisation and urbanity, in balance with the diverse natural ecologies.
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About us
At SoAP, from the time of enrolment, students are immersed in lectures on ecological design and planning, on technology and innovation in the built environment, attending colloquia on critical theory and debating the discourses related to policies, spatial studies, urban management and governance. Underpinning our ethos as a School is an intent of influencing policy through advocacy and through research, particularly concerning issues of urban spatial transformation, sustainable development, affordable housing provision, social justice, and the right of all citizens to access the city. Beyond the classroom, students go out into the field for immersive learning experiences, they undertake research, explore findings in design projects and other practical and application-based course components, responding to South Africa’s cultural and socioeconomic complexity. This learning experience enables the students to develop the necessary skill-sets that are essential for success in architectural and planning professional practice, and to understand the important ethical issues, adopting an imaginative engagement with what is pertinent to our contemporary context. Read more>>>>
