PETER RICH

During the 1970s, as a reaction to the destruction of South African indigenous settlements under apartheid, Peter researched and documented the traditional rural settlements of the southern ama-Ndebele. His work, consisting of measured hand drawn documentation and analytical sketches was brought to a local and international audience though extensive publication and prolific lecturing.

As a practicing architect and as Professor of Architecture at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg for 30 years, he developed a contemporary architectural vocabulary that built on his research. This was, controversially, a fusion of modernist influences (notably Loos, RM Schindler and Guedes) and spatial models derived from a local tribal vernacular.
Peter soon began to engage with tribal communities, acting as an architect, a facilitator or an activist, believing that it was ordinary people who were most in need of his services.

After 1994, the establishment of democracy allowed Peter to engage with a series of important cultural heritage projects. All of these projects were funded by the South African government, using Cultural tourism initiatives to battle poverty and heal the deep wounds of apartheid.

A significant body of distinctive work is testament to a lifetime commitment to the creation of an architecture borne from a deep understanding of context achieved through sustained research into local conditions and close collaboration with communities.

The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre (awarded the "Building of the Year" at the World Architecture Festival in 2009) and the Alexandra Heritage Centre, both recently completed, have been widely published and applauded as mature built works, a culmination of a lifetimes passion for architecture and the uniquely African.

In 2010, in recognition of his achievements, Peter was awarded the prestigious Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects and The South African Institute of Architects Gold Medal (the highest award for Architectural achievement in South Africa).

"......boundless enthusiasm and passion for architecture in general and especially that of the indigenous African
buildings, their cultural significance, their interrelationships and their integration with the environment."
Gabriel Fagan, Nomination for AIA, September 2009