Practice Lecture Series: Kate Otten Architects
Date: 26 September 2023
Time: 18:00 - 19:00
Kate Otten established her practice a year after graduating and has developed it into one of South Africa’s most recognised practices with a varied and prolific body of work, including important public buildings and places of memory. She has received numerous awards in South Africa and internationally and has been widely published.
Kate Otten Architects is known for its focus on weaving together local materials, skills, politics, light, and landscape to create places that feed and nurture the human spirit. Her work is often described as having a ‘strong resonance of place.’ Kate is an active voice for transformative practice, particularly with respect to the role of women. During her term as President of the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA), her inclusive vision of ‘many voices’ was adopted as the theme for re-scripting the SAIA. Locally, she mentors young practitioners, and she examines, lectures and maintains strong links with several schools of architecture. Internationally, she is an informal ambassador for South African architecture through her engagements as speaker and juror at international events in locations as varied as Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Prague.