Exhibition
Dates: 27 August – 4 October 2026
Venue: Oliewenhuis Art Museum (Main Building)
Lecture
Dates: 19:00 on Thursday, 27 August 2026
Venue: Fairview Conference Centre (formerly SEDCOM)
Exhibition Opening
Date: 21:00 on Thursday, 27 August 2026
Venue: Oliewenhuis Art Museum (Main Building)
The Department of Architecture at the University of the Free State launched the Sophia Gray Memorial Lecture and Exhibition series in 1989, initiated and conceptualised by Prof. Paul Kotze, in honour of the first active professional architect in Bloemfontein, who was also the first woman architect in South Africa.
Since then, the Department has presented the annual lecture, with the accompanying exhibition hosted at Oliewenhuis Art Museum as part of this long-standing programme. The architect selected to present the lecture and exhibition is chosen by departmental staff through a process of nomination and voting. The aims of the series are to highlight the contributions that architects and architecture make to society and to provide positive role models for the student body of the School of Architecture.
The laureates for 2026 are SAVAGE + DODD Architects.
