Who we are

The page FEAT. represents the work designed and curated by Morné and Marguerite Pienaar in practice over the past 15+ years, and includes academic work and research outputs.

Morné’s career in short

• A registered senior architect and urban designer with over 20 years’ experience in practice.
• An award-winning architect/urban designer with a strong portfolio whose work has been published and exhibited internationally.
• Previously a design director at the firm HolmJordaan Architects & Urban Designers where he led a dynamic team to achieve the implementation of several complex projects across Africa.
• Led master planning and neighborhood-scale work for more than ten years.
• Implemented award-winning, complex architectural designs with attention to detailing and on-site management.
• Contributed several chapters to the compendium Building Construction Standards for South Africa (Architective), published in 2014.
• Community service include being on the adjudication panel for the regional awards of merit for the Free State Institute for Architecture.

Marguerite’s career in short

• A registered senior architect with 18 years’ experience in practice.
• An award-winning architect with a strong portfolio whose work has been published extensively.
• Currently a partner at the firm FEAT. Architects & Urban Designers
• Design director, multi-tasking on the delivery of several architectural concept designs, urban design projects, and heritage related design projects for high-end clients.
• Previously a director at the firm HolmJordaan Architects & Urban Designers.
• Led a dynamic design team to achieve the implementation of several ambitious projects.
• Expertise ranges from architectural design across a broad spectrum of building typologies, from concept design to close-out of projects.
• Work experience includes both the private sector and large government projects
• Experience includes spatial planning, housing design, design-related advisory input, and heritage work.
• Urban precinct design experience and team leader for several multidisciplinary urban projects.
• Liaison with all role players and coordination of professional inputs.
• Senior researcher for the South African-based book, the Africa Drawn Project (DOM, 2015), which focused on researching, visualizing, and curating cities in Africa.
• Awarded the internationally acclaimed Student Charter Award by the Congress for the New Urbanism in 2018.
• Design awards include awards of merit for the Wilgers Medical Pavilion, Pretoria (2017), the Novi Skin Centre, Pretoria (2013), and the Refilwe Urban upgrade, Cullinan.
• Completed a post-graduate master’s degree cum laude at the University in Pretoria and was subsequently awarded the Neil Powell Neil Post-Graduate Award for the best completed post-graduate studies through research in 2014.
• External examiner and continues to lecture at accredited institutions in South Africa, especially focusing on architectural design and research-based subjects.
• Invited to present the half-centennial Norman Eaton Memorial Lecture for the Mpumalanga Institute for Architects, White River, Mpumalanga.
• Contributor to several other publications, including the Building Construction Standards for South Africa/ARCHITECTIVE (2014).
• Read papers at the “Entangled Histories” EAHN Conference, Belgrade (2015) and “Next Stop Kumasi” (2007), Kumasi, Ghana.
• Invited speaker at the “Dialogue 25” Conference, Bloemfontein
• Invited speaker at “helloambassador 2015”.
• Taught design, construction and theory courses at the University of Pretoria in the third year undergraduate exit level over a number of years.