BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT: As per the definition in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (No. 53 of 2003) as amended by B-BBEE Act 46 of 2013 (The Act), the primary objective of B-BBEE in South Africa is to redress economic imbalances from the apartheid era by facilitating the meaningful inclusion of black South Africans in the economy.

BRIEF AUTHOR: Person responsible for writing the competition briefs and criteria, on behalf of the client.

CLIENT: The University of Cape Town, through its Properties and Services Department, which will be executing the project, and it’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, which conceptualised and raised funds for the project, and which will be the ultimate end user.

COMPETITION ADMINISTRATOR: a person who functions as an impartial intermediary between the client, brief author, jury, participants and technical advisors

COMPETITION BRIEFS: The documents that establish the participant’s obligations in participating in a design competition and the client’s undertakings in administering a design competition and evaluating submissions.

COMPETITION WEBSITE: The online platform that outlines the criteria of the competition, for the registration of participants; accessing of competition documents and briefs; submission of entries and for communication with the competition administrator. It is available at the following URL: https://uctnelsonmandelacompetition.org/.

JUROR: An individual member of the jury.

JURY: A group of professionals, client representatives and/or specialists who are independent of participants in the competition who collectively decide on the outcome of the competition based on the response to the competition briefs and criteria.

PARTICIPANT: a person who following a call for registration is admitted to the competition.

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT: a person who may be appointed by the client to advise the adjudication panel or the competition administrator on any technical matter relating to the competition

SOUTH AFRICAN STANDARD TIME (SAST): South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in either time zone.

VAT: Value Added Tax in South Africa is an indirect tax of 15% on the consumption of goods and services, levied at each stage of production and distribution

ZAR: South African Rand

The UCT Nelson Mandela Memorial Centre and School of Public Governance architectural design competition is a two-stage architectural design competition. An online registration process will launch the competition as a way of inviting expressions of interest.

a) To be eligible, participants must confirm one of the following:

i. Membership of an architectural body or institute affiliated with, and in good standing with, the African Union of Architects (see Appendix A);
or
ii. Membership of the South African Institute of Architects or one of its regional voluntary associations; or
iii. Registration with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession.

Student members of the above institutions are also eligible to participate.

b) Participants may register as an individual participant or as an entity. Their registrations should reflect how they are entering: An entity will submit its practice number.

c) No person or entities who have been involved in any of the following may register to enter the competition:

i. preparation of any of the competition documents;
ii. preparation of the urban design report for the competition site;
iii. preparation of the positioning brief;
iv. preparation of the competition briefs;
v. preparation of the heritage impact assessment;
vi. administration of the competition;
vii. endorsing of the competition;
viii. or be a member of the jury;

d) No staff member of the University of Cape Town is eligible to enter the competition.

e) There is no registration fee for admission into the competition.

f) Participants/ entities are restricted to a maximum of two entries for stage 1 of the competition.

g) Should the participant be shortlisted and qualify to proceed to Stage 2, the participant will be required to form or be part of an entity and adhere to further eligibility requirements outlined below in 2.5.2.2.

h) No Stage 2 participants may take part in the statutory public participation processes to evaluate the Heritage Impact Assessment & competition guidelines.

i) It will be a requirement that the submitting Stage 2 entity / architectural practice is a paid-up member of the South African Institute for Architects (SAIA).

a) Individual participants or participating teams are to be registered with their national architectural institute or body that is recognised, and in good standing, with the African Union of Architects (AUA) or SACAP as described in point 2.1. a). A list of AUA member architectural institutes is published in Appendix A.

b) Participants are to register on the competition website by 11:59pm on 28 July 2026 to be admitted into the competition. They will need to confirm all  necessary details and confirm they have read the architectural design competition rules.

c) Participants will be notified of successful registration via the email address that they have used to register. They will be informed of their unique anonymous code, by email, which is to be used for all correspondence and submissions.

2.3.1 Design Submission:

a) The jury will make a selection of up to eight participants to be put forward for consideration to Stage 2 of the competition based on their Stage 1 design submissions as per point 2.5.1.1.
b) The submissions will be scored out of 100 points as set out below to give the design score ranking and final ranking score to be combined with the B-BBEE score from point 2.3.2. below.:

2.3.2 Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE):

a) South African participants/ entities are to submit a certified Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) certificate or B-BBEE exempted affidavit for exempted Micro Enterprises (issued in terms of the Amended Construction Sector Code) (see Appendix B). Should participants not have either they can check the Not Applicable Box on the Competition Website. Start-ups are to declare a R0.00 turnover on the affidavit.
b) Should non-South African wish to get a B-BBEE rating they will need to joint venture with a South African practice, or sub-contract with a South African architectural practice with a B-BBEE certificate.
c) Formal joint ventures and partnerships will require a joint B-BBEE certificate by an accredited rating agency.
d) Informal collaborations or sub-contracting joint ventures may submit under the registered participant’s B-BBEE certificate or the registered participant’s entity’s BBBEE certificate.
e) The B-BBEE Score will be added to the ranking score with a ratio of the B-BBEE score out of 10 possible points, added to the Stage 1 design ranking score out of 90 possible points.

a) The top eight (8) scoring participants will be put forward to Stage 2 of the competition after combining the B-BBEE rating score (2.3.2) and design ranking scores (2.3.1) received from the jurors. The jury reserves the right to select fewer Stage 2 participants should they deem only a certain number of submissions to be of sufficient quality.

b) Participants will be notified via email that they have been selected for Stage 2 of the competition. Names of the Stage 2 participants will not be made public and are to remain anonymous.

The competition is a two-stage competition.

Both stages are a 2 “envelope” submission with a separate design and procurement submission.

2.5.1. Stage 1 Submission
This is a ‘2-envelope submission’ with a separate design and procurement
submission, both completed online.

2.5.1.1. Stage 1 Design Ideas Submission: “Envelope” 1

a) The stage 1 design submission will be an online submission on the competition website of an A4 PDF booklet of up to 10 pages answering the issues in the Stage 1 competition brief.
b) The submissions are to comply with all requirements stipulated in the Stage 1 competition brief.
c) No reference to any person or practice, nor any identifying markers or logos shall be contained on the design submission. Should any reference be made to any person or practice in the design submission, the participant will be disqualified.
d) Only the unique anonymous code is to indicate the participant.

2.5.1.2. Stage 1 Procurement Submission: “Envelope” 2

a) Each stage 1 participant/ team will be required to upload, onto the competition website, their certified B-BBEE exempted affidavit for exempted Micro Enterprises (see Appendix B)
b) Should the participant be an entity the B-BBEE certificate will be required to be that of the same entity.
c) Should a participant not have a B-BBEE certificate or not be from South Africa they will tick the “Not applicable” submission box
d) Participants may joint venture, partner, or sub-contract to ensure they achieve a higher B-BBEE level. This will require a joint B-BBEE certificate by an accredited ratings company.
e) Only the procurement evaluation team, competition administrator and website administrator will have access to the B-BBEE documents to ensure the jury is not aware of any participants’ identities.

2.5.2. Stage 2 Submission

a) This is a 2 “envelope” submission with a separate design and procurement submission, both completed online with a physical submission for the design submission.

2.5.2.1. Stage 2 Design Submission: “Envelope” 1

a) This submission will entail physical A1 posters and an online PDF
submission on the competition website.
b) Maximum of six A1 posters as per the template to be provided in the Stage 2 competition brief.
c) Address details for the physical submission will be included in the Stage 2 competition brief.
d) Separate high-quality images will be requested for publishing purposes.
e) The submissions are to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Stage 2 competition brief.
f) No reference to any person or practice, nor any identifying markers or logos, shall be contained on the design submission. Should any reference be made to any person or practice in the Stage 2 design submission, the participant will be disqualified.
g) Only the unique anonymous code is to indicate the participant.

2.5.2.2. Stage 2 Procurement Submission: “Envelope” 2

a) Participants selected to go forward to Stage 2 will need to ensure they form a team that complies with the following requirements:

i. Submitting Stage 2 entities must be SACAP-registered architectural practices or be in a joint venture/ partnership agreement with a SACAPregistered architectural practice.
ii. Shortlisted non-South African entrant firms/ participants will need to joint venture with a SACAP-registered architectural practice for Stage 2.
iii. The lead architect for the practice must be a SACAP-registered professional architect.
iv. Individuals or non-architectural SACAP-registered practices must partner with SACAP-registered architectural practices
v. Design leads without sufficient experience will be required to joint venture with an implementing architect.
vi. SAIA practice registration is mandatory for Stage 2 shortlisted entities (or a joint venture with a SAIA-registered practice must be formed).

b) All documents will be submitted online on the competition website as PDF’s or as otherwise stated.

c) The Stage 2 procurement submission will not form part of the juror’s adjudication, nor will they have an impact on the selection of the winning entity.

d) Detailed requirements will be stipulated in the Stage 2 competition brief. The following returnables will be required:

• Entity partner and joint venture (if applicable) specifics (inter alia jv agreement, organisational chart, design lead and implementing architect details)
• SAIA practice registration
• Team capacity (team details/CVs)
• Professional qualifications
• Company registration and information (i.e. CIPC; SACAP registered architectural practice)
• Registration with professional bodies (e.g. SACAP)Registration of leading practice with SAIA
• Tax clearance certificate (current and valid SARS compliance certificate with PIN)
• VAT registration
• Signatories authority (with board resolution if applicable)
• Declaration of interest
• Confidentiality agreement
• Declaration of bidder’s past supply chain management practices
• Protection of Personal Information Act: Consent
• Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Certificate
• Purchasing Terms and Conditions
• Letter of Good Standing for COIDA
• Proof of UIF registration
• Proof of Public Liability Cover
• Previous relevant experience and references
• Central Supplier Database (CSD) registration
• Professional Indemnity insurance (entrants to submit proof of PI w/ minimum base cover of R3M, incl. letter confirming cover can be increased to R10M)
• Location information
• Company organogram indicating intended resources allocated to the UCT contract
• Legal standing

e) Nominations of professionals: This nomination is optional and should be limited to professional consultants who contributed to the Stage 2 submission in an advisory or collaborative capacity. Preference will be given to South African professional consultants involved in the winning scheme. Further details regarding appointment processes will be issued with the Stage 2 brief.
f) Note that the University of Cape Town’s procurement department reserves the right to request further documents or, following evaluation, request changes to the joint venture/ partnership or improvements required for capacity and implementation.
g) There is no tendering of fees that will form part of the competition.

a) Submissions, documents, and other communication shall be in English.

b) Late submissions will not be accepted and shall be discarded. Participants will be notified if their entries were late or disqualified.

c) Dates and times for submissions will be stipulated in the competition briefs and shown on the competition website. Dates and times will be based on South African Standard Time (SAST).

d) The Client will not compensate participants for any costs incurred in the preparation and delivery of a submission.

e) The Client will not take out any insurance for the submissions.

f) The Stage 2 submissions will remain the property of UCT. Should the participant wish to retrieve their submissions they will need to arrange and pay for the collection. Submissions will be kept for a total of 30 days after the exhibition is over.

g) Participants are encouraged to communicate their ideas graphically. The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not encouraged. AI may be used as a representational tool, but not as a generator of design ideas or submission
content. Any use of AI must be clearly referenced. All participants will be required to complete an AI declaration for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 submissions.

h) Use of hyperlinked or embedded multimedia material is not permitted.

a) There is a ZAR 75 000 (incl. VAT) honorarium for each of the eight Stage 2 participants, subject to the jury deeming the submissions to be of an acceptable standard.

b) The winner will be based purely on the decision of the jury.

c) There will be only one winner for the competition, and no runners up will be announced.

d) The Stage 2 submissions will be publicly exhibited both physically and online on the competition website. A submission may be disregarded should the jury deem the quality to not be sufficient for exhibiting.

e) The intention of the competition is that the winning design team will be appointed to undertake the implementation of the UCT Nelson Mandela Memorial Centre and School of Public Governance, pending final negotiations and agreement.

The winning design will be subject to the statutory approval process by Heritage Western Cape, prior to submission of building plans.

a) The unique anonymous code provided to each participant upon successful registration is to be used to indicate the participant.

b) The names of the participants admitted to the competition shall be kept confidential until such time that the names of prize winners are announced.

c) All submissions are to only be marked with the anonymous code assigned by the competition website. No submission document or communication with the administrator shall bear the name, logo or signature of the participant that will reveal the identity of the participant. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

d) Participants shall not contact the client, members of the jury or other participants. They shall be eliminated from the competition if they do so. They may only communicate with the competition administrator through the competition website.

e) The competition administrator shall not under any circumstances divulge the identity of the participants to members of the adjudication panel.

f) Participants shall not advertise, share or publish their submissions on any platform, including social media, until the final announcement of the winner is made. Should the participants break the conditions of anonymity, they will be disqualified.

a) The client, jury, technical advisers, and the competition administrators shall keep all events or actions taken before, during and after the adjudication confidential.

a) All communication with the competition administrator will be strictly through the competition website.

Registration
Clarifications on the registration may be requested up to 5:00pm on 9 July 2026 SAST
Answers will be provided on the competition website by 16 July 2026

Stage 1
Clarifications on the brief may be requested up to 5:00pm on 21 August 2026
Answers will be provided to all registered competition participants by 28 August 2026

Stage 2
2 rounds of clarifications are allowed for.
First round clarifications on the brief may be requested up to 5:00pm on 20 October 2026
Answers will be provided to all Stage 2 competition participants by 3 November 2026
Second round of clarifications on the brief may be requested up to 5:00pm SAST on 12 February 2027
Answers will be provided to all Stage 2 participants by 19 February 2027

Any revisions to these dates will be sent to all Stage 2 participants.

The key role of the administrator is to maintain the integrity of the competition through fairness, impartiality and strict adherence to the principles and program of the outlined process.

The competition administrator shall be responsible for:

a) Registering all submissions.

b) Answering all queries and questions raised online from participants and answering such questions through the competition website.

c) Confirming that submissions and the actions of the participants are in accordance with the submission requirements.

d) Briefing the jurors.

e) Issuing and displaying the submissions to the jury.

f) Arranging for the attendance of any technical advisors if required by the jury; and

g) Planning and making arrangements for the exhibition; and

h) Ensuring that the competition results are uploaded on the competition website within 30 days of the announcement of the competition winner.

i) The competition administrator shall upon receipt of submissions:

o Confirm compliance with the requirements of the competition rules and disqualify any submission which is in breach of such requirements.
o Exclude any participant’s submission whose drawings, photographs, models or other documents that are not conforming to the terms of the competition brief.
o Review each submission and prepare a brief report which highlights any failure in a submission to address requirements of the brief or to provide information that is required and deviations from competition requirements.
o Submit the report referred to above together with the associated submissions to the jury.
o The competition administrator shall assist the jury and be present during adjudication but shall not participate in any discussion relating to the merits of any submission or express an opinion during the deliberations of the adjudication panel relating to the award of prizes, or the ranking of submissions.

a) The Stage 2 finalists shall be exhibited for at least two months. Such exhibition shall be open to the public without charge.

a) The winning participant or entrant will be asked to enter into a contract with the University of Cape Town. The University of Cape Town reserves the right to request the winning entity to joint venture, partner or make amendments to their partnership should the winning entity not have sufficient capacity or experience, or their JV partner is blacklisted. This will only be done through mutual agreement.

b) The winning design will be expected to provide a full service as per South African Council for the Architectural Profession, Guideline Professional Fees in terms of Section 34 (2) of the Architectural Profession Act, Act 44 of 2000.

c) The winning participant will be required, as part of their Standard Service, to provide or assist in the following services to take the proposal through the remaining approvals processes:

i. Prepare and/or revise the design with the University of Cape Town
ii. Prepare information for the Heritage Impact Assessment for Heritage
Western Cape approval.
iii. Approval from the City of Cape Town (CCT) for any consent application to work in terms of the Municipal Planning Bylaw. This will be submitted simultaneously with the submission of building plans for approval.
iv. Submission to CCT for approval in terms of the National Building
Regulations.

d) The University of Cape Town reserves the right to make any changes to the competition conditions (dates, requirements, etc.). Participants will be notified via email of any changes to the conditions, dates or the competition briefs.

e) The breach of any terms defined in this document and the competition brief may result in the immediate disqualification of the participant.

Any changes to the dates will be communicated to all participants of the affected stage.

a) All decisions of the jury taken in good faith shall be final and binding on the client and competitors.

b) It shall be a condition of the competition that a dispute of any nature not related to the adjudication process or the awarding of prizes, shall be settled by arbitration. The conditions shall state that, in the event of a dispute, the President of SAIA shall nominate the arbitrator, and the cost of the arbitration shall be borne equally between the two parties.

c) Any dispute should be submitted through the competition website.