Lines Through Time

2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of GLH Architects, a Johannesburg-based architectural firm whose longevity and enduring legacy place it amongst a handful of firms in the South African context to have survived the vicissitudes of shifting political regimes, economic downturns, urban transformation and profound societal shifts. Over the course of eighty years GLH has established itself as one of the foremost South African architectural firms, each decade being characterised by a number of landmark buildings and projects that serve as important markers of the social, cultural and political contexts in which they were produced. As such, they remind us of the importance of the built environment in giving shape and substance to our needs of the present and our ambitions for the future. Set against the backdrop of the turbulent and relentless change that characterises both the history of Johannesburg and the South African building industry over the last eighty years, this book acknowledges the importance of GLH’s historical legacy in shaping the present, while reflecting also on its role in rising to the challenges of designing for the twenty-first century.