Francois Marais Architects

Established in 1996, Francois Marais Architects has been instrumental in the South African architectural field for over 20 years. Our dynamic and diverse practice spans from Johannesburg to Cape Town, showcasing its expertise in providing signature designs across South Africa, whilst continuing to grow our projects throughout Africa. Individual attention to each client’s needs is fundamental to ensuring that the resulting design is of the highest quality and functionality as well as becoming a signature landmark on the landscape. The South African climate also plays a vital role, and with individual attention to detail, a unique design is always borne. Our desire to seek new challenges continues to push design abilities to the limit. Not afraid to experiment with designs beyond the norm, it is not unusual to see buildings designed by this firm employing free flowing elements that push the engineering limits. Structures and design elements are often encouraged to blur the division between the interior and exterior, encouraging users of the building to embrace the African climate. Conscious of social, cultural and material context, Francois Marais’ designs are borne out of the dynamic of the site and fused with functional needs, structural integrity, orientation, light, water and landscaping. These abilities have earned him the employment as principle architect on many large developments, including luxury residences, cluster developments, game lodges, hotels, shopping centers and offices, both locally and internationally. Francois Marais Architects is one of the leading Architects in green design in South Africa and pride ourselves on creating buildings that are energy efficient and Green Star rated.