For the first time since the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) established its President’s Medals in 1836, a South African architecture student has been named a recipient. Glory Kamthunzi, MArch(Prof) graduate from the University of the Free State (UFS), has been awarded the 2025 RIBA Silver Medal, placing her work at the forefront of international architectural education in a year that drew a record 378 submissions. She received the award in London during a ceremony on Wednesday 3 December.

Presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for 189 years, the President’s Medals recognise the world’s best work by architecture students. In 2025, the awards received a record number of 378 entries, with up to five commendations being awarded in each category, mirroring last year’s number and diversity of prizes. The RIBA Silver Medal was awarded to Glory Kamthunzi for her project Dialogues in Sticks & Stones: Spatial testimonies of the East African slave trade in Nkhotakota, Malawi, nominated by the University of the Free State. This is the first time a RIBA President’s Medal has been awarded to the UFS or to any school of architecture in South Africa.

Her project reimagines a rural memorial on the Nkhotakota lakeshore in Malawi, where the histories of the Swahili Arab slave trade, David Livingstone’s missions, and local African chiefdoms meet. Combining a slave route memorial centre with a beachside fishing village, the proposed design forms a contemplative commemorative landscape that brings together history, heritage, and healing.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, remarks: “This achievement is pioneering, because it reframes architecture as a vessel for memory and justice, not just design. Glory Kamthunzi’s work transforms forgotten histories into living spaces, proving that African narratives can lead global innovation in architectural thought.”

A project shaped by personal history and careful attention to place

Kamthunzi describes the moment she received the news as one of complete disbelief. “I was completely shocked. It genuinely took a moment to reconcile that it was real. The idea that a virtually unknown story from my little nation of Malawi could suddenly be recognised on a global stage felt almost impossible to grasp – but filled me with pride.” Reading the judges’ assessment intensified the feeling: “Honestly, it was unfathomable. No one imagines their dissertation, something crafted in the obscurity and intensity of a studio, being acknowledged on such an extraordinary scale.”

Her engagement with the history of enslavement in East Africa began more than a decade ago. She recalls visiting Stone Town as a teenager and later returning to Nkhotakota in 2019, where a local guide narrated the story of the slave route. “That was the moment everything connected: that those souls confined in Stone Town had been my own people, Malawians – brutalised, dehumanised, and commodified. This dissertation became an ode to the enslaved Malawians who passed through Nkhotakota, Karonga, Mangochi, Phalombe, and the greater Lake Malawi region. It is my personal act of remembrance.”

This connection shaped her architectural approach. “For me, architecture becomes a vessel for testimony when it listens to its context. Instead of imposing a monument, I allow six historical relics along the route to become ‘object witnesses,’ with my design as architectural mementos engaging them in a dialogue.” She aimed “to create a quiet, dignified landscape where history can be felt, acknowledged, and honoured without interrupting the emerging community.”

Designing for a living village required sensitivity: “The biggest challenge was avoiding the temptation of monumentalisation, ensuring the project honoured the enslaved without freezing the village in trauma.”

“From Nkhotakota to the world stage, this milestone proves that research and creativity from our continent can lead global conversations in design and heritage,” says Prof Reddy.

Implications for architectural education

Kamthunzi believes the recognition speaks to the strength of architectural discourse on the continent. “It means a great deal. For me, the most meaningful part is the recognition of the calibre of work produced in South African architecture schools. This award affirms that the thinking, research, and design coming from our continent is powerful and globally relevant.” She hopes it encourages emerging designers: “I want young African designers to know that our voices are valid, our stories are necessary, and we deserve a seat at the global table.”

Prof Reddy says, “The RIBA Silver Medal is a global benchmark. Glory’s success affirms the excellence of South African architectural education and the bold vision of UFS scholars.”

Academic guidance and the path to RIBA

Kamthunzi credits her supervisor, Dr Martie Bitzer, for shaping the project’s direction: “She has always encouraged me to be bold, to find my voice, and to recognise the narrative potential of architecture.” 

Reflecting on Kamthunzi’s development, Dr Bitzer notes: “I had the privilege of teaching Glory Kamthunzi in both her first and third undergraduate years, where her exceptional design talent and natural aptitude for visual communication were evident from the outset. I was further privileged to guide her during her dissertation year as supervisor, during which I observed the continual refinement and maturation of these abilities. Her master’s project demonstrates her command of the conceptual, technical, and ethical demands of our discipline. Glory’s work is grounded in her ability to translate complex and contemporary theoretical ideas into built form – resulting in structures that are spatially sophisticated and poetically expressive. Her work reveals architecture’s ability to hold and heal memory, which resonates deeply within the South African landscape, where the traces of segregation remain embedded in space and experience.”

Kamthunzi describes the guidance of internal examiner Prof Jonathan Noble as formative: “His feedback, readings, and references were essential in sharpening my intellectual framework.” Although she was not nominated for the Corobrik Award due to technical documentation requirements, Prof Noble advised submitting to RIBA. “I decided early on that my dissertation was bigger than the academic journey, it was an offering to the site and to the memory of the enslaved.”

Looking ahead, Kamthunzi hopes to extend the project. “The site spans one kilometre and contains six remnant points of the 19th-Century slave trade. I would love to complete the full loop.” She also plans to continue practising: “I believe architects are servants; we must listen to the spatial voices of communities.”