Karlien Thomashoff

Karlien Thomashoff qualified with distinction as an architect in 1992 at the University of Pretoria, RSA.

She completed post-graduate in-service training in the employment of an architecture studio specialising in the corporate sector in Düsseldorf, Germany. This was followed by a short spell locally in the public sector, employment with a large firm specialising in health care design, and a small studio specialising in educational and institutional design.

She registered as a professional architect in 1998 and opened her own studio in 1999. She acts as design specialist in projects ranging in scale from product design to master planning, refurbishments, furniture design, retail interiors, fabric design, space planning and road infrastructure design.

In 1996 she was chosen as a finalist for the bi-annual “SA Rome Scholarship in Architecture” for further studies at the British School of Architecture in Rome. She has been a key member on project teams chosen as finalists in several significant local design competitions, such as the “New Legislature Buildings” in Kimberley, North-Cape, RSA, and the “Transformation of Red Location” in Port-Elizabeth, Eastern-Cape, RSA.

In 2005, in association with MAAA, they were awarded a South African Institute of Architecture National Award of Merit for the design of Diamond Hill Toll Plaza. The project was also selected as the 2005 Over-all Winner of the South African Institute of Steel Construction Steel Awards.

She was the first South African member of DOCOMOMO, and is involved in furthering public awareness of protection of the historic built environment. In 1999 she was instrumental in compiling a publication and exhibition of local buildings of architectural merit.

In 2003 and 2007 she was appointed as adjudicator by the regional institute of architects for the bi-annual Regional Awards of Merit and acted as chairperson of the panel of adjudicators for the Murray and Roberts Des Baker Architectural Student Competition 2006.

Karlien often lectures part-time and frequently acts as examiner to design studios at the University of Pretoria, the Tshwane Unversity of Technology, and the Technical University of the Witwatersrand.
She has authored several articles in mainly trade publications on varied subjects such as historic preservation, technical innovation, and design critique.