Port Elizabeth’s public spaces reflect diverse influences — from its colonial origins, to responses driven by climate and context, and attempts to honour history through memory. Professor Gavin McLachlan chooses five of the best.

Public spaces are essential to the workings of urban settlements. Professor Lucien le Grange’s choice of five places you have to visit in Cape Town all contest the growing tendency of “privatising” the city.

Durban’s sub-tropical climate calls for a different kind of architecture. We showcase five buildings, selected by Senior Professor of Architecture, Walter Peters, that respond to this climate.

Johannesburg is one of the few South African cities where the effects of societal segregation are visible in the urban landscape. These post-apartheid public buildings, chosen by Professor Lone Poulsen, explore issues of identity and memory.

Pretoria’s cultural, historical and climatic conditions have resulted in unique architectural expressions.