studio
leadership

AJ Scheuble
AssociateAlbert-John studied at the Nelson Mandela University, attended the St Lucas School of Arts in Ghent, Belgium, on an exchange programme and has completed various part-time urban design courses at the University of Cape Town. With 18 years’ experience in the industry, he has worked on varied local and international projects across scale, from master planning new city precincts to high-rise residential projects. AJ joined dhk in 2006 and is now an associate. His key focus is on delivery – interpreting the client brief, producing the necessary documentation and guiding the engineering disciplines, whilst keeping a close eye on programme and cost.

Anette Potgieter
Partner / Head of FinanceAnette has worked as a financial manager in the architectural industry since 1991 and joined dhk in 2001. She became partner and head of finance in 2009 and is responsible for the financial management of the company at both the Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.

Brinley Pritchard
Senior AssociateAfter graduating from the University of the Free State, Brinley worked in South Africa, Seychelles and Ireland. He joined dhk in 2008 and worked in the Johannesburg office from 2012 to 2015, and is now in the Cape Town studio. Brinley has experience in a wide range of project types, but his specialities include residential apartment buildings, housing and luxury hotel projects, concentrating on design, documentation and site management.

Claudia Mela
AssociateClaudia completed her

Derick Henstra
Founding Partner / Executive ChairmanDerick studied his architectural degree at the University of Cape Town and also completed a course in building studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He founded Derick Henstra Architects in 1983 after which dhk was established in 1998 to form a multi-disciplinary design studio.
Derick is a founding partner and the executive chairman of dhk, and is a member of the board of directors. He leads the design review board which examines the architectural projects throughout the company’s Cape Town and Johannesburg studios. His passion lies in the pursuit of good architecture and design with a focus on the urban context, and under his leadership dhk has established a reputation as an innovative design-driven commercial practice.

Fahiema Regal
AssociateFahiema joined dhk in 2004 as an architectural technologist and has more than 15 years’ experience in the industry. She has been responsible for the detailing, documentation and coordination on a range of projects including hospitality, retail, residential and commercial buildings.

Guy Briggs
Partner / Director / Head of Urban DesignGuy has been head of urban design at dhk since 2012 and is a member of the board of directors. He was previously based in London, where he specialised in urban regeneration, development strategy, and masterplanning. Guy is a member of UDISA and chairperson of its steering committee, as well as the V&A Waterfront Design Review Committee. He is also a member of the Academy of Urbanism and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK. He teaches at the University of Cape Town, has been widely published, and regularly gives public presentations on regeneration, urbanism and sustainability. Guy also sits on the dhk design review board.

Johan Moolman
AssociateJohan studied architecture at

John De Klerk
Senior AssociateJohn studied architecture at the University of the Witwatersrand and is a leading figure within the Johannesburg studio. He is responsible for the delivery of large- and small-scale projects including mixed-use and retail developments of significant complexity while maintaining the highest professional and technical standards. John’s experience includes developing projects from inception, commissioning and managing multidisciplinary teams, implementation and delivering on clients’ business objectives. He is also versed in sustainable development and masterplanning related to commercial, leisure and retail projects.

Kevin Stein
AssociateKevin obtained his degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. Following this, he gained experience working on large-scale mixed-use and residential projects where he developed strong technical and design skills. Kevin’s current architectural area is high-end bespoke projects with a focus on principal agency and project management. He is highly skilled in Revit, Dynamo, AutoCAD as well as the Adobe Creative Suite, and is a registered member of SACAP.

Leigh Bishop
Partner / DirectorLeigh joined dhk as a partner and member of the board of directors in 2019. She studied architecture at the University of Kwazulu-Natal and is a SACAP registered professional architect. Leigh has over 16 years’ experience in the industry and has worked for several prominent firms throughout her career. Before joining dhk, Leigh established her practice Leigh Bishop Architects in Durban and from 2009 to 2018 she managed projects from inception to completion in the healthcare, high-end residential and commercial sectors. Leigh has an immense enthusiasm for architecture, providing considered design solutions with speed and efficiency.

Martin Lardner-Burke
PartnerMartin studied architecture at the University of Cape Town before reading an MPhil in Environmental Design in Architecture and completing his RIBA Part 3 at the University of Cambridge. Martin is a senior associate at

Peter Fehrsen
Founding Partner / Head of Johannesburg StudioPeter studied architecture at the University of Cape Town and was a principal design partner at KCvR Architects before co-founding dhk in 1998. He leads the Johannesburg studio and travels between there and Cape Town. Together with Derick Henstra, he leads the design review board overseeing the design development of the studio’s projects. Peter brings his experience in conceptual design and masterplanning through to detailed design development to dhk’s projects across the board. He has been active in many significant urban renewal and projects in South Africa and abroad, and represents dhk’s projects in Italy.

Peter Stokes
PartnerPeter graduated from the Canterbury School of

Pierre Swanepoel
PartnerPierre studied architecture at the University of Cape Town, as well as the University College London, UK. Prior to joining

Renske Haller
Partner / Managing DirectorRenske obtained her architectural degree from the University of Cape Town and has worked in South Africa, the UK and the Netherlands where she also gained experience in urban design. She joined dhk in 2006 and was appointed as a partner in 2009. In 2014, Renske joined the board of directors and took on the role of managing director. She has experience in a range of projects at varying scales and complexities, from spatial development frameworks and masterplanning to individual buildings, public spaces and landscapes. She currently leads a team working on several private residences, boutique hotels and galleries. Renske also sits on the dhk design review board.

Rezah Parker
AssociateRezah studied architecture at

Sarah Patterson
Senior AssociateSarah is a Cape Town-based architect and urban designer who has spent the last 13 years working on
Sarah is interested in the continuing debate on how to make urban environments more equitable and inclusive through the adaptation and refinement of both public and privately-owned spaces. More recently she has focused her energy on the education sector, particularly the spatial implications in designing for shifting pedagogies and the digital teaching environment.
Sarah has participated in public seminars, workshops

Steve Peters
Partner / Head of Technical DesignSteve studied architectural technology at the

Wardah Razak
AssociateWardah studied her architectural degree at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and has also completed post-graduate courses in Construction and Human Resources Management. She joined dhk in 2006 and has since been involved in a wide range of construction and building typologies across all stages of the architectural process. Wardah is extremely passionate about learnerships, heading dhk’s mentorship portfolio which offers guidance and support to interns, as well as, bursary students throughout their tertiary education and early careers. Furthermore, Wardah is involved in business development which aims to optimise organisational efficiency and is also a member of the dhk staff forum.