Over the last ten years, dhk Architects has more than doubled in size and our global footprint has grown exponentially. More than 60% of our work is based outside South Africa, with several projects in the Middle East and over 40 projects in 18 countries across Africa. Our international reach began as one or two early international project wins and expanded over the years into a deliberate global growth strategy.
dhk Chairman Derick Henstra says the expansion into international markets happened organically. “We had started to entrench our reputation locally and in parallel started winning work beyond South African borders. We wanted to grow our profile internationally and so we followed the opportunities,” Derick explains.
This strategy culminated in our announcement in March 2026 that we are joining 10N, a collective created by Egis Group.
In this article, we unpack that trajectory. Here, we tell the story of how a studio deeply rooted in South Africa has grown into an internationally recognised brand, evolving in terms of skillsets and technology, and turning shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic into catalytic opportunities.
early international foundations
dhk was formed through a merger in 1998 between Derick Henstra Architects (DHA) and KCvR Architects (KCvR). From early days, the studio’s ambition was to attract projects from an international client base. It didn’t take long for this ambition to be realised, starting with a competition win for the Laguna Palace Hotel in Venice. “As a personal touch, Derick [Henstra] and Paul [Krynauw], hand-delivered our competition submission to the client in Italy,” explains dhk Principal Peter Fehrsen. “The project became the catalyst for urban renewal in the area.” Completed in 2004, the hotel was the first foray into working beyond South African borders.
Derick explains: “As we built our business and brand here in South Africa, it was a natural progression that we would be noticed abroad. Once we won one or two projects, we became very intentional about extending our reach.” Closer to home, an Italian company commissioned dhk to design a building for the Mediterranean Shipping Co. on the Foreshore in Cape Town. The studio also worked on a mixed-use hotel and commercial complex masterplan in Padova, though it didn't proceed beyond local authority submission.
“Being commissioned by international clients also deepened our experience in terms of materials, budgets, international building standards and technologies that didn't yet exist in South Africa,” says Peter.
Following these successes, opportunities opened in other regions. In 2009, we delivered the Ahmed Baba Institute in Timbuktu, Mali, followed by the Kempinski Hotel in Seychelles, completed in 2011. We also developed several compelling proposals for projects across Africa, such as the Wangarĩ Maathai Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, which was envisaged to inspire a hub of activities focused on natural resource management and education for sustainable development.
covid-19: a catalyst
Appointed as MD in 2014, Renske is involved in all aspects of its financial, operational and strategic growth and development, alongside Derick as Chairman and nine other studio Principals. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 proved to be a transformative period. “During Covid, we realised how reliant a business of our size was on the South African market. Diversification and spreading our net wider were the keys to greater security,” says dhk Managing Director Renske Haller. “It [Covid] also taught us a lot about being efficient and driving the performance of the business. It was a big turning point in structuring ourselves better.
She explains. “International growth was a natural progression. We realised we have skills that are well-received in international markets. We have talented staff, and it wasn’t a struggle to take that leap.”
This diversification into new sector markets, both locally and internationally, lends flexibility as well as stability to the studio. “We targeted regions and specific project typologies and built the skillset to service projects accordingly,” explains Renske.
making an impact across africa
While the Johannesburg studio is dhk’s gateway to the continent, projects on the continent are delivered by teams in both Cape Town and Johannesburg studios, reinforcing the importance of the strong connections between the two offices.
dhk Principal Martin Lardner-Burke and Head of the Johannesburg studio explains: “The extent and depth of the work we already do across Africa, and especially in sub-Saharan Africa, has positioned us well as we embark on the next new chapter within the 10N Collective. Our Johannesburg studio is the ideal gateway and the team there is leading our expansion into the continent. The experience we've gained to date has given us a strong introduction to the different markets in the regions where we're currently working. Our integration into the collective offers us even greater opportunities to grow our footprint there.”
While the projects are diverse, the continental portfolio has a strong seam of residential and hospitality design, alongside some commercial projects. As of March 2026, we are delivering several projects in Africa, with projects on site in Seychelles, Mauritius and Côte d’Ivoire and others at various stages of design in Ghana, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria. Several of these involve dhk's urban design team and the interior design team at dhk Interior Design (dhki). These multidisciplinary collaborations inform how buildings and spaces interact and lay the foundation for how those spaces are used. dhki’s African portfolio includes proposals or schemes underway in DRC, Namibia and Mozambique.
the middle east: a new frontier
We started working in the Middle East just after the Covid pandemic. dhk Principal Steve Peters currently leads one of our biggest teams working in the region. He shares Renske's sentiments in that “if there was an upshot to the pandemic, it was that we were forced to actively start working remotely from each other. This placed us in good stead to communicate in real time internationally.”
But Steve also acknowledges that our first project in the Middle East was “a bit of a baptism of fire. We suddenly had a three-month deadline to produce concept design Revit models for a proposed island resort in the Red Sea, with a hotel, 30 apartment buildings, yacht club, restaurants, health centres and support facilities. We roped in the entire office and literally worked day and night including weekends. This was all done working alongside a concept architectural firm based in Italy and consultant teams based in the UAE and London.
“As a result of that initial success, we were awarded the next work stages for the village resort and yacht club. By that stage, we had established a dedicated team along with solid production ground rules,” he explains. Projects in the region currently underway include several hospitality projects and a residential building in Riyadh, KSA.
Our work on these projects was our introduction to the Egis group, through our relationship with U+A, which is one of the studios within the 10N Collective. The Egis executives had been impressed with our performance and this spurred them on to approach us about joining the collective.
The Middle East projects weren’t Steve’s first foray into international projects. In 2008, he was involved in the complete redevelopment of the former Plantation Club Resort and Casino, on the island of Mahé, Seychelles, to become the new Kempinski Hotel. This appointment included a vast private compound for the owner.
The Kempinski Seychelles project gave rise to others in the island regions, including Seafront Estate, a hospitality-focused project in the Seychelles that began mid-2023. In addition, we are currently working on three projects in Mauritius, including The Signature, a pioneering 24,000m ² mixed-use development project near Grand Baie, a precinct-led urban design masterplan, and a mixed-use retail and residential development in Beau Bassin, and more projects in the pipeline.
new ways of working: a technical evolution
Learning how to manage complex projects across multiple geographies required an evolution in terms of production, systems and processes, as a necessary alignment with international best practices, says Steve: “Our remit on international projects required us to produce fully coordinated and classified BIM models up to LOD350, in line with ISO 19650, to ultimately hand over a digital twin of the building to contractors as the as-built set, rather than preparing a set of 2D drawings created from 3D models, which is the typical approach in South Africa.”
The Middle East expansion stimulated the growth of the building information modelling (BIM) team, to respond to the growing demand for digital delivery standards across the industry. To deliver at this level, we switched to a cloud-based platform, delivering correctly geolocated models so that all disciplines could contribute to a single federated model. “Our clients have exacting demands and so the emphasis is on ensuring that the models are as clash-free as possible,” says Steve.
This BIM capability is rare in South African studios, and so the need to evolve to deliver on projects in fact enabled us to become much more competitive as a studio operating on the global stage.
“Other learnings on the Middle East projects, such as different building codes, presented other nuances,” says Steve, “but we’re fortunate to be part of large international multi-disciplinary teams, so there is always willing assistance, if required.”
secret to success and looking ahead
The dhk management team shares the view that success in international projects is about skillset, approachability and being adaptable to aspects such as construction sequence changes, procurement and clear communication. This philosophy is exemplified by team members like dhk Senior Associate Michelle Coetzee, who has been working alongside Steve on international projects since joining dhk in July 2022. She believes dhk brings deep experience, unwavering dedication and a strong commitment to delivering high-quality architecture. This manifests in design and in the clarity of the drawings and documentation required to communicate effectively across distances and disciplines. “We’re also agile. We absorb and manage change without compromising on design integrity or execution quality,” she says. For her, “collaboration is central to successful project delivery and strong teamwork, built on trust, shared goals and open communication.”
Beyond technical considerations, our team has embraced the richness of international work. Since the earliest international project in 2004, our studio’s track record has only strengthened, and this agility and adaptability will be key as we transition into the 10N Collective.
Steve reflects: “The culture is fantastic. I love engaging with people from different backgrounds. The people you work with become friends. Even the travel requirement evolves into a lifestyle, and one looks forward to the next trip.”
This resonates deeply with Renske, who believes the challenges are enriching and invigorating. “You take something away from each of those projects, whether it’s relationships or a better understanding of how to build in a different part of the world. In my case, I have fallen in love with Seychelles; it will probably stay with me my entire life,” she says.
