Working With an Eswatini Architect on Projects Across Africa
By Lionel Chambers, founding architect, Chambers & Associates Architects · Ezulwini, Eswatini Published 25 June 2026
Can an Eswatini architect deliver projects across Africa?
Yes. Chambers & Associates Architects is based in Ezulwini, Eswatini, and the firm's built work is not limited to Eswatini. It has completed projects in two other countries and across more than one sector, below are just a few:
Project | Location | Country | Sector | CAA's role |
Emerald Grand Hotel | Victoria Island, Lagos | Nigeria | Hospitality | Architect · Principal Agent · Project Manager · Interior Coordinator |
Simbavati Game Lodge | Kruger area | South Africa | Hospitality | Architect · Principal Agent · Project Manager · Interior Coordinator |
Private Residences | Hermanus | South Africa | Residential | Architect |
The practice has worked across borders since it was founded in 1993. On the two hospitality projects it held all four of the roles it offers — architect, principal agent, project manager and interior coordinator — so the client dealt with one firm for the whole project rather than coordinating several appointments across a border.
Where has Chambers & Associates worked outside Eswatini?
In Nigeria and South Africa, with built projects in each.
Nigeria — the Emerald Grand Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos. An urban hotel combining guest rooms, conferencing, dining and wellness facilities in one compact building. See the project
South Africa — Simbavati Game Lodge in the Kruger area, a safari lodge planned around its site and built largely from natural materials; and private residences in Hermanus, designed for a coastal setting on the Western Cape coast. Simbavati Game Lodge · Hermanus residences
How does a firm based in Eswatini run a project in another country?
By holding the central work in one place and keeping the local work local.
Chambers & Associates carries the design, the documentation and the contract administration — the architect, principal agent and project manager roles — from its Ezulwini office. In the project's own country it works with local contractors, engineers and authorities, the same way any architect coordinates a build it is not standing on every day.
The single-team structure does the heavy lifting. Because the same firm is architect, principal agent, project manager and interior coordinator, one accountable party runs the project from the first drawing to handover. That is how the Lagos hotel and the South African lodge were set up.
Do you have to use a South African firm for a project in the region?
No. For a project in Eswatini, a local firm such as Chambers & Associates can take it from design through to delivery without bringing in an outside practice by default. For a project elsewhere in the region — South Africa, Nigeria or beyond — an Eswatini firm that has already built there is a working option, as the projects above show.
The questions worth asking any firm are the same wherever the project sits: which projects have you completed in this country, what role did you hold on each, and who carries the principal agent and project management duties.
Talk to Chambers & Associates
Chambers & Associates Architects
Architecture, principal agent, project management and interior coordination Serving Eswatini, South Africa and the wider African region
Based in Ezulwini, Eswatini
Phone / WhatsApp: +268 76020789
Email: chambers@realnet.co.sz
Web: caa-architects.com
FAQ
Does Chambers & Associates only work in Eswatini? No. The firm is based in Ezulwini, Eswatini, and most of its portfolio is in Eswatini, but it has also completed projects in Nigeria and South Africa, across hospitality and residential work.
Has Chambers & Associates worked in Nigeria? Yes. The Emerald Grand Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos, is a completed Chambers & Associates project, with the firm acting as architect, principal agent, project manager and interior coordinator.
Has Chambers & Associates worked in South Africa? Yes. Simbavati Game Lodge in the Kruger area and private residences in Hermanus are both completed Chambers & Associates projects in South Africa.
What kinds of projects does the firm take on outside Eswatini? Its completed regional work to date spans hospitality (a hotel and a game lodge) and residential (private homes). It offers the same architecture, principal agent, project management and interior coordination services on regional projects that it offers at home.
Who is the principal agent on a cross-border project? On its cross-border projects, Chambers & Associates acts as principal agent itself, coordinating the consultant team and administering the building contract, alongside its architect and project manager roles.
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