A4AC Architects Blog

If you run a crèche, day care or pre-school for more than six children, you need to register it as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre. Many owners start the process with the application form and the paperwork about staff and programmes, and only later discover that the municipality wants building plans, a zoning clearance, a fire clearance and a health certificate first. Those building-related documents are usually what holds registration up. This guide lists the doc

An emergency evacuation plan is one of the few drawings in a building that people read under stress. It has to be right the first time. Yet many evacuation plans on walls across South Africa show corridors that no longer exist, doors that have been bricked up and exits that lead into storerooms. This article explains what a good evacuation plan shows and why the floor plan underneath matters as much as the arrows on top. What is an emergency evacuation plan? It is a simplifie

Every restaurant, coffee shop, staff canteen and school kitchen in South Africa needs a Certificate of Acceptability before it may prepare, handle or sell food. Many owners only hear about it when an inspector arrives. This guide explains what the certificate is, who issues it, what the inspector checks, and where drawings fit in. What is a Certificate of Acceptability? A Certificate of Acceptability (CoA) is the permit that says a food premises meets the hygiene and structur