2019/2020 AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award shortlist revealed

Established in 2009, entries are submitted in four categories:

• Category A: Sustainable New Building or the Conservation and Restoration of an Existing One,
  
• Category B: Practice-based Action and Research Work in the Field of Sustainability and the Built Environment,
  
• Category C: Sustainable Product or Technology, and
  
• Category D: Sustainable Social Programmes, with Category A receiving the highest number of entries.

Immediate past president of SAIA Dr Luyanda Mpahlwa

Director of DesignSpaceAfrica and immediate past president of SAIA Dr Luyanda Mpahlwa says the 2019/2020 award attracted a record number of entries. “While I participated in this round of the AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award as an adjudicator and convenor for the first time, I have followed the event over the years and observed how the quality has improved and the number of entries has increased every year.

“What makes the competition so exciting are the different categories, which ensure richness and variety of entries. While the awards have an ‘architecture and building bias’, there are increasingly more submissions that demonstrate social impact, especially community-based projects, which brings a refreshing dynamic to sustainability being beyond buildings,” he adds.

“All in all, this was a successful and inspiring round of awards in terms of quality, variety and innovation. I do believe the award can benefit from another layer of public profiling so that the award objectives are not only limited to awarding great projects but, ultimately, to changing the mindset of society towards sustainable and innovative thinking and thereby promoting new ways of thinking in all the sectors.

“Importantly, more work needs to be done to encourage broader industry, the economy and universities to produce designers, researchers and practitioners who have a higher sensibility towards sustainability and innovation,” adds Mpahlwa.

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2019/2020 AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Award shortlist:

Category A: Sustainable New Building or the Conservation and Restoration of an Existing One

• Additions to the Vredenburg Provincial Hospital (Wolff Architects)
  
• Bridges for Music Academy (Tsai Design Studio)
  
• Botha's Halte Primary School (Meyer and Associates Architect, Urban Designers)
  
• Arklow Villa III (Douglas & Company Architects)
  
• African Leadership Academy, New Fred Pardee Learning Commons (MMA Design Studio)
  
• Future Africa Campus (Earthworld Architects)
  
• JCAF Art Gallery (StudioMAS Architects)
  
• Limpopo Youth Hostel (Local Studio)
  
• House of the Big Arch (Frankie Pappas International)
  
• Skukuza Science Leadership Initiative (Nicholas Whitcutt Architects, Kevin Mitchell Architects)
  
• New Thanda School Facilities (Earth:Switch Architects)
  
• Thanda Early Childhood Development Centre (AOJ (Architects Of Justice))
  
• Witklipfontein Eco Lodge (Grosskopff Lombart Huyberechts and Associates Architects)
  
• Hillside Clinic, Beaufort West (Gabriel Fagan Architects)

Category B: Practice-based Action and Research Work in the Field of Sustainability and the Built Environment

• iQhaza Lethu: Development of Alternative Dwelling Unit Typologies to be used in High-Density Informal Settlements (DesigncoLab)
  
• Towards applying a green infrastructure approach in the Gauteng City-Region (Gauteng City-Region Observatory)

Category C: Sustainable Product or Technology

• The Farmhouse, Nchenje Cottages (Simply Sustainable Consulting)
  
• PVT 1680 (Modular Heat Sink for Solar Panel) (Energy-Shift)
  
• The Mama Jersey (The Seen Collective)
  
• BOXA Possibilities (BOXA Possibilities)
  
• Green Build Africa (Johan Odendaal)

Category D: Sustainable Social Programmes

• Owl House, Nieu-Bethesda: Crafters Empowerment Programme (Leaf Architects)
  
• Bio-efficient Cookstove (Richard Dobson Architects)
  
• Pop-up Micro Childcare Facility (Richard Dobson Architects)
  
• The Retrade Project: Live Responsibly, while helping those in need (The Retrade Project)
  
• Access to affordable housing / Hustlenomics (Hustlenomics PTY LTD)
  
• Localworks_Gahinga Batwa Village, Uganda (Localworks)
  
• Women in STEM: A science and leadership initiative of the Nsasani Trust (Nsasani Trust)
  
• Container Computer Classroom (East Coast Architects)

Click https://www.sustainabledesign.co.za/2019-2020-awards/ here for more information on the awards.