UP student named regional winner in 2022 Corobrik Student Architecture Awards

University of Pretoria's Wian Jordaan named a regional winner in the 2022 Corobrik Student Architecture Awards

“I am truly honoured and grateful for my work to be recognised and appreciated by academics and professionals whom I admire,” says Jordaan.

New approaches to space-making

Entitled "The act of refuge: Facilitating spatial practices of mobile urban dwellers in the inner city of Pretoria", Jordaan’s thesis looks at how daily commuters in the Pretoria inner city are confined to the sidewalk, “a space of transition that promotes anonymity, indifference and transience”. New approaches to space-making were developed to explore how architecture can influence the behaviour of users and their everyday spatial practices by manipulating their perceptions of space to mediate between its lived and conceived dimensions.

Jordaan highlights that architecture is a unique discipline that not only provides the opportunity to solve real world problems, but also allows for personal artistic expression in the conceptualisation, execution, and representation of space. He adds that the contribution that architecture can make to the improvement and welfare of communities is often underappreciated.

Alternative solutions required

“Healthy urban environments allow people’s everyday lives, identities and rituals to be played out in public spaces. People’s relationship to the built environment and public spaces in the Pretoria inner city are fractured and require alternative solutions.” The project used Montana Travertine face brick and Nutmeg Piazza pavers from Corobrik for internal arcades and courtyards to be perceived as external and public spaces.

“The perception of a space as ‘public’ aids in the facilitation of temporary acts of refuge and appropriation. The use of bricks also played a significant role in how a building responds to the existing urban context of Pretoria,” adds Jordaan. Corobrik’s Montana face brick specifically complemented the existing blue and grey bricks. “Bricks can be an expression of time, place, and the process of making, which are aspects often neglected in contemporary architecture.”

35th Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Awards - University of the Free State:

• Winner: Wian Jordaan, R10,000
  
• First Runner-up: Cameron Forder, R8,000
  
• Second Runner-up: Ruan Ras, R6,000
  
• Best Use of Clay Masonry: Wian Jordaan, R6,000

Lúnell Greyling takes regional top spot in 2022 Corobrik Student Architecture Awards

21 Jan 2022

This year's national awards will again be a hybrid event held in May, following a similar format as in 2021. The 2019 awards ceremony was postponed due to Covid-19, with Corobrik instead announcing the 2019 and 2020 winners at a combined event last year.