2 new judges join PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative panel
The 30th PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative will be judged by a panel of seven industry experts including two new judges. The competition aims to showcase the work of up-and-coming third-year architecture and interior design students, offering them the opportunity to tackle a real-world brief. Entrants will compete for a cash prize of R50,000 for the winner and their lecturer.
Carla Soudien, project architect and urban planner for studioMAS Architects and Urban Designer
“Reaching 30 years is a major milestone, and we have increased our judging panel from five industry experts to seven this year,” says Lian Markham, communications manager at PG Bison.
“We believe that it’s important for the educational institutions who partner with us to have feedback on their students’ work, and we deliver this to them in our lecturers’ debriefing session after the competition awards ceremony. The judges also have the opportunity to be exposed to emerging talents, while the students – particularly the top 10 finalists – enjoy industry exposure as they prepare to embark on their professional careers.”
New judges
Joining the panel in 2022 are Carla Soudien and Nelson Kubheka.
Soudien is a project architect and urban planner for studioMAS Architects and Urban Designers, based in the company’s Johannesburg office. She completed her architecture degrees at UCT (in 2003 and 2006 respectively) and in 2019 completed her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.
Nelson Kubheka, founder of Ommni Design
Nelson Kubheka obtained his National Diploma in Interior Design in 2008 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and began working as a junior designer at Source Interior Brand Architects (Source IBA), with projects including high-end hospitality and workplaces. He worked his way up to becoming an associate and then partner at Source IBA, working on key hospitality and office projects locally and across Africa.
After eight years, he founded his own company, Ommni Design, in 2016.
Returning judges
Returning to help judge the winning entries are:
- Phill Mashabane, founder and principal architect at Mashabane Rose Associates;
- Nathaniel Wakefield, director at Batley Partners;
- Livia Coetzee-Stein, creative executive at DHQ Interior Brand Architects;
- Mardre Meyer, creative director and partner at Source Interior Brand Architects; and
- Henk Marais, founding member and director at Connect Architects.
