Housing in Southern Africa May 2016

Cement & Concrete

AfriSam SAIA awards Entries for the AfriSam-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture + Innovation are closed. This year saw a record 47 entries in the four award categories.

T he adjudication panel will now evaluate the 47 entries in the four award categories. The adjudicators will visit the shortlisted projects and the final results will be announced in October at the awards event. The bi-annual AfriSam-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture + In- novation recognises contributions that bring sustainable innovation to human living environments through an integrated approach to communi- ties, planning, design, architecture, building practice, natural systems and technology. The online entry system may well have contributed to the record number of entries by reducing the cost and time of couriering large quantities of printed material. Real time support from the agency offices meant any missing documentation could be quickly and conveniently submitted in hours rather than days. This Award Programme has fur- ther evolved to include two new

categories. The twomainstay catego- ries of Sustainable Architecture and Research in Sustainability are now joined by Sustainable Products and Technology and Sustainable Social Programmes. Thismeans that the full spectrum of design, innovation and sustainability is now covered by the award categories. The AfriSam-SAIA Award acknowl- edges and showcases buildings and projects that are the result of an integrated approach to architecture, natural systems and technology. They show that design and sustainability can and should be mutually reinforc- ing. Entries were received in all four categories. The awards will once again high- light that South Africa is at the fore- front of sustainable and innovative design and that sustainability is part of the design culture. The adjudicators for the awards are convener, Kevin Bingham along with Daniel Irurah (sustainable archi- tecture academic), Llewellyn vanWyk According to John Sheath, CEO and Director of the Concrete Society, some serious updating was required in terms of the criteria and adjudica- tion of entries. “We had drifted away from identifying all that was special and exceptional in the concrete and focused too much on the total proj- ect, considering aspects that had little to do with the material.” The criteria for adjudication in- cludes: Quality of concrete – focus- ing on finish; Sustainability – green building initiatives; Inventiveness/ innovation in the application of concrete technology; Innovation in concrete construction methods; Innovative geotechnical use of con- crete; Overall aesthetic impact of the concrete aspects of the structure; Rational behind the chosen concrete finish; Standard of workmanship of

(sustainable architect, CSIR), Sebasti Badenhorst (AfriSam representative), Eric Noir (Africa region director of the International Union of Architects’ work programme, Architecture for a Sustainable Future) and Richard Stretton (Eminent architect and furniture designer). ■

Call for Fulton Awards nominations on a new look with new categories and a new approach to judging. the concrete; Effect of the concrete on the architectural landscape and environment.

T he Concrete Society of South- ern Africa has called for nomi- nations for the prestigious biennial Fulton Awards, which rec- ognise and honour excellence and innovation in the design and use of concrete. The 2017 awards, named after the late Dr Sandy Fulton, takes

Some of the categories include: Buildings up to 3-storeys, for example residential, schools, commercial, factories, warehousing, industrial, etc. Buildings more than 3-storeys such as office building, multi-family housing, etc. Flatwork such as slabs, paving, hardscape, etc. Infrastruc- ture including bridges, roads, water resources, marine structures, power, etc. Innovation in Concrete, newma- terials, techniques, technologies, ap- plications, designs, and/or concepts. The online nominations can be made through the Society’s website and will require a short motivation. The deadline for nominations is 31 st August 2016, the completed Entry Packs have to be submitted by the end of November 2016 and the win- ners will be announced in June 2017.

May 2016