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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
OCTOBER
2016
House La Lucia, KZN
The team at designworkshop: sa described
their award-winning house at La Lucia
in this way “… the project explores its
potential in the caves carved out of the
coastal rock by the persistent erosion of the
sea, to be hollowed-out solid rather than a
lightweight form, a piece of nature rather
than a building.” The judges expressed
their deepest respect for the brilliance,
commitment, craftsmanship, attention to
detail and the professional and inspired co-
operation that must have existed between
the client, builder and the architect.
PROJECT PROFILE
he seven best designs and
a book earned Awards of
Excellence – the highest
accolade to be given to an
architectural project in South
Africa since the inception of
the programme in 1990.
A further seven projects received Awards
of Merit, which were first instituted in 1999
to recognise good design or a substantial
achievement in the industry. In addition,
16 commendations were awarded for
remarkable design.
According to Kevin Bingham, awards
convenor and SAIA Vice President, the large
number of awards and commendations this
year bore testimony to the high quality
of the entries.
“We have honoured 31 projects because
the standard of design warranted it and
because this year we had so many entries
to choose from – a record 66 which is the
most received in the 26-year lifespan of the
awards. South Africa may be geographically
remote from many of the world’s major cities
but architectural design in this country can
hold its own with the best internationally.”
This year’s judging panel was headed by
Bingham, who is also a director of FGG Archi-
tects in Durban; and included sponsor repre-
sentative Musa Shangase, who is commercial
director of Corobrik; Mokena Makeka, who
is founder and principal architect at Makeka
Design Lab in Cape Town; Prof Paul Kotze,
who is professor of Wits University’s School
of Architecture and Planning; and eminent
Honouring
SA’S TOP ARCHITECTS
The movers and shakers of the architectural world in
South Africa gathered at Shine Studios in Braamfontein
on 2 September to witness the presentation of the
2015/2016 Corobrik SAIA Awards of Merit for Excellence
in Architecture to the cream of the profession.
Awards of Excellence
1. House La Lucia, Durban:
designworkshop : sa
2. Military Health Base Depot for SAMHS:
Jeremie Malan Architects CC
3. House van der Watt Waterkloof,
Pretoria: Slee & Co. Architects
4. House Pretorius, Constantia, Cape
Town: Metropolis
5. 17 Glen Avenue Higgovale, Cape
Town: studioMAS Architecture and
Urban Design
6. ‘Malapa’ Fossil Cave & Visitors Platform:
Krynauw Nel Associates
7. Number 1 Silo: Alan Gray Headquarters,
Cape Town: Van der Merwe - Miszewski
Architects, in association with Rick
Brown Associates
8. Eclectic ZA Wilhelmiens : Karel A
Bakker, Roger C Fisher and
Nicholas J Clarke
The Awarded Projects –
2015/16 Corobrik-SAIA
Awards
layperson Sumien Brink, who is editor of VISI
magazine in Johannesburg.
“This is a star-studded event where we
recognise South Africa’s foremost architects,”
said Obert Chakarisa, CEO of SAIA. “The
architectural profession has reason to cele-
brate when we see designs being produced
of the calibre of the entries we have received
this year, many of which easily merit the
description world-class.”
“The awards give us a snapshot of the
status of architecture in the country and it
would be remiss of us not to mention that
we would have welcomed more entries that
tackled the current widespread social issues
associated with affordable housing and the
redevelopment of inner cities.
It was, however, encouraging to note
that a large number met the sustainable
design imperative.”
Musa Shangase of Corobrik said that the
developing rainbow nation that was South
Africa presented unique challenges for the
architectural profession which in turn offered
opportunities for thinking out of the box and
for innovative and unconventional solutions.
“Limited budgets, which often apply to
public buildings that need to meet a variety
of needs, can act as a catalyst for great
design which is fit for purpose and compli-
mentary to the landscape,” he said.