Leading brickmaker Corobrik announced the winners of its 37th annual Student Architecture Awards at a gala event on 10 May in Kramerville, Johannesburg. “We all recognise how difficult the building industry has been over the past few years, but we have been steadfast in our support of the architectural profession,” said Corobrik Chairperson Peter Du Trevou. “We also pay tribute to the studio masters and universities for their effort in securing South Africa’s future in the built environment.”
He added: “Corobrik is privileged to work alongside the architectural profession, with which we have always had a good relationship. This is but one of the many initiatives we are involved with.” Peter congratulated the eight finalists on making the last hurdle and expressed his gratitude to all who had supported the students on their journey.
“I would like to take this opportunity to urge the architectural profession to continue to deliver excellence and ensure we have a future built environment that adds value to the lives of all South Africans,” said Corobrik CEO Nick Booth.
Corobrik has a long legacy of assisting architects achieve their design dreams in the built environment. Part of that legacy lies in its sponsorship of the Student Architecture Awards, which it curates in conjunction with those universities that have a Master of Architecture programme.
“We are really privileged to be part of this journey. Many architects over the years have gone on from these Awards to make significant contributions to their societies. In talking to past participants, every single one has acknowledged the role that these Awards have played in their career journey,” said Nick.
“We are quite proud of the contributions that the participants have made to the profession over the years. The winners are scattered far across the world, in some ways sadly lost to South Africa, but in a lot of ways I think a great triumph for the South African architectural profession,” said Nick.
Highlighting talent, creativity, innovation and inspiration, the Corobrik Student Architecture Awards is all about jump-starting careers, building the industry, and designing tomorrow, says Corobrik Marketing Support Manager Thilo Sidambaram, who has been involved with the Awards for over three decades.
The finalists were selected from the eight major universities, based on the students’ Architectural Master’s theses from the class of 2023. This year’s judges were Carin Smuts from CS Studio, Somers Govender from Artek 4 Architects and Rudolf Roos from HDG Pretoria. The finalists each received a R12 000 prize and the winner a R70 000 grand prize.
The results of the 37th Corobrik Student Architecture Awards are as follows:
Grand Prize Winner: Arran Wood, University of the Free State, ‘Spectral Flesh – Remembrance’
Arran said that being able to add to the historic record of South Africa’s nuclear weapons programme in a small way and highlight forgotten history was his main goal. The judges commented that the thesis made an invaluable contribution to an unrecorded and forgotten, yet incredibly important part, of South Africa’s history.
Special Commendation: Gideon Williams, Nelson Mandela University, ‘The Design of an Archive at King’s Beach, Gqeberha’
The judges praised Gideon’s exploration of ideas and concepts and encouraged him to turn his vision into a built reality. “I love the attempt at representation: graphical, sketched, rendered, or simply observed. I also love physical objects, things that are interesting to be around, under, inside of, or on top of. Architecture somehow amalgamates all my diverging interests and passions,” said Gideon.
Best Use of Brick: Taryn Glazebrook, University of Pretoria, ‘Marabastad: From Arrival to Revival’
While the use of Corobrik products is not a prerequisite for entry, the judges highlighted Taryn’s use of brick as a sustainable building material that also offers endless possibilities. Her project utilised various types of bricks for a range of elements, including seating, ventilated screen walls, chimneys, planters, and more. In addition, pavers were used for façade screening elements to assist with solar control.
