The 2017 Africa Architecture Awards, launched by the founder of Saint-Gobain, seeks to acknowledge standout architectural projects that have been conceived of and/or built on the African continent and invite entries and nominations from the industry.
Evan Lockhart-Barker, MD of the Saint-Gobain Retail Business Development Initiative, said:
“The Africa Architecture Awards have been established to highlight the continent‘s innovative and collaborative style of solving problems – architectural or otherwise. Saint-Gobain has engaged with some of the best minds in the field to establish this programme so that the awards are relevant, contextual and progressive. “
The awards programme has Sir David Adjaye OBE of Adjaye Associates as the official patron, a steering panel and advisory team comprising noteworthy academics and architects, and a Master Jury of award-winning practitioners from across Africa and the diaspora.
Anyone in the world meeting the entry criteria can enter, or be entered into the awards, as long as the project pertains to Africa. There is no cost to enter the awards and entries close on 30 June 2017 for all categories except the People’s Choice Award, which closes on 18 August 2017.
The official awards ceremony will take place on 28 September 2017 at Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA, which opens to the public that same week.
The Grand Prix winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize in addition to the recognition and prestige of being named as the overall winner from across the continent. A Lifetime Achiever’s Award is given at the discretion of the master jury.
Criteria
The jury will approach the Africa Architecture Awards through a values-based system around the following three criteria:
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Innovation: of design, materials, approach, practice, new forms of public space;
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Identity: projects that deal sensitively and innovatively with heritage and tradition; that embody cultural sensitivity and contextual interpretation; that consider appropriation and repurposing of use; and that attempt to translate traditional ways of building/occupying space into modern and contemporary contexts;
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Implementation: the energy and inventiveness required in Africa to create and implement projects in markets with varying levels and scales of economic government support and infrastructure.
The awards will celebrate design excellence and promote an increased awareness of the role and importance of sound architectural theory and practice across Africa and the diaspora. The intention is to honour established architects and encourage emerging and future voices,” says Lockhart-Barker.
For more, go to www.africaarchitectureawards.com.
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