Feature:
Corobrik Awards
TURAL STUDENT AWARDS
He said that he wanted to do a project in the
inner-city as typical architectural projects
were usually within/on an open or clear site
and are therefore safer and less challenging.
“I was aware that inner-city development, in
Johannesburg, was largely outsourced (by
the City) to the private sector - so I wanted
to know what happens when the city
abandons its buildings and people.”
Johnson said he believed that his project
demonstrated the ability of architects to reframe and redefine any scenario/structure/
environment.
“Winning this award, in terms of the cash
prize, means I can now contribute to
continuing our research in ‘Dark City’ and
the other buildings we are working in.
When I won the (regional) first place for
R8000 (from Corobrik) at the University
of Johannesburg last year, I put 40 percent
of that amount towards our work into
this research. In continuing this pattern,
40 percent of this award will also be put
Click images to enlarge
towards the continuation and amplification
of this research and design,” he added.
Professor Lesley Lokko who supervised
Johnson’s thesis and congratulated him on
winning this award, said that this project
showed a determination to get as far under
the skin of any given situation to be able to
understand it properly, deeply and without
compromise. The project was also unusual
in that it was both a design thesis and a
design thesis critique.
She said the win was a validation of Harry’s
determination and considerable skill in
pulling it off as well as a validation of the
school’s position – that it was the school’s
job to provide the critical framework for
as wide a range of interests and ideas as
possible and to resist a design orthodoxy
that forces students to conform.
“Although his thesis is very firmly rooted
in South Africa – and in Johannesburg in
particular – his critique can be said to be
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