SENZO MAMBA - 2019 SPECIAL MERIT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ( R25 000 PRIZE MONEY )
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Senzo Mamba comments that : “ In the natural world , there is no landfill , instead [ there is ] material flow . One species ’ waste is another ’ s food . Things grow and die ; nutrients return to the soil safely . The cycle circulates . Contrary , as humans we have adopted a linear approach ; we extract , we make , we use , and we dispose .”
Mamba ’ s thesis , entitled ‘ Bricolage : The architecture of waste ’, proposes to turn vacant buildings into recycling factories as an alternative way to deal with waste issues within our cities . Processing materials on-site will reduce energy consumption , transportation and the carbon footprint .
This project aims to rethink waste by designing a catalogue of new material from it . Waste is not only a local resource , but a natural material for practices of bricolage . Bricolage is the theory of making do with available tools and material . “ Reclaiming , repurposing and retrofitting vacant buildings is the first step towards a sustainable future ,” comments Mamba .
72 Student Awards