2016 Corobrik
Architectural Student of the Year Awards
The Corobrik Architectural Student of the Year Awards , which has spanned three decades , has seen considerable changes in how young professionals in the architectural profession approach the built environment . Today , technological advances and sustainability imperatives are driving creativity .
Innovation with a view to lightening the built environment ’ s environmental footprint , together with an innate understanding of social and cultural imperatives within South Africa , are just some of the reasons why this year ’ s judges singled out the winner for 2016 .
Corobrik Managing Director , Dirk Meyer , thanked this year ’ s judges for their invaluable input .
The Judges
• Andre Eksteen , multi-award winning co-director at Earthworld Architects & Interiors ;
• Tunde Oluwa , sustainable development guru and founder of Odyssey Architects SA ; and
• Tanzeem Razak , who is passionate about spatial transformation in South African cities and director and founding partner of Lemon Pebble Architects in Johannesburg . Awarded a prize of R50,000 , the winner , Jean-
Pierre Desvaux De Marigny , was one of eight regional winners from the country ’ s major universities who were chosen during 2016 . Each winner became a finalist who competed for the national title .
JEAN-PIERRE DESVAUX DE MARIGNY - NATIONAL WINNER UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL
Design for [ bio ] – Diversity
JP ’ s thesis explored the potential of architecture for ecological conservation ; proposing an environmental awareness and water research facility in the context of Springfield industrial park / uMgeni River catchment area in Durban .
Research revealed that human existence relies heavily on bio diverse ecosystems to survive . However , as population increases , urbanisation and industrialisation occurs , resulting in natural areas often being exploited and degraded , most critically affecting the earth ’ s fresh water systems .
De Marigny ’ s proposed architectural solution aimed to draw an analogy between the machine-dominated environment of the Springfield industrial park and the
70 Student Awards