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SA ’ S FIRST EDGE & GREEN STAR CERTIFICATION FOR A COMMERCIAL BUILDING
Attacq is pleased to announce the certification of Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies ( EDGE ) for its Nexus 1 building in Waterfall City , which also serves as the Group ’ s headquarters . Introduced by the International Finance Corporation ( IFC ) in 2014 , EDGE empowers developers to assess environmental impact and make informed design decisions , globally championing green building practices . The certification represents a double milestone for Attacq , as Nexus 1 becomes the first Green Star Certified building in South Africa to also attain EDGE certification through the Green Building Council of South Africa ( GBCSA ). Partnering with Nedbank CIB , it also marked the first instance of a bank collaborating with a developer and acting as an EDGE Expert in a green building certification . The Nexus 1 building , spanning 7,363m 2 , was Attacq ’ s first Net- Zero Carbon Level 1 development , which now also meets a global benchmark set by the World Bank ’ s IFC , achieving an 88 percent on-site energy saving . Nedbank CIB Property Finance ’ s involvement dates back to 2021 when it partnered with the IFC to issue a R1 billion green residential development bond , emphasising its commitment to EDGE-certified residential developments , particularly those focused on affordable housing .
RIKEN YAMAMOTO RECEIVES THE 2024 PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE
The Pritzker Architecture Prize announces Riken Yamamoto , of Yokohama , Japan , as the 2024 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize , the award that is regarded internationally as architecture ’ s highest honour .
Yamamoto , architect and social advocate , establishes kinship between public and private realms , inspiring harmonious societies despite
Riken Yamamoto a diversity of identities , economies , politics , infrastructures , and housing systems . Deeply embedded in upholding community life , he asserts that the value of privacy has become an urban sensibility , when in fact , members of a community should sustain one another . He defines community as a “ sense of sharing one space ,” deconstructing traditional notions of freedom and privacy while rejecting longstanding conditions that have reduced housing into a commodity without relation to neighbours . Instead , he bridges cultures , histories and multi-generational citizens , with sensitivity , by adapting international influence and modernist architecture to the needs of the future , allowing life to thrive .
“ For me , to recognise space , is to recognise an entire community ,” Yamamoto expresses . “ The current architectural approach emphasises privacy , negating the necessity of societal relationships . However , we can still honour the freedom of each individual while living together in architectural space as a republic , fostering harmony across cultures and phases of life .”
The 2024 Jury Citation states , in part , that he was selected “ for creating awareness in the community in what is the responsibility of the social demand , for questioning the discipline of architecture to calibrate each individual architectural response , and above all for reminding us that in architecture , as in democracy , spaces must be created by the resolve of the people …”
Yokosuka Museum of Art , Yokosuka , Japan
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