Des Baker Architectural Award won by UJ students
Students from the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Department of Architecture won the 2011 Murray & Roberts Des Baker Award for Architectural Design at this year’s Architectural Student Congress in Port Elizabeth.
The awards were founded in 1983 in recognition of the late Des Baker, who was chairperson of Murray & Roberts until his death in 1982. This year’s project brief was Cradle to Grade 6: Designing a School in a Rural Area.
Collage from UJ’s winning submission, (in)visible reality, illustrating zoning typologies within diagonal street
Members of the winning team from UJ were BTech Architectural Technology students Jessica Grobbelaar, Ruben Kruger and Anton Bouwer.
Jessica Grobbelaar described their submission: “Essentially, whilst we proposed an intervention that was intrinsic to the existing site and community, it was paralleled with a commentary that questioned the appropriateness and validity of a Grade 6 exit level OBE curriculum. In essence, this scheme identified an (in)visible reality; acknowledging an informal network as foundation for a sustainable learning environment.”
Abstract concept illustration from UJ’s winning submission for the 2011 Des Baker Awards: aerial view of informal settlement with infrastructure.
“We are ecstatic about winning the Des Baker award for UJ and thankful for the support that we received from family, friends and lecturers throughout the duration of this challenging project," said Ruben Kruger. Anton Bouwer added: "The project involved five months of dedication that resulted in winning this prestigious award. We are proud of ourselves and our university."