THIS has been a year of reconstruction, with damaged and divided urban areas getting the lion’s share of funding to implement projects designed by brilliant architects, planners and engineers — in Berlin, Beirut, Atlanta and Sarajevo, that is.
Back home, things look pretty much the same as they did 12 months ago. Nevertheless, some practitioners hung in and didn’t emigrate to New Zealand, and, in a tribute to them, and with a nudge to their patrons, we present the 1995 Back-to-the-Drawing-Board awards.
The Backs-to-the-Wall Award for the most effective use of bricks in a community-driven response to crime: Crime was the issue this year, and Johannesburg candidates clearly led the way in responding to it. Developers Johnnic achieved record land prices in Dainfern, where golfers can swing in peace and return home within the safety of a perimeter wall, so they share the award with the community of Hurlingham Manor, who want to do the same to an existing suburb.
Building material of the year: Iscor will be glad to hear that this award goes to corrugated iron, which beat precast concrete columns, so ubiquitous in the neo-Georgian office parks that litter the periphery, and paint as used in community arts murals. Good old 0,6mm zinc has managed to span class divides as no other material since concrete has done: when the trendies get tired of their galvanised gazebos and facade cladding, they can rest assured that they will end up as the easily relocated walls of a house in an informal settlement.
The i-51/9 Award for designing Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses that most closely resemble the infamous township matchboxes of the 1950s: Out of spite for being left out of the process of housing the nation, architects were full of suggestions for this award. Gauteng’s MEC for Housing, Dan Mofokeng, got a mention, but our difficulty in locating the houses in question means the award goes to engineers and planners Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick for the Bimella scheme in Cato Manor, Durban.
The Change-Your-Colours Award for the best letterhead redesign by a practice formerly engaged in homelands projects and currently repositioning: Established architectural practices closed their Bophuthatswana offices, shrunk their names to initials and entered into joint ventures with black consultants. Commendations go to Stauch Vorster — good luck with their R47-million Park Station redevelopment — and engineering consultants Africon, unburdened of their former title of Van Wyk and Louw.
Worst patron of the year: The cheque is in the post to the Independent Development Trust, which wins the award for its mass production of toilet towns, a technocractic outlook, and leaving its consultants and contractors
Best patron of the year: The best patron was harder to find in a year marked by an absence of architecture competitions and the mysterious working of the reformed Department of Public Works, whose criteria for inclusion on the new Pilot Roster of professionals are as elusive as copies of the roster itself. So, for their sponsorship of South Africa’s participation in the Milan Triennale exhibition of architecture, and the selection competition leading up to it, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ exhibition department takes the prize.
The Monstrous Carbuncle Award for the worst building in a well-loved environment: This award is split between the Woolworth’s building on Cape Town’s foreshore and Johannesburg’s new Reserve bank, both of which bully their historical neighbours with their scale and hostility. The Pavilion shopping centre between Durban and Pietermaritzburg gets an honourary mention as the first South African building to be mentioned in the British journal Architectural Review — in the Outrage! column.
The Reconstruction and Developers Profit (RDP) Award for the most opportunistic plan by a developer in the name of the other RDP: This goes to the Mall of Africa consortium, chaired by George Negota, for its proposal to turn Johannesburg’s Zoo Lake into a waterfront shopping centre.
The Concrete Pioneer Award for the most relevant architect in the new South Africa: On a more positive note, there are several deserving
candidates for this award. Durban’s straight- talking Rodney Harber deserves a big medal for his untiring work in the unlucrative field of ultra-low-cost architecture.
Jo Noero has been recognised locally and abroad by an honourary doctorate and awards for the quality of his buildings for non- governmental organisations. But the award goes to Johannesburg’s Jeff Stacey for putting his money where his mouth is and developing secure and attractive row housing in Yeoville — where banks and developers fear to tread — in partnership with builder “Speedy” Shilake.
The Cherrie on the Top Award for woman architect of the year: This goes to Cape Town’s Carin Smuts, who has been disqualified from the previous award to give a chance to white men. Her work in communities in Langa and Guguletu shows an unprecedented level of engagement that starts before the funding is forthcoming and carries on long after the builders have left. Viva Carin! And please don’t even think about going to New Zealand.
Thanks to all the architects who participated in compiling these awards