In 2016, South-Africa participated in the International Saint-Gobain MultiComfort House Students Contest for the first time and Miguel Carvalho, James Russwurm and Tiago Vasconcelos from University of Johannesburg came second.
Left to Right: Sibusiso Mthembu (Saint-Gobain Coordinator for the southern Africa Stage), Magdalena Cloete (Lecturer at the University of KZN), Vahin Parmananda (University of KZN student), Mthokozisi Sibisi (University of KZN student), Zakiyyah Haffajee (University of Johannesburg student) and Tyron Stephan (University of Johannesburg student)
This year, 68 students in southern Africa entered the competition from four different universities – University of Johannesburg (UJ), Tshwane University of Technology, University of Botswana and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
In total, 34 projects were submitted, and seven shortlisted projects were showcased at the national stage in Johannesburg comprising six projects from the UJ and one from the UKZN.
Vahin Parmananda and Mthokozisi Sibisi, from the UKZN, won the southern Africa stage, giving them the opportunity to champion their proposal to an international jury that included representatives from the Dubai municipality, architects and industry experts.
Competing against 50 teams from 28 countries, the South African team was awarded the first prize for its project “Solar.Creek.Community”. A feat accomplished in only six weeks, as opposed to the six months given to the northern hemisphere participants.
“The reward of getting recognition at this stage is a testament to the hours of work we invested in this project. It is a privilege to demonstrate that the South African architectural community is capable of competing at a global stage,” explain Vahin Parmananda and Mthokozisi Sibisi.
Chaired by Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Saint-Gobain Group, and Mr Dawood AbdulRahman Al Hajiri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, the international final was held in Dubai (United Arab Emirate) from 12 – 15 May 2018.
“Having won the second prize in 2016 with UJ when we participated in the international stage for the first time was a major highlight for South Africa. To win this year with the UKZN is an enormous achievement and certainly one of the biggest highlights in my Saint-Gobain career,” concludes Sibusiso Mthembu, Saint-Gobain coordinator for the southern Africa stage of the contest.
An international competition rewarding sustainable and comfortable architecture
Created in 2004, the Saint-Gobain MultiComfort House Students Contest is an international competition dedicated to architecture and engineering students to encourage the design of comfortable and sustainable living spaces. Students need to develop a project based on the principles of the Multi-Comfort concept: an optimum indoor environment ensuring the right level of fresh air, thermal, visual and acoustic comfort provided in a sustainable and energy efficient manner
This year, participants had to design a vision for a transcultural vibrant community development located in the perimeter of Dubai’s Cultural Village, a multi-purpose area located along the Dubai’s creek Al Jaddaf shoreline. The design had to propose a combination of residential and public spaces to maximise energy-efficiency and wellbeing. The challenge lay in Dubai’s very hot and humid climate. Students had to find a way to reconcile the reduction of energy consumption of cooling and ventilation systems with a beautiful and highly efficient building envelope. This without compromising any of the inhabitants’ comforts, and while providing optimum connection with the environment and having a minimum impact on it.