Two South African UKZN Architecture students have won first prize at the MultiComfort House Students Contest in Dubai for their sustainable housing project.
The Saint-Gobain MultiComfort House Students Contest, which has been hosted by Saint-Gobain for the past 14 years, is an international competition dedicated to architecture and engineering students, encouraging the design of comfortable and sustainable living spaces.
The national leg of the Saint-Gobain MultiComfort House Students Contest was held at Saint-Gobain in Johannesburg last month, where a panel of local industry experts selected the winning team to represent South Africa in the international stage of the contest, which takes place in Dubai from 12-15 May 2018.
Seven shortlisted architectural projects were selected from the University of Johannesburg and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. The students competed for the chance to attend the finals in UAE.
The winning team, Vahin Parmananda and Mthokozisi Sibisi from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, were selected by a panel of industry experts as our local winners. They set off to Dubai and have since been awarded the first prize.
They competed against 50 other teams from 28 countries.
“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.
“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.
These two young men have made South Africa proud.
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