Daniel November, a Cape Peninsula University of Technology third-year student was awarded as joint runner-up along with Yolanda Mpanza, another architecture student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the PG Bison Education Initiative 2022 competition which took place in Johannesburg on 29 September.
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The PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative celebrates 30 years of showcasing up-and-coming talent and recognises young talent in third-year architecture and interior design students around South Africa with the aim to introduce students to real-world briefs and products while encouraging creative thinking.
This year’s theme for the PG Bison Initiative was titled “Sunbird’s Nest” with the brief written into the third-year curriculum of all participating institutions.
November said that the brief this year made him think about how he could create a nest-like community for people to live in and thrive.
He added, “There was a considerable amount of time and effort put into this project, from researching the materials from PG Bison to gathering all the information I could from the building site. I was pleased that I could juggle my studies, an internship, and this competition.
“It was an amazing experience, the journey to completion, and the time I spent in Johannesburg with a brilliant and vibrant group of top 10 finalists.”
Brand & Marketing Manager at PG Bison, Jason Wells congratulated Yolanda Mpanza and Daniel November on their achievement as joint runners-up in the competition. He added that their entries showed great promise and addressed most of the elements requested in the brief.
The competition ran a bit differently this year with no overall winner being nominated as the judges felt that no one entry met all the requirements requested in the brief.
Wells explains, “While our expert panel of judges acknowledged the wealth of architectural and interior design talent on display at the judging event, they ultimately agreed that it would not be right to nominate a winner when no one entry met all the requirements we asked for, particularly taking into account the context of the site and the community at the heart of the brief. The PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative is a respected competition in the industry because of the high standards it upholds, and we feel it’s important to protect that standard. We encourage the education institutions to spend more time on the human aspect of future briefs and look forward to engaging with them on this point at our debriefing session next month.”
Inspired by his father, as a child November would use his Lego blocks to imitate and bring to life his dad’s design sketches.
November added in conclusion, “I always showed a passion for technical drawing that manifested itself into architecture during my matric year in high school. I now aim to finish my postgraduate years of study in architecture, become a professional architect and one day forge my own architectural practice.”
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Picture: Daniel November