Latest NewsArchive ECIA Awards- 24 October 2011

Vice President and President of the ECIA, Mary Mangan and Prof. Albrecht Herholdt, with the recipients of the ECIA Lifetime Contribution Awards, Tony Moors, Rod Phillip and John Blair

Some of the recipients of awards, from left to right: Philipa Thomson (on behalf of Andrew Thomson of Thembela), Gavin Schönknecht (Thembela), Tim Hewitt-Coleman (NOH), Judy Beens (NOH), John Blair (John Blair Architects), Prof. Albrecht Herholdt (The Matrix...cc), Brian Brinkman (BNM), Hedwig Crooijmans- Allers (The Matrix...cc), Prof. Theo Maqashalala (The Matrix...cc) and Jason Erlank (Hix Architects)

The 2011 ECIA Awards were announced and presented at a ceremony held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 22 September 2011. Four ECIA Awards of Merit were presented, as well as four ECIA Commendations. Three members received Lifetime Contribution Awards, and two colleagues were recognised in memoriam.

Following the presentation of the awards, a talk and bus tour was organised by the ECIA for its members in order to showcase the award winning projects and give some insight into the adjudication process.

General Impressions It is always a privilege to participate in the assessment of the bi-annual Awards of Merit programme. This years' panel of assessors included Mrs. Stephanie Volpe, an architect from Port Elizabeth; Mr. Peter Whitlock, architect and conservation specialist from Graaff Reinet; Prof. ‘Ora Joubert, architect and academic from Pretoria; Prof. Robert Brooks, artist and former Head of the Department of Fine Arts, Rhodes University; and was convened by Mr. Andrew Palframan, lecturer at NMMU.

A considerable number of submissions of varying size and scope were received (31 in total - probably more than in recent years) with the larger proportion from beyond Port Elizabeth's borders. Given the high number of submissions and relatively vast distances covered, the assessment was an intense but invigorating experience.

Apart from debating the merits of individual buildings, adjudication also affords the opportunity to reflect on the architectural output and priorities of the region. It was encouraging to encounter a broad spectrum of projects: the majority of a community and civic nature − predominantly in formerly neglected areas − a fair number in the education and health care arenas, some conservation projects and surprisingly few of a residential nature.

Yet, however positive it was to encounter so many community-oriented projects (community parks, community centres and such-like recreational and educational facilities) it is perturbing that some were vacant, indicative of similar scenarios in other parts of the country. Although clearly outside our architectural mandate, the lack of strategic and effective deployment of human and cultural resources upon the completion of government facilities requires serious political attention.

Notwithstanding, across the board a high level of user satisfaction and sound technological building practices were encountered, reaffirming the capabilities of the architects to

provide a satisfactory professional service to their respective clients.

It was however regrettable that way too few projects interrogated their briefs beyond expectation, or challenged architectural conventions. The projects had a certain pedestrian homogeneity about them, predominantly executed in (badly effloresced) pointed red face brick with accented plastered surfaces (painted either red, blue or grey) endemic mono-pitch-cum-clerestory roofs, standard aluminium profiles and galvanised palisade fencing on the periphery, securing vast parking areas. There was also a considerable lack of an enticing spatial exploration of interiors or modulated exteriors, coupled with somewhat over-scaled accommodation.

One gets the impression that design solutions are a tad too readily converged or too easily trapped in formalistic, two-dimensionally generated pattern-making, with little consideration of their spatial or contextual implications.

By contrast, the most meritorious projects were in a league of their own.