Africa Architecture Awards Extends Entry Deadline

TMartins Ifijeh

Due to continuous inflow of registered entries for the African Architecture Awards, the organisers of the recognition platform, Saint-Gobain, have extended the deadline for entries from June 30 to July 14, 2017, to accommodate more interested applicants.

The amended deadline applies to all categories except the People’s Choice Award, where public voting continues until August 18, 2017.

According to the organisers, over 300 registered entries have so far been received with entrants hailing from various part of the continent

There are two steps to enter: the first is to register and the second is to submit documents, images and a film of the entered project. The deadline extension to July 14 is the final and no late entries will be accepted after this date.

“As the founders of the Africa Architecture Awards, we are naturally pleased to see that the first-ever iteration has been so well received by architects,” the Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Retail Business Development Initiative, Evan Lockhart-Barker, said, adding that more entries can be accommodated as they were aware of the vast number of significant projects from across Africa and how much they deserve to be highlighted.

The organisers say the inaugural Africa Architecture Awards was noteworthy as the first dedicated Pan-African awards programme of its kind, which aims to recognise and reward worthy projects from across African continent, with one overall winner garnering a $10 000 grand prize.

The 2017 Africa Architecture Awards seek to acknowledge standout architectural projects that have been conceived of and/or built on the African continent, and invite entries and nominations from the industry. Anyone in the world meeting the entry criteria can enter or be entered into the awards, as long as the project pertains to Africa.
“Saint-Gobain very simply wants to be the catalyst that brings African architecture and its diaspora into the global conversation, in response to the clear need for such dialogue,” Lockhart-Barker explained.

The Master Jury will identify a shortlist of 20 projects, four trophy winners and one Grand Prix. The official awards ceremony is set to take place on September 28, 2017, at Cape Town’s much-anticipated Zeitz MOCAA, designed by British architect, Thomas Heatherwick, which opens to the public that same week.

“The Grand Prix winner will receive a $10 000 cash prize at the awards ceremony-that’s in addition to the recognition and prestige of being named as the overall winner from across the continent.

“The seven members of the Master Jury are Anna Abengowe (Nigeria); Patti Anahory (Cape Verde); Guillaume Koffi (Cote d’Ivoire); Phill Mashabane (South Africa); Professor Mark Olweny (Uganda); Professor Edgar Pieterse (South Africa); and, Tanzeem Razak (South Africa),” he added.