Winners Emerge in Design Genre Architecture Contest

Winners of the annual Design Genre Architecture competition aimed at deepening the talent base of students by exposing them to real life architectural projects have emerged.

The winning team comprising Bambi Odunrombi and Emmanuel Makinde, both master’s students of Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) received a cash prize of N100,000; the second position went to Timileyin Adeniran, Tolulope Babalola and Kunlere Adetunji, all 300 level students of the same institution with a cash prize of N70,000; while Andrew Adejumo, Phillips Soetan and Adeola Oderinde also 300 level students of OAU emerged third position, getting a cash prize of N50,000.

The grand finale, held at the OAU’s Architecture Department, witnessed 11 shortlisted groups making presentations on a project brief titled ‘Sustainable Design of a Mixed Use Complex in Downtown Lagos’. The contestants were asked to come up with ingenious building design that will combine residential, commercial and office structures using sustainable and environment friendly materials, among others.

The Managing Director, Design Genre Consultants, organiser of the competition, Mr. Anthony Okoye affirms his organisation’s desire to deepen the talent base of students by exposing them to real life architectural projects.

“Our aim of supporting the design competition is to make sustainable design second nature to architects in Nigeria and also contribute to students’ education by deepening their knowledge and allowing these emerging architects the opportunity to gain exposure on real world projects which will in turn enhance the continuous sustainable improvement of the architecture profession.

“We are happy first at the number of entries. We had well over 20 entries. We also observed the progress made by the contestants in their power point, 3D presentations and their sustained interest in the competition. This no doubt goes to confirm that our commitment to adding value to the practice of architecture in Nigeria is yielding positive results.”

When asked about their winning strategy, Odunrombi and Makinde said “it was team work, keeping it simple in conception and building on existing frameworks. These were factors we think may have helped us to impress the judges and win the competition.”

The Osun State Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Architects, Mr. Goke Omigbodun commended the level of improvement in the contestants’ presentations, while urging them to do more research to advance and maintain the high standard the OAU Architecture Department is noted for.

He stressed the need for them to embrace student membership of the institute as it remains a prerequisite to enjoying a blissful professional career in architecture.

While pledging the organiser’s continued support for the competition, the Business Development Manager, Mr. Dayo Oduleye said the competition which is the third in the series, is a give-back-to-society initiative.

“We are sponsoring the contest to give back to the institution OAU because it is the alma mater of our Managing Director, Anthony Okoye and in the process we hope to observe and identify the natural talent of students just beginning their journey into architecture and get their fresh perspective on form and design. We hope to also make the competition more interesting next year by including as part of the price, a visit to some interesting architectural sites in Dubai, Europe and South Africa.”

Design Genre Consultants is a fast growing architectural consulting and construction firm established in 2008 with the aim of creating contemporary designs that suits the lifestyle of their clients. The company’s mission is to achieve excellence in all areas of endeavour while recreating a functional and aesthetically pleasant environment with designs ranging from residential building designs to public building designs. It prides itself as problem solvers who approach projects from the standpoint that good design must solve the relevant problems and be aesthetically pleasing.