WORLD
ARCHITECTURE DAY – A TIME FOR REFLECTION
Media Release by the President of the SA Institute
of Architects:
Monday 2 October 2006
The International Union of Architects (UIA)
has declared the first Monday of October as World Architecture
Day. It is a day on which we focus on the role of architecture
and how it impacts on the lives of those that it affects locally
as well as globally.
On 1 September 2006, the South African
Institute of Architects (SAIA) held their congress at which
the Awards of Merit and Awards for Excellence were announced.
This is an event which occurs every two years and can be regarded
as a reflection of the standard of work being produced by
members of SAIA which constitute between 55 and 60% of the
registered Architects in this country. Twenty nine awards
of merit were handed out from which four Awards for Excellence
were chosen. The award winning buildings included residential,
public, educational, religious and resort buildings.
In a recent on line survey conducted by
SAIA and VISI magazine, 2500 respondents were invited to choose
their favourite building from a list that comprised the buildings
that were entered for the SAIA Award of Merit. It is interesting
to note that the buildings that went on to receive SAIA Awards
for Excellence were amongst those that received the highest
number of votes. These include the Constitutional Court and
the Beau Constance residence in Constantia
The above two events provide us with an
opportunity to reflect on the state of architecture in our
country.
From the large number of big budget buildings
that received awards, it is clear that this sector is being
well catered for. In fact one can add that in recent years,
one has seen a marked improvement in the standard of work
in this sector. This could be attributed to the improved economy
in our country which has created more opportunities as well
as better budgets. Let us not forget the talent and skills
of the design teams involved.
Consultants and clients involved in these
type of projects now need to respond to new challenges such
as global warming, passive heating and cooling, issues relating
to the availability of water etc. The challenge to South Africans
in general and Architects and consultants in the built environment
(including their Clients) in particular is to ensure that
these issues which are in the interests of our country as
well as our planet are addressed effectively in all future
projects.
A disappointing aspect was the lack of
entries relating to the delivery of low cost housing (be it
public-subsidy based , affordable, gap etc), projects from
rural areas and the paucity of projects relating to and addressing
development issues. However, it must be noted that there has
been an increase in the number of these projects when compared
to previous years and hopefully, this is the start of a trend
that will see an increase in the number of entries in future
years.
Most of the projects were based in urban
areas (generally the cities) and those that were located in
rural areas did not necessarily have developmental concerns.
This does not reflect well on the architectural
profession in this part of the world as well as on South Africa
as a developing country and we need to reflect on the issues
that contribute to this situation.
It does not imply that nothing is being done, but there is
little to suggest that the relevant issues are being effectively
addressed.
On the low cost housing front, a substantial
number of houses have been delivered since 1994 but there
is general agreement that the environments that have been
created as a result of these projects are poor and have been
perpetuating the old apartheid spatial patterns and environments.
This has been acknowledged by various role players and a new
philosophy to create integrated environments has been agreed
to with the signing of the Social Contract for Rapid Housing
Delivery in 2005.
However, since then, delivery of housing
has been slow and it seems that there is a reluctance to try
new methods. We will need to be creative and bold and this
implies replacing old processes and methods of procurement
and delivery if necessary.
Resources and capacity are a problem especially in the rural
areas; what this means is that it is imperative for the public
and private sectors to work together and find new and effective
methods of delivery. The challenge for Architects who work
in these areas is to find appropriate and sustainable solutions
and work with the available resources. This might lead to
unconventional solutions.
Government has given notice that the provision
of infrastructure is a priority in the next few years. This
is to be welcomed. However, with the best intentions in the
world we might struggle to meet goals if we do not co-operate
and address the various issues as a unit. We should not be
looking at delivery in numerical terms only; all the issues
that affect the quality of environment as well as the life
of the users need to be factored into any discussion that
relate to the final product. These issues include affordability,
appropriate technology, sustainability, procurement, methods
of construction etc. and need to be addressed by all role
players to enable us to deliver effectively.
All of the issues that have been addressed
above do not take into consideration the 2010 World Cup which
would have an added impact on our ability to deliver.
The issue of lack of capacity and resources
(perceived or real) needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.
Steps need to be taken to ensure that more students are attracted
to architectural vocations and that standards are maintained.
The role of the educational institutions as well as voluntary
bodies such as SAIA in ensuring this is vital especially amongst
learners who do not have access to proper resources and information
about the profession. Loss of graduates to developed countries
has become an occupational hazard and we need to manage the
situation and ensure that we create the conditions for our
graduates to remain and practice in the country and or region.
These are challenging times in our country.
Our ability to deliver and leave a spatial legacy that will
be a solid foundation for future generations depends on how
we can overcome many of the issues addressed above. We need
to continue to reward good work with appropriate recognition
and use World Architecture Day in this part of the world as
a means to monitor progress and ensure that together (as a
nation), we are meeting the challenges of a developing Southern
Africa by delivering a built environment that is appropriate,
addresses global and local issues and one that adds value
to the lives of the citizens of our country.
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