+IMPACT MAGAZINE ISSUE 18

YOUTH
THE COROBRIK STUDENT ARCHITECTURE AWARDS
The Corobrik Student Architecture Awards
jump-starts careers, builds the industry and
designs tomorrow. Regional winners are
selected from eight major universities, based
on the students’ final theses. These regional winners
then go through to the national round, where the top
title is awarded, plus a R70 000 grand prize.
The 2021 national winner is Mpho Sephelane from
the School of Architecture at the University of Cape
Town, who received a R70 000 cash prize. The thesis by
Sephelane was entitled “Re[covering] Place: African ways
of seeing, thinking and making as a call to rethink and
remake places in cities”. The judges’ citation stated that
Sephelane “shifted our mindsets to trust our heritage to
guide us and to be truly authentic. She narrated the use of
the Basotho blanket as a transformative and imaginative
symbol of identity and relevance”.
“I am extremely delighted and honoured to receive this
prestigious award. I am even more excited to represent
UCT at a national level,” says Sephelane. She adds that
the Corobrik Student Architecture Awards is a great
The 2021 national winner is Mpho
Sephelane from UCT for her thesis
“Re[covering] Place”.
platform to share ideas on integrating African narratives
into students’ work. “In sponsoring such awards, companies
like Corobrik, open new avenues of work and collaboration
that propel students into the professional world, where they
can take their ideas further. Apart from the exposure, it
also inspires other students to perform at their level best
and offers a chance for them to engage with student work
from different institutions.”
WOMEN
MAKING
WAVES IN
THE BUILDING
SECTOR:
The 2022 edition
Entitled “Re[covering] Place: African ways of seeing, thinking and making as a call to rethink and remake places in cities”, Sephelane’s thesis investigates issues of recovery and
preservation of traditional African knowledge systems, and how these can be translated into making contemporary spaces.
48 POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 18
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 18
49