Student with Ladysmith connections wins top architecture award
His winning project envisages a "public, connective architecture" for a District Six of the future
At the Architecture ZA (AZA) Conference in Pretoria on Friday, May 4, 22-year-old student Roark Robinson was crowned the winner of this year’s PPC Imaginarium Award for Architecture and received a R50,000 cash prize.
Roark is originally from Ladysmith and his grandparents are ex-owners of the Ladysmith Gazette.
The PPC Imaginarium Award for Architecture has replaced the Des Baker Award for outstanding student design, making Roark the top architecture student in Southern Africa. He is studying at the University of Cape Town.
His winning project envisages a “public, connective architecture” for a District Six of the future.
The focus of this year’s AZA included issues related to culture, human settlement and environmental potential.
It was thus a fitting backdrop on which to bestow the PPC Imaginarium Award for Architecture.
Architecture schools across Southern Africa were invited to submit works by final-year students for consideration. All 21 finalists’ projects were on exhibition at the 012 Central Gallery as part of the AZA programme.
In keeping with the AZA’s theme of resilience and memory, entrants were asked to locate a ‘hole’ in urban infrastructure caused by rapid growth and change, and to contribute to spatial transformation by addressing connections between the community’s memory and resilience.
Roark’s favourite destination is the Drakensberg.
He spent his first year of life in Ladysmith and returned every year for Christmas holidays at his grandparents’ home in Ladysmith. His grandparents, Shirley and Mervyn Robinson, are ex-owners of the Ladysmith Gazette and have played a vital role in his growth and development.
Shirley, who schooled in Ladysmith and spent half her life here, married the love of her life, Mervyn, who is formerly from Durban. When the couple married, they lived in Durban.
In 1964, Mervyn bought the Ladysmith Gazette newspaper and he was the owner till 1987.
“We are very proud of Roark. He is a blessing to us and we wish him the very best in the future,” says Shirley.
Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there!
