Hsu Yi Hua from BHC School of Design was named first runner up in the competition, winning a cash prize of R15,000. His lecturer is Marga de Vos. The second runner up position was awarded to Carolynn Innes, also from Design Time School of Interior Design, who received a R5000 cash prize.
The concept of the brief for this year’s competition was ‘Boosting Africa’s economy through creativity’ and looked at how architecture can empower our cultural and creative industries, which was conceptualized by Mphethi Morojele, Director of MMA Design Studio. With participation from most design institutions nationwide, submissions reflected the perfect harmony between sustainability, creativity and funcionality.
“I’ve never enjoyed a brief like this before – it meant a lot to me that it had a lot to do with helping people, and a real-time growth in our economy and not just something that looks good,” said de Wet.
Each year South African design students compete for not only the prestigous title, but the opportunity to experience the highest level of design from international fairs such as Salone del Mobile and Eurocucina in Milan, Maison&Objet in Paris and IMM in Cologne. The finalists also have the chance to launch their career as their submissions get presented to the countries leading design experts. To date, three of the nine finalists have been interviewed for positions in local design firms.
The final set of entries showcased in Caesarstone’s 10th annual Student Design Awards ceremony unearthed the dynamic innovations of South Africa’s future design landscape. Students excelled in honing their acquired design skills to create innovatively designed spaces and carefully curated ideas. The esteemed judges came to the final decision after a full day of judging and deliberation. The judges where: Stefan Antoni of SAOTA, Jonathan Anstey of Anstey Architect, Mphethi Morojele of MMA Design Studio and Dorothy van’t Riet of DVR.
“The emerging design talent is an inspiration for the industry and this year the entries set a new benchmark. The thought processes and respective applications stretch beyond the expected work of tertiary design students,” commented Trevor King, marketing director of Caesarstone.
For more information on the Caesarstone design initiatives, and to download the 2018 brief visit studentdesignercomp.co.za or www.caesarstone.co.za and some images from the awards ceremony can be viewed here: blog.caesarstone.co.za/gallery-student-designer.
