Let’s Meet The Winner of The PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative

Carmen Gregan, interior design student at Design Time School of Interior Design in Cape Town was announced as the winner of the 2023 PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative at a very special awards ceremony recently held in Johannesburg. Tiago Loureiro Goncalves, Interior Design student from the University of Johannesburg won second place, and Kayla van Speyk from IIE Vega – Interior Design in Cape Town came third.

The PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative is an annual design competition aimed at third-year architecture and interior design students around South Africa. It aims to nurture and recognise young talent, introduce students to real-world briefs and products, and encourage creative thinking. This year’s brief required the students to design a dream desert oasis consisting of an Instagrammable luxury residence, with entertainment areas and landscaped surrounds, celebrating the basic human needs of eating, sleeping, bathing and socialising, using the four elements of fire, water, earth and air. Carmen’s winning design, titled “The Chrono”, was inspired by the passage of time.

Today we have the privilege of speaking to the winner of the 2023 competition, Carmen Gregan to find out more about her experience…

How many design competitions have you entered through Design Time?

The PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative is the only national competition that I have entered through Design Time (PTY) Ltd School of Interior Design however, many in-house real client competitions are held within Design Time in which I have participated.

As a participant and winner of the 2023 PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative, what did you expect from the competition?

It was wonderful to be briefed by Jason in person and receive this year’s exciting brief. From this point forward, I started developing my concept post doing a site analysis. The challenge I set for myself was to push myself out of my comfort zone in exploring a design aesthetic that was foreign to me.

I loved the process from start to finish, the hours involved in tweaking my final presentation boards and the joy of hearing that I had made a top 10 finalist is still surreal. This was a fantastic opportunity in all ways, meeting the other finalists, and receiving feedback from both the judges and the industry was incredibly valuable and will stand me in good stead going forward.

What makes the PG 1.618 Initiative competition the most prestigious in your opinion?

Being selected as one of the top ten national finalists is undeniably a prestigious honour in itself as the PG Bison competition is regarded so highly by the industry leaders.

This recognition carries significant weight within the industry regarding my CV/portfolio and potential future employment opportunities.

Did you join the Design competition with a single design or with multiple design ideas?

My initial concept was based on the concept of time and how time affects the relationship between nature and humans. From this point forward I explored multiple design layouts in terms of the structure and internal spatial planning focusing on materiality which talked to the Tankwa’s landscape.

Did you submit an existing design work or create a new design for this competition?

The Chrono was born through the PG Bison 1.618 Initiative competition.

I believe that every project should be original to its brief.

How long did it take you to do the concept and design from start to finish?

As part of our curriculum, our class was given a three-week timeline to conceptualize, develop, and execute our projects. Thereafter, the top 5 in-house Design Time entries were selected and reworked within a two-week time frame.

Do you have any advice you can give to next year’s students entering the competition?

The best advice I can give any future candidate is to develop your concept thoroughly and ensure that your boards speak for themselves. Design is a subjective field, so maintaining faith in your ability is crucial to your growth and success.

Do you think the briefs given on design competitions are good enough?

Yes, I do!

The national competition briefs are designed and developed by industry experts who know how to challenge architectural and interior design students in an extremely beneficial way.

Why did you decide to enter the PG Bison 1.618 initiative design competition?

In my first year at Design Time, I witnessed my peers work tirelessly on their PG Bison competition entries which motivated me to do the same. It was so thrilling to be selected as one of Design Time’s in-house finalists! The support I received from the entire school throughout the final two weeks of executing my competition entry made me feel confident in my entry. What motivated me the most was the potential of making a top 10 national finalist and the chance of engaging with industry leaders at the event which opens doors for the future. Winning PG Bison gets me a foot through this exciting door and I am feeling both grateful and excited for the future.

How do you think in general design competitions should be organized? If you were to organize the next PG Bison competition what innovation would bring you to the initiative?

I think that distributing the project brief at the beginning of the academic year would provide students with the necessary lead time to initiate their ideation process before diving into the development phase.

Additionally, I think the incorporation of a post-project evaluation session involving the top ten projects, attended by both student finalists and their respective lecturers. This would offer invaluable insights as students would receive constructive feedback from the judges.

I believe that this year’s brief allowed for more creative freedom by being given a site and not an existing building. This could potentially become a staple in future briefs.

I think that the freedom to create an experience made you think outside the box with very few design constraints which celebrated original creativity – the sky was the limit!

Could you please tell us more about your experiences in any previous design competitions you participated in, what did you like most, what were your frustrations, etc.?

Competitions push creativity and striving for the highest standard of work is paramount, therefore pushes growth. In-house competitions keep us relevant as one interacts with clients in both residential and commercial fields which builds confidence in exploring different design aesthetics and materiality.

The frustration I sometimes feel as a student is being part of a class and not being able to develop a one-on-one relationship with the said client. I am looking forward to a working office where I can use my skill set and build relationships through exciting and challenging projects going forward.

I think another challenge we sometimes feel is in meeting client briefs where one is not at liberty to design and procure exactly what our hearts desire due to budgets or wish lists.

Find out more about this exciting competition Here.