It’s Here! Caesarstone Student Designer 2020 Brief Has Launched

Every year Caesarstone invites South Africa’s design institutions and universities to participate in the annual Student Designer competition. They are now in the 13th year and cannot wait to see what the 2020 entrants have to offer.

This year’s brief is all about an adaptive reuse of site…

“Adaptive reuse” is a process of taking an old building or structure and repurposing and
reusing it for a modern need – other than which the original structure was built for.

The development landscape in South Africa has had a distinct shift from brand new developments to a more considered and sustainable strategy. The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town has proven, more than once, that an insertion of new infrastructure combined with
renovation of old structures can breathe life into any city, and how it’s being used, as seen in the Silo District.

The Zeitz MOCAA is a clear example of a successful adaptive reuse project. It provided a
complex challenge to designers and architects when towing the line between respectful restoration of the existing structure, and providing a contemporary structure servicing a modern need for an African museum in one of the world’s top design cities.

When deciding to approach an adaptive reuse project one has to consider various approaches to synthesising the new and old; be it through celebrating the old structure and contrasting it with modern materials, or demolishing of the existing structure while retaining a piece of it to be later displayed as an artefact in the new intervention.

All in all, the construction and design variables like culture, heritage, costs, utility and sustainability influence the adaptive reuse choices.

The Challenge

Drawing from the Concept of Adaptive Re-use your clients the V&A Waterfront are looking to reactivate the Collier Jetty as it straddles the tourist driven industry provided by the Waterfront mall and The Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island and the industrial function of boat repair at the Fish quay and several marine and logistical industries.

The Collier Jetty used to have a gantry that housed four conveyor belt systems that delivered grain from the shipping elevator to the ship loaders, to be transported to the export markets and was a significant link to the sea.

The gantry has subsequently be demolished but the jetty still stands and provides an opportunity to create a corridor from the Silo District to the sea, allowing views of the working Fish Quays and the city.

The challenge is to design a journey along the jetty that houses various programs around the concept of what the historical significance of the jetty was. This would be in the form of a fish market to reignite the industry with an exterior intervention and a restaurant with a specific exterior and interior aesthetic.

One must not be overwhelmed by the size of the jetty (220m x 22.5m) and utilise the end of the jetty with the remaining tower structures for the building intervention.

PRIZES WORTH R 100, 000
The Top 9 Finalists and their lecturers will be flown-in to attend an exciting awards evening at a snazzy location where the top 3 winners will be announced.

THE WINNER and their lecturer will be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to an international design fair of their choice, courtesy of Caesarstone worth R100,000.00. Flights, airport and hotel transfers, meals, accommodation and spending money are all included. Visa-related costs are excluded.

THE RUNNER-UP will receive R15,000.00.

THE 2nd RUNNER-UP will receive R5,000.00.

*BEST PRESENTATION & MODEL will receive R7,500. *Bonus prize

For more visit Caesarstone’s competition page.