Mbombela Stadium and House CVDM represent Nelspruit in 2011/12 Corobrik-SAIA Awards of Merit

Sept. 4, 2012 - PRLog -- Two projects from the Nelspruit region, a minimalistic house in Shandon Estate and the iconic Mbombela Stadium, are in the running for the 2011/12 Corobrik-SAIA Awards of Merit and Awards for Excellence.

Mbombela Stadium
R&L Architects designed an iconically African stadium on a pre-selected 70 hectares Greenfield site for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

A straight sided stadium was designed as it is geometrically and economically the most effective, and construction is poured in place concrete columns and beams, with precast seating beams, which in the lower bowl are supported on ground beams, independent of the main structure. The lower bowl and upper concourse are accessed from natural ground floor level by way of eight 5m wide ramps on the four corners, which also enable an eight minute fire evacuation.

The 10m module selected is a practical one and the 13 x 3m columns were reduced in mass by creating four legs. The geometry of these columns together with the roof supporting steel pylons assumed the character of an animal, which with the addition of a stylised triangular, tubular head created the eighteen giraffes. The steel floating roof provides cover over 94% of the stadium seats and creates a natural air flow during the hot summer.

All structural elements were designed for local fabrication, and the stadium was constructed on time and within the original budget. The cost per seat was almost half that of European designed stadia.

House CVDM
The brief for Josef Fourie Architects was to create a new house on a stand which the client owned in Shandon Estate. The stand is enclosed by a natural clump of trees on the west side, two existing houses on the north and south and a view over the estate to the east.

The owners wanted a minimalistic house as a haven to retreat to in their busy lives and the spaces were to reflect their way of living once at home. The heart of the house is the living space that relates to the clump of trees to the west and the view to the east and which serves as a space for living between the two. The covered living space had to open up to a ‘stoep’ on the east and to the trees on the west as outside living was to take place in both external spaces.

A pool that relates to the stoep defines the covered living space and creates a border to the stoep. The terrace-like space serves as an intermediate space between the house as a man-made object and the unspoilt natural veld of the estate. A covered walkway along the full length of the house enhances the gradual movement from natural to manmade.

Columns support the roof, borrowing from ancient temple buildings, and slant to the outside to extend the roof into the natural space. They also fix the house on the landscape and give it a sense of belonging in its setting.

The South African Institute of Architects Award for Excellence was introduced in 1990, and is conferred every second year where it recognises an exceptional contribution to the field of architecture. The award programme was revised in 1999, and now includes the Awards of Merit running concurrently. The Corobrik-SAIA Awards of Merit are to be conferred at a function to be held in September 2012 as part of the SAIA AZA Biennial convention which is being held in Cape Town. The panel of adjudicators for the 2011/12 Awards is being convened by the President of the Institute, Fanuel Motsepe, and consists of Peter Kidger from Corobrik and an academic architect, Philippa Tumubweinee and designer David Tlale.

The 2011/12 awards have seen a total of 55 entries, a marked increase from previous years, and significantly, the Institute received entries from two new regions – the Northern Cape Institute of Architects and the North West Province Institute of Architects.


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Prepared for the SA Institute of Architects
For more information, kindly contact Su Linning or Marina Meyer on 011 782 1315.  Marina Meyer’s cell number is 083 231 9271.

Distributed by Shirley Williams Communications
Contact Shirley Williams on telephone 083 303 1663 or shirley@swcommunications.co.za