African Design Magazine ADM #39 April 2018 | Page 48

AZA18
around heritage fabric and
resilience, and the provision of
innovative housing solutions.
AZA will outline different
architectural perspectives,
and what issues the students
grapple with in their attempts
to find their own ‘voice’.”
Pieter Greyvensteyn, as the
head of the fourth design
programme at the Tshwane
University of Technology
(TUT), tasked his students
with the creation of concrete
cubes, redesigned as benches,
which are being displayed on
a temporary basis at AZA18.
“It was important to involve
the students on a practical
level in advance of attending
AZA. Once the conference is
finished, these cubes will be
transported to their permanent
location at a bus stop in
George Storrar Drive, Pretoria.
This location was identified as
optimum because by nature it
is a high-volume congregation
area.”
Head of the TUT
Architecture Department,
Prof Jacques Laubscher says
that AZA18 is a participative
forum where students not
only listen to others but
are also able to voice their
opinions. “The large amount
of work conducted behind
the scenes on the concrete
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AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE © | APRIL 2018
cube project has allowed the
students to gain experience
and extend their learning
beyond that of the traditional
classroom. By attending the
conference, and listening to
and rubbing shoulders with
current practitioners and
by participating in debates,
the students gain valuable
professional life experience.”
Since a different university
and university of technology
combination is chosen every
two years to co-sponsor
AZA, students are able to
interact with students from
other institutions and share
their collective experiences.
“Architectural education
in Africa and specifically
in South Africa is at a
crossroads. The work Pieter
is doing is underpinned
by a social responsibility
while simultaneously using
a technological approach. A
forum like AZA becomes a
benchmarking exercise and
allows us to see what focus
areas other schools are
pursuing and how they could
benefit the South African
environment in educating
future architects. The selection
of interesting locations for
these conferences is beneficial
in helping the regeneration
of that part of the city,” says
Laubscher.