Congress's environmentally friendly focus inspires students

Sustainable and environment-friendly development and design were the main focus as hundreds of architectural students gathered in Cape Town. More than 600 students from all over South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Argentina met at UCT early this month for the annual Architectural Student Congress (ASC07), organised by UCT third-year architectural students.

Ross McDonald, the chairperson of the organising committee said: "Continuing in a long tradition of architecture congresses, ASC07 has truly inspired the participants and has invited them to critically engage with the architectural profession and the South African built environment."

Guests included Professor Hilde Heynen of the Department of Architecture and Urban Development at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, Australian architect Rick le Plastrier, and Rodrigo Perez de Arce, teacher at the Catholic University in Santiago, Chile.

UCT's Mathew Eberhard and Zara Gray took second place in the Murray & Roberts Des Baker design competition, a highlight of the congress. Top honours went to Gareth Ponmoon and Christopher Stock of the University of Johannesburg.