Mr Siphephelo Mhlongo, emerged as an ‘intern’ and produced an inspiring design that scooped an architecture award. This was achieved at the final South Africa Institute for Architecture (SAIA) Awards celebrating architectural brilliance and excellence that took place at the Ziets Mocca Museum, Waterfront – a newly refurbished museum on the past Friday, 26 October 2018 at 17:00 in Cape Town. This is a ‘breaking news’ to share with the Department, the country and the world. It is about Siphephelo Mhlongo, a young, brilliant and elegant man who was awarded a bursary in 2012 and assumed an Internship Programme with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works in the North Coast Region. He was registered as a Professional Architect this year. During his internship program, he was placed at the Jeremy Steere Architects, based in Mtunzini, North Coast.
Mr Mhlongo was given an opportunity to do a design proposal. The client, known as the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ), liked his design proposal and it was built. He designed every detail under the supervision of Jeremy Steere. According to Siphephelo, the project is called the RBIDZ Entrance Gate and he was part of the design team. The project is an entrance gate into an industrial estate in Richards Bay. The client's brief required that Siphephelo and his design team design a sustainable landmark building that would symbolize their arrival. In the end, the team opted for a concrete structure with a striking form, which not only allowed it to be a bold statement of arrival but also allowed it to be sustainable and low maintenance.
