South Africa leads continent in contemporary architecture, innovation
An exciting project for the Paragon Group in Africa at the moment is Habitat Apartments in Kilimani, a 24-storey, 160-unit mixed-use apartment tower, in conjunction with Design Source of Nairobi. Under development by Ekco Investments, the project is scheduled for completion by mid-2020.
PASA, part of the Paragon Group of architecture and interior architecture companies, also plans an educational campaign to counter the lack of awareness about the architectural profession, the critical role it plays in the development of South Africa, and its potential to offer viable career paths, in rural areas. This, by extension, will help boost skill sets on the continent.
Sibande highlights that PASA has been awarded a Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) rating for 2018. The Paragon Group is currently heavily involved with the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Graduate School of Architecture (GSA).
This is the youngest architecture department in South Africa, having grown from 76 students in 2016 to an anticipated 115 this year. Here the Paragon Group has Visiting Professorship status, with experienced staff members presenting guest lectures.
Sibande highlights that the next step of this programme is to focus on schools in rural areas. “We are looking to target learners from Grade 10, as by Grade 12 they should largely have made up their minds about their future career paths. We need to make learners not only aware of the importance of architecture in society, but how it is a perfect combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.”
In 2019, PASA aims to invite select groups of learners from various schools to a guided tour of the Paragon head office in Johannesburg, where they can experience first-hand how an architecture and interior architecture group functions on a daily basis.
“It is also important that learners become aware of major architectural trends such as the debate around building efficiencies, and the advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM), and how this is revolutionising the design space,” Sibande comments.
Ends
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Notes to the Editor
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About Paragon
Paragon, established in October 1997, is an internationally-active design business, based in Johannesburg. We deliver commercial architecture, masterplanning, interior design, and space planning to visionary clients in all property sectors, from retail to residential and education.
We are committed to global urban development. We are able and agile. Paragon is flexible and diverse in its approach to design. Each project is unique and not driven by style, but by lifestyle and a response to user needs. Elegant and efficient planning form the core of our designs. We understand the needs of our clients, and know how to generate ever new architectural forms in a competitive property market.
We are known for hands-on engagement with all opportunities present in the modern global building industry. The true measure of our skill is our ability to engage at all levels and with all players that make up the colourful world of construction and property development. Our buildings look forward. We embrace the future, because we will be a part of it – part of its problems and responsibilities, and part of its great freedoms and achievements.
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Hugh Fraser
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hughf [at] paragon [dot] co [dot] za
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