University of Pretoria and North West University claim top honours at the Greenovate Awards
University of Pretoria is the winner of the Greenovate Property Award 2019 and North West University the winner of the Greenovate Engineering Award 2019.
The prestigious Greenovate Awards acknowledge outstanding leadership in environmentally innovative thinking for the built environment at university level.
The Greenovate Awards is a joint venture initiative between South Africa’s forerunner in high-performance green buildings Growthpoint Properties and the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). Launched in 2015, this student programme aims to educate and reward the young minds and future leaders of South Africa for innovation and green building in the built environment.
This year Growthpoint and GBCSA have been joined by sponsors RMS Remote Metering Services, Aurecon, WSP and Ellies to deliver an initiative that is so much more than a competition; it is changing our built environment.
The programme has two streams: the Greenovate Property Awards – covering property studies, quantity surveying and construction management – offered for the fifth time in 2019, and the Greenovate Engineering Awards – covering electrical, computer and electronic, civil and mechanical engineering – now in its third year.
This year, 18 finalists were adjudicated from seven universities around South Africa. The wide-ranging and visionary submissions varied from sustainable societies to greywater and energy storage solutions.
The winners were announced at a gala dinner in Sandton Central with keynote speaker Carla Sharpe, founding member of the SA Space Association and Women in Aerospace Africa, who is also responsible for business development at Africa’s largest science undertaking, the Square Kilometres Array (SKA).
Greenovate Property Awards 2019:
- Winners: The University of Pretoria team of Henno de Villiers and Liné Grobler supervised by Danie Hoffman, with their submission titled “Pushing back Day Zero – water-saving strategies for all”. The team won R30,000 as well as the opportunity to present at GBCSA Conference 2020, local flights and accommodation included.
- Second place: Neslon Mandela Bay University’s Ashvin Managa with his submission titled “Implications of a natural ventilation retrofit of an office building”, supervised by Chris Allen. The student won R15,000 as well as GBCSA Convention 2020 tickets.
- Third place: The University of the Witwatersrand team of Ayanda Mhlanga, Binaica Dalpat and Mzuchumile Makalima, supervised by Rolien Labuschagne, with their submission titled “The use of succulent plants to reduce the fumes in building fires”. The team won R10,000 and GBCSA Convention 2020 tickets.
Greenovate Engineering Awards 2019:
- Winners: North West University Lucas van Wyk, supervised Dr Henri Marais, with the submission titled “Grey-water management system”. The student won R30,000 and the opportunity to present at GBCSA Conference 2020, local flights and accommodation included.
- Second place: Stellenbosch University’s Stephan Olivier with the submission “Low Cost, alternative energy storage for grid-tied solar PV systems”, and with Chris Jurgens supervising. The student won R15,000 as well as GBCSA Convention 2020 tickets.
- Third place: University of Cape Town’s Tariromunashe Mufunde, supervised by Dyllon Randall, with the submission “CO2 Sequestration from commercial buildings using algae”. The student won R10,000 and GBCSA Convention 2020 tickets.
WSP Buildability Award:
In addition, for the first time, this year WSP sponsored a laptop with accessories to the value of R20,000 for the submission with the best buildability. This special prize was won by Lucas van Wyk.
Werner van Antwerpen of Growthpoint Properties, who was a judge for the competition this year and has been involved in Greenovate since its inception, says: “We are proud to recognise student green building projects with a passion to create better, more sustainable, cities, towns and neighbourhoods. It is exciting that interest and participation in the Greenovate Awards continue to grow in its fifth year, expanding awareness and creating more solutions for global climate change.”
Grahame Cruickshanks, Managing Executive; Market Engagement, GBCSA, says, “The awards facilitate students’ exposure to green building and sustainability at the start of their careers, catalysing them to enter the market as advocates for green building with a passion to create and enable sustainable approaches in their professions. We are pleased to note the high standard of submissions and grateful for the opportunity to meaningfully introduce the future leaders of South Africa’s built environment sector to green building approaches.”
The benefits of encouraging and enabling green building innovation in South Africa and globally are tangible, meaningful and much-needed. This is why Growthpoint and GBCSA have set their sights on continuing to grow the competition and programme in future, to include more universities and a broader knowledge base of innovative solutions.
GREENOVATE 2019 MENTORS AND JUDGES
The Greenovate Awards provides university students with the opportunity to access the very best minds in environmental sustainability in the property and engineering sectors in South Africa. An unprecedented line-up of experts and thought leaders in their fields volunteer their time, experience and mentorship to encourage and guide South Africa’s next generation of leaders who will take the green building movement forward, innovate and inspire.
Greenovate Property Awards
Judging panel:
- Hlompho Vivian, Key Accounts Manager, GBCSA
- Marloes Reinink, Partner, Solid Green Consulting
- Martin Smith, Technical Director – Buildings, Aurecon
- Nkuli Bogopa, CEO, Broll Property Group
- Adrie Fourie, Senior Environmental Sustainability Designer, Aurecon
Mentors:
- Grahame Cruickshanks, Managing Executive; Market Engagement, GBCSA
- Louwna Joubert, Environmental Sustainability Designer, Aurecon
- Jarrod Lewin, Account Director, Broll Properties
- Sally Misplon, Founder, Misplon Green Building Consulting
- Pales Sibeko, Co-founder, Good Work Soc
Greenovate Engineering Awards
Judging panel:
- Mauritz Kruger, Architect – Principal Specialist, Royal Haskoning DHV
- Jenni Lombard, Technical Director, GBCSA
- Werner van Antwerpen, Corporate Finance, Growthpoint Properties
- Mike Aldous, Associate – Green Building & Sustainability Services, Mott MacDonald
- Yogesh Gooljar, Building Performance Engineer, PJ Carew Consulting
- Alison Groves, Regional Director, WSP
Mentors:
- Nardo Snyman, National Sustainability Manager, Excellerate
- Dash Coville, Sustainable Building Consultant, Solid Green
- Hlologelo Manthose, Sustainability Consultant, WSP
- Vere Shaba, Founder, Shaba Green Building Design and Engineering
Released by:
Growthpoint Properties Limited
Nadine Kuzmanich
Head, Marketing and Communication
Tel: 011 944 6251
For more information, or to book an interview, please contact Mahlatse Bojanyane on 083 453 6668 or email [email protected].