Page 12 - Designing Ways 266

TRADE WINDS

PG Bison 1.618

Education Initiative

2023 brief launched

Bison’s annual 1.618 Education
PG Initiative competition is
underway. Lectures are taking place at
academic institutions around the country
to deliver the brief to the participating
third-year architecture and interior design
students. Themed #WorldsOfDesire, the
2023 brief asks entrants to imagine and
design the ultimate luxury desert oasis in
the heart of the arid Tankwa Karoo.
The brief recognises how social media internal spaces. Most importantly, they it’s now viewed by many students as a
has reached beyond the digital sphere must celebrate the basic human needs of way to be noticed and have their talent
to affect the physical world. It centres eating, sleeping, bathing and socialising identified in the marketplace, as they near
on the idea of a wealthy content creator through the elements of earth, fire, air and the end of their studies and start to think
who wants to invest in creating a space water. With the site located in a desert, the about joining the world of work. Many
in the Tankwa Karoo that she can rent clever use of water provides the wicked of the winners and finalists have gone on
out to film and photography crews and problem to the brief. to achieve great success, and finalists are
other social media content creators. “This year’s brief is a really fun always sought after by employers looking
This entertainment oasis development opportunity for students and their to hire fresh young talent.”
therefore needs to be visually appealing, lecturers to work on a project where they The 2023 brief is a departure from its
with interesting “Instagrammable” can add their own flair, while showcasing focus in recent years on social issues.
architectural and design features. their design skills,” says Jason Wells, Brand While this is an important component
Students interpreting the brief need to and Marketing Manager at PG Bison. of what built environment professionals
meet various criteria in their submissions, “We’ve been sponsoring this competition will do in their working careers,
including using the existing building for more than 30 years now, and although Wells says the competition is first and
on the site as an anchor point and using it started out as a means to introduce foremost an opportunity for students to
PG Bison products within appropriate third-year students to PG Bison’s products, demonstrate their creativity and skills in
an environment they will not often be
afforded in the real world, where briefs
tend to be more constrained.
The winning student and their lecturer
will each win a cash prize of R50 000,
while the runner-up takes home R25 000
and third-place wins R10 000. Each of the
top 10 finalists selected is also invited to
a special awards ceremony, with travel
and hospitality covered by PG Bison, and
those who do not place in the top three
each enjoy a cash prize of R2 000. dw

“We are looking forward to seeing what
this year’s entrants produce,” says Wells.
“South Africa has a wealth of young
talent on offer, and we can’t wait to see their
responses to the ‘#WorldsOfDesire’ brief.”

For more information, visit the PG
Bison 1.618 Education Initiative website.
www.1sixoneeight.co.za.
www.pgbison.co.za

12 Issue 266 • dw