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UCT excels to win both the Greenovate Property and Engineering Awards 2018
Published on: 04/12/2018
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has won the Greenovate Property Award 2018 and the Greenovate Engineering Award 2018, taking top place in both streams of the prestigious Greenovate Awards.
This is the second year in a row that UCT has taken top honours in both Awards, demonstrating continued outstanding leadership in environmentally innovative thinking for the built environment.
THE GREENOVATE AWARDS
The Greenovate Awards is a joint venture initiative between 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.
The programme has two streams: the Greenovate Property Awards, offered for the fourth time in 2018, and the Greenovate Engineering Awards, now in its second year.
A total of eight universities competed again this year. Only UCT and University of Johannesburg (UJ) competed in both award streams. This year, 16 finalists were adjudicated.
The pioneering submissions varied from exciting ideas for green building materials, methods and management, to alternative sources of energy and water used within buildings, extracting valuable by-products that buildings generate, the most efficient ways to heat and cool buildings, the positive impacts of green buildings on the people who build and use them, and the accessibility of the public spaces between buildings.
The winners were announced at a gala dinner in Sandton Central with international keynote speaker and business strategist Zipho Sikhakhane.
Greenovate Property Awards 2018:
1. Winners: The UCT team of Michael Inskip, Samantha Johnson and Morgan Knowles, supervised by Saul Nurick and Karen Le Jeune, with their submission titled “Assessing the relationship between green buildings and their occupants’ green citizenship.” The team won R30,000 as well as the opportunity to present at GBCSA Conference 2019, local flights and accommodation included.
2. Second place: University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) team made up of Rashid Bulbulia, Onneile Mfetane, Hitekani, Mongwe, with their submission titled “Incorporating cow dung in modern acoustics”. Stuart Ray supervised the team. The team won R15,000 as well as GBCSA Convention 2019 tickets.
3. Third place: The WITS team of Kimera Ramruthan, Ziev Shani and Justin Watkins, supervised by Prisca Simbanegavi, with their submission titled “Investigating the possibility of making rental housing in the gap market more affordable through green building technology”. The team won R10,000 and GBCSA Convention 2019 tickets.
Greenovate Engineering Awards 2018:
1. Winners: UCT student Chloe Bolton, supervised Dr Dyllon Randall, with the submission titled “Greywater treatment and reuse: wetland microbial fuel cell and sand filtration system for the on-site treatment and recycling of handwashing greywater.” The student took home R30,000 and earned the opportunity to present at GBCSA Conference 2019, local flights and accommodation included.
2. Second place: North West University (NWU) student Eben Schutte with the submission “Investigating the suitability of electromagnetic water flow meters in a residential context”. Dr Henri Marais and Dr Leenta Grobler supervised the team. The student won R15,000 as well as GBCSA Convention 2019 tickets.
3. Third place: The Stellenbosch University (SUN) team of Marchant van den Heever and Frederick Albrecht Bester, supervised by Prof GPAG Van Zijl, with their “3D printed concrete” submission. The team won R10,000 and GBCSA Convention 2019 tickets.
CHANGING OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR THE BETTER
Greenovate is so much more than a competition; it is changing our built environment.
The innovative idea for an on-site nutrient recovery urinal by winner of the Greenovate Engineering Award in 2017, Craig Peter Flanagan who represented UCT, has been implemented by Growthpoint at its new head office development for Exxaro in Pretoria. By incorporating the fertiliser producing urinal concept into a major commercial office, it has changed Growthpoint’s thinking on how it develops new buildings.
This practical example of the benefits of encouraging and enabling green building innovation is another reason that Growthpoint and GBCSA have set their sights on continuing to grow the competition and programme to include more universities and a broader knowledge base of innovative solutions.
WHAT THE GREENOVATE AWARDS PARTNERS HAD TO SAY
Werner van Antwerpen, Corporate Finance, Growthpoint Properties: “We’re excited to see the interest in this programme growing and that it is creating more awareness and solutions for global climate challenge.”
Dorah Modise, GBCSA CEO: “Greenovate has, over the years, provided a platform for students to deal with real-life green building research projects and solutions. The amazing energy these students display is inspiring and encourages us all to do more. The green building movement is in desperate need of vibrant young minds to take us to greater heights, and this is where it all begins.”
Mitesh Bhawan, Head of Sustainability and Utilities, Growthpoint Properties: “While innovation is often focused on technology, it is needed in all areas. More universities and students should get involved and share the same vision from a tertiary level to really implement innovation on a circular level”.
Manfred Braune, GBCSA Managing Executive: Sector Development & Transformation
& Executive Director: “Greenovate allows students to present their sustainability-related thesis project to industry leaders. It is a brilliant opportunity for exposure to potential employers looking for young graduates. We congratulate the students on their fantastic projects, and urge them to carry forward their passion for sustainability in the built environment into their future workplaces.”
Mike Aldous, Greenovate Engineering Award judge, Associate – Green Building & Sustainability Services/ BIM Champion at Mott MacDonald: “The Greenovate Awards have seen year-on-year growth in the sustainability centric innovation produced by students from across the country. The quality of entries has highlighted the incredible value that a new generation of engineering and property graduates bring to the market with fresh direction and disruptive thinking.”
Brian Wilkinson, Greenovate Property Awards judge, retired green building champion and Chairman of HouseME: “The quality of submissions continues to improve and impress – we are always inspired by the effort of the students and their grasp of this critical area of study. We are indeed in good hands.”
THE JUDGES
The judging panel for the Greenovate Property Awards comprised:
· Dorah Modise, CEO of Green Building Council South Africa
· Brian Wilkinson, Chairman o, HouseME
· Mitesh Bhawan, Head of Sustainability and Utilities, Growthpoint Properties
· Marloes Reinink, Partner, Solid Green Consulting
· Martin Smith, Technical Director – Buildings, Aurecon
· Nkuli Bogopa, CEO, Broll Property Group
The judging panel for the Greenovate Engineering Awards comprised:
· Mauritz Kruger, Architect – Principal Specialist, Royal Haskoning DHV
· Manfred Braune, Executive 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
GREENOVATE AWARD SPONSORS 2018:
· Growthpoint Properties
· Green Building Council South Africa
· RMS Remote Metering Services
· Royal Haskoning DHV
/ends
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 011 783 0700 or on 083 453 6668 or email [email protected]