Architecture department receives award

Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)'s department of architecture and spatial planning (DASP) received the prestigious Glen Murcutt Folio from the Architecture Foundation Australia. The gift enhances the department's efforts to become the first choice in architectural studies in the SADC region.
Tunohole Mungoba
The award was received by the vice-chancellor of the institution, Tjama Tjivikua, and he congratulated the department on bringing the award home. “This is a marvellous achievement despite the institution having limited resources. We have worked hard towards achieving this and everyone should be proud,” he said. The Folio, which is published by 01 Editions, is a collection of internationally renowned architect Glenn Murcutt's work.

Muratt is a, a British-born Australian architect and winner of multiple awards including the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize and the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. He is often referred to as Australia's most famous architect.

The most valuable part of this box-set publication is the reproduction of over 70 of Glenn Murcutt's drawings at original size.

These drawings have served the propose of being resourceful to students studying architecture, built industry and most importantly, the design studio. The Folio was awarded to the department after the 2017 two-week in-residence studio programme held in New South Wales, Australia.

The Folio is awarded to a participant at the Master Class who has close association to a school of architecture in a developing nation. This year, the clear choice was Namibia. Sophia van Greunen, a lecturer in the department received the Folio together with Mwamba Mwanakatwe, a local architect who also participated in the 2017 Master Class.

Furthermore, a contributing factor to the university receiving the gift was the previous participation of other renowned architects from Namibia namely, Wim Steenkamp and Gloria Kamau.

Previous recipients of the Folio include schools of architecture in Jamaica, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Slovenia, Bangladesh.

Tunohole Mungoba