Media24 is challenging South African designers to re-imagine the façade of its Cape Town head office ahead of the city hosting World Design Capital 2014.
The rejuvenation of the 26-storey Naspers building is now part of the official programme.
“Cape Town’s Foreshore, and the rest of the city, is changing dramatically,” says CEO Esmare Weideman. “This is our opportunity to use the principles of sustainable design to transform a landmark building at the centre of the area, and to celebrate the innovation and design thinking that has led the development of Cape Town’s creative economy. What’s more, this is a great opportunity to participate in the rebranding of Media24 as a funky, on-the-move media company.”
The competition is open to architects, graphic designers, urban planners, innovators and novice artists with the building a “blank canvas” for conceptual design. Weideman says it’s a chance to bring new life to the city’s oldest skyscraper.
The building was erected in 1962 and was the tallest building in Africa at the time.
“The theme of Cape Town’s World Design Capital designation is ‘Live Design. Transform Life,” says Alayne Reesberg, CEO of Cape Town Design NPC, the implementation company behind the World Design Capital 2014 programme. “This competition is designed to ignite the imagination of creatives across the country and inspire them to use their design skills to transform an important piece of the city’s architectural heritage.”
The brief is that proposals should focus on additions to, installations on and visual solutions for the existing building. No alterations to the existing structure of the building will be considered. Entries will be judged against a set of criteria which includes, among other factors, sustainability, aesthetic appeal and broader community involvement in the realisation of the design initiative. Curators drawn together by Cape Town Design NPC will assess the submissions and a panel of judges from within Media24 will select the winning design.
Entries will be accepted from 11 November 2013 and close on 28 February 2014. Media24 will award cash prizes for the three winning submissions, a first prize of R200 000, a second prize of R80 000 and a third prize of R40 000. The winner will be announced on 11 April 2014. All guidelines and design considerations are available on the competition submission portal https://www.design.24.com.
