KOOP DESIGN WINS FOR KZN RESERVE

Koop Design’s Dalton Private Reserve in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands has won the top award at the AfriSam-SAIA Awards for Sustainable Architecture. The award was made at a ceremony at Turbine Hall in Newtown as part of AZA 2010, South Africa’s first architecture mega-event which has brought together leading-edge thinkers and multi-disciplinary practitioners from around the globe.

Koop Design’s Dalton Compound is an integrated component of its environment, a 3,000-hectare reserve. It is the operational centre of the reserve with buildings that are flexible to various utilitarian needs yet offer exclusivity to guests staying at the compound’s luxury accommodation. The project removed alien vegetation and recycled it for use. A vegetable garden was created for staff and the local community was trained and employed in the construction of the compound.

Richard Stretton started Koop Design in 1999. Koop’s design ethos is to produce buildings and products that are environmentally sensitive and energy efficient.

The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) partnered with AfriSam (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd for this, the first AfriSam-SAIA Awards for Sustainable Architecture, a biennial initiative aimed at recognising outstanding achievement in sustainable architecture.

Says Al Stratford, President of SAIA: “The future for architects will be defined by accelerating urbanisation and climate change, precipitating economic and cultural adjustment, demanding an integrated sustainable design and practice response.”

More information at www.aza2010.org