On Thursday night, 6th of October, PG Bison hosted its prestigious 1.618 Awards for students of interior design and architecture. The event marked 24 years of PG Bison’s ongoing commitment to the competition and the industry.
For PG Bison, the value of this investment is on two fronts. Firstly, by creating an objective platform through which tertiary institutions can compete nationally, it assists in stimulating development and secondly, by showcasing young designers to the industry, it helps both kick-starting their careers and keeping the industry growing.
2016’s brief required students to create a space for a multi-disciplinary team that would foster creativity, design, interaction and maximum productivity. The Cape Recife Lighthouse, in Port Elizabeth, was the fictional setting for the brief.
Karen Boshoff, from Inscape Education Group’s Johannesburg branch, won first prize. She receives an all-expenses-paid trip for her and her lecturer to the Milan Furniture Fair in 2017.
Karen was already well into her career, working as a freelance graphic designer, before enrolling at Inscape. Karen always had an interest in architecture and spent hours conceptualising living spaces and theoretically redesigning recently visited homes. With her passion and appreciation for design, Karen embraced the 2016 brief. In her acceptance speech, she explained how her hard work and persistence had finally paid off after many setbacks and rejections.
Karen’s advice for others considering a career change, “Take every chance you are given and live with no regrets.” Karen hopes to study further next year, possibly at an international institute.
On the evening, MD of Surface Innovations, Philip Roux again emphasised the importance of the competition, saying, “We want to create an opportunity for our up and coming designers to showcase their talents. We love seeing these young designers coming up through the educational system, and this competition creates an incredible opportunity and stepping stone for their careers.”
