“Reaching 30 years is a major milestone, and we have increased our judging panel from five industry experts to seven this year,” says Lian Markham, communications manager at PG Bison.
“We believe that it’s important for the educational institutions who partner with us to have feedback on their students’ work, and we deliver this to them in our lecturers’ debriefing session after the competition awards ceremony. The judges also have the opportunity to be exposed to emerging talents, while the students – particularly the top 10 finalists – enjoy industry exposure as they prepare to embark on their professional careers.”
Joining the panel in 2022 are Carla Soudien and Nelson Kubheka.
Soudien is a project architect and urban planner for studioMAS Architects and Urban Designers, based in the company’s Johannesburg office. She completed her architecture degrees at UCT (in 2003 and 2006 respectively) and in 2019 completed her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.
Nelson Kubheka obtained his National Diploma in Interior Design in 2008 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and began working as a junior designer at Source Interior Brand Architects (Source IBA), with projects including high-end hospitality and workplaces. He worked his way up to becoming an associate and then partner at Source IBA, working on key hospitality and office projects locally and across Africa.
After eight years, he founded his own company, Ommni Design, in 2016.
Returning to help judge the winning entries are:
