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11 May 2023 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo iFlair Photography
Modular Lecture Building
The Modular Lecture Building on the UFS’s Bloemfontein Campus.

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Modular Lecture Building on its Bloemfontein Campus recently received a National Merit Award from the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA). The awards were announced at the 2021/2022 Corobrik SAIA Awards of Merit and Awards for Excellence ceremony in Johannesburg.

The multi-functional Modular Lecture Building, considered a hub for innovative learning, was designed by Roodt Architects in partnership with GXY Architects.

The adjudication panel received a total of 42 architectural projects from around the country, including infrastructure developments in the public and private sector. The SAIA Awards programme is structured over a two-year period and is conducted in two stages. In stage one regional awards for architecture are presented by the nine regional institutes affiliated to SAIA. In stage two the winning regional projects that are consequently entered into the national awards receive either a Commendation, an Award of Merit, and/or an Award for Excellence, which recognises exceptional achievement in the field of architecture.

In their citation the adjudicators noted that the Modular Lecture Building sets a benchmark for rational planning and technical efficiency and helps complete the campus urban framework through its placing and material choices.

Multi-functional spaces for students

Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director at UFS University Estates, said the recognition is a testament to the UFS’s aspirations to renew, rejuvenate, regenerate, and revisit facilities and infrastructure.

“This award proves that excellence can be achieved with a reasonable set budget,” Janse van Rensburg said. “Energy efficiency and green building principles can be achieved by careful planning and teamwork.”

The Modular Lecture Building offers a variety of much-needed flexible teaching and learning spaces. “I have been using the facilities in this building for two years now, and I can say the building is much more spacious and conducive to studying,” said Hymne Spies, a third-year BSc student majoring in biochemistry and genetics. “The many plugs make it more efficient for studying, as one can plug in his or her laptop. There is also a nice computer lab for us to make use of.”

The UFS is proud that the construction of this facility forms part of a bigger endeavour – to create a cohesive campus identity that improves core business and to further extend its innovation and excellence as per its Vision 130.

Take a tour of the new Modular Lecturing Space and Assessment Centre Building:

News Archive

UFS leads international conference
2010-05-13

Here Minister Naledi Pandor is introduced to Prof. Martin Kropff, Rector of the Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. Looking on are Prof. Aldo Stroebel and Melody Mentz.
– Photo Supplied.
The Third Biannual Conference of the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) was held in Cape Town, South Africa during April 2010. The conference was co-hosted by the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). It was the first time that the conference was held in Africa. The conference was attended by more than 400 delegates, representing more than 40 countries around the globe, and was officially opened by Minister Naledi Pandor, Department of Science and Technology (DST). The University of the Free State (UFS) took the lead in organising this event, with Prof. Aldo Stroebel, Vice-President of SARIMA and Director: Internationalisation at the UFS, as Conference President, and Prof. Frans Swanepoel, Director: Research Development at the UFS, as Chairperson of the Programme Committee. Other UFS staff who were members of the organising committee included Melody Mentz (Student Development and Success) and Lise Kriel (Planning Unit). Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning, participated in a panel discussion on research leadership.

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