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UFS Architecture alumnus wins coveted national prize

13 June 2024 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied

Arran Wood pictured with Prof Jan Smith, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, in front of his project.

A former Master’s student in Architecture at the University of the Free State (UFS) has recently been honoured with the esteemed Corobrik National Student Architecture Award. The 2023 grand prize was awarded to Arran Wood from UFS for his project "Spectral Flesh – Remembrance," which explores South Africa's forgotten nuclear history.

Corobrik’s vision for this competition is to provide up-and-coming architecture students a platform to showcase their architectural talent and creativity. The eight finalists were chosen by major South African universities, each selecting its best Master’s architectural student to participate in the awards.

The eight regional finalists had the opportunity to present their theses to an esteemed panel of judges, including Carin Smuts from CS Studio Architects, Somers Govender from Artek 4 Architects and Rudolf Roos from HDG Pretoria.

Unveiling forgotten conflict: Architecture as a mediator and reminder

Wood’s project delves into the role architecture can play as a mediator and reminder of forgotten conflicts. “The Angola-South African War left extensive scars and remains a raw place in the lives of many South Africans. Yet the memory and memorialisation of the conflict have become a shrouded spectre. One of the most obscured fallouts of the war was the fact that South Africa managed to construct nuclear weapons and became the first nation to decommission their nuclear arsenal voluntarily,” Wood explained.

The thesis proposes a theoretical foundry and “inverted monument” at the forgotten nuclear weapons development site at Pelindaba near Hartbeesport Dam. He chose this project due to his interest in the relationship between architecture and memory, particularly the memory of warfare. “I wanted to focus my research on something specific to South Africa. I settled on the Angola-South African War because its fallout is still a relevant struggle that many people deal with, yet it remains largely unspoken. This led me to discover how intimately the nuclear weapons programme was connected to the conflict,” Wood stated.

Awards pave the way to success

Wood mentioned that he had known about the prestigious Corobrik Awards early in his studies but only realised later that one winner is chosen to represent the whole country. “Winning the national award still feels a bit unreal. From prior experience, I have seen how the award's prestige follows the winners long into their careers, standing as a significant achievement. It is a great honour to be considered one of these winners, and I am very grateful for the lasting recognition the award brings to my career.”

He credited the lecturers and staff at the Department of Architecture for their significant role in his success. “They taught me what I know, and it was most inspiring to see their passion for architecture. The support from the lecturers at this incredible department goes far beyond their job descriptions,” he remarked.

Wood also won the Dean’s Medal for the best results in the final-year Master’s class during the April graduation ceremonies of UFS. He is currently working for an architectural firm in Cape Town, named TwoFiveFive Architects.

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New SRC: Records of support and a victory for women

2014-09-04

Ms Mosa Leteane and Ms Louzanne Coetzee
Photo: Johan Roux

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While campuses across South Africa regularly report falling voter turnout in campus elections of student representatives, the University of the Free State, in its recently completed SRC elections, registered record levels of support across our campuses with a total voter turnout of 44%. At the Bloemfontein Campus 34,4% of students voted (5052 votes) and 53,3% (1583 votes) at the Qwaqwa Campus.

Also, for the first time under the new SRC constitution, students elected a woman to lead the student body – Ms Mosa Leteane was elected as President. Another first was the election of a blind woman to the SRC – Ms Louzanne Coetzee. She will be responsible for student accessibility of our Bloemfontein SRC. This marks a victory for women in student governance.

Mr Tulasizwe Sithole was elected as the President of the SRC at our Qwaqwa Campus.

The election of Ms Leteane as President underscores the progress achieved for gender equality with near half of her SRC consisting of women (48%).

These successes are all the more significant, since this is the 4th year of elections under newly adopted SRC constitutions that allow for broader participation of diverse student constituencies in student governance.

This means that the crucial 3-year mark to test a new approach and method in governance and elections was not only successfully reached, but also in its 4th year shows the constitution as one that sustains its impact to deepen democracy and citizenship among our 30,000-strong student body.

“The results of the SRC elections across campuses show that our students are not only ready to lead our campus communities on issues relating to justice, freedom and democracy beyond our societal legacies of race and gender, but do so also for the student movement nationally. We’re immensely proud of our students, who show courage and resilience to choose leaders not for expediency, but for significance, and to lead not for some, but for all”, the Dean of Student Affairs, Rudi Buys, said.

The Qwaqwa SRC was installed on 2 September 2014, while the Bloemfontein SRC will be installed on 5 September. The Central SRC will be established on 14 September by joint sitting of the two SRCs.

The SRC members 2014/15 at the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses are as follows:

Bloemfontein Elective portfolios:
President: Ms Mosa Leteane
Vice Pres: Mr Waldo Staude
Secretary: Ms Dineo Motaung
Treasurer: Ms Maphenye Maditsi
Arts & Culture: Mr Stefan van der Westhuizen
Accessibility & Student Support: Ms Louzanne Coetzee
First Generation Students: Ms Mpho Khati
Media, Marketing & Liaison: Ms Lethabo Maebana
Legal & Constitutional Affairs: Mr Lindokuhle Ntuli
Sport: Ms Dominique de Gouveia
Student development & Environmental Affairs: Mr Victor Ngubeni
Transformation: Mr Tumelo Rapitsi

Bloemfontein Ex officio Portfolios
Dialogue & Ex officio: Associations Student Council: Mr Piet Thibane
Academic Affairs & Ex officio: Academic Affairs Student Council: Mr Jonathan Ruwanika
Residence Affairs & Ex officio: Campus Residences Student Council: Ms Melissa Taljaard
City student Affairs & Ex officio: Commuter Student Council: Ms Kerry-Beth Berry
Post graduate Affairs & Ex officio: Post Graduate Student Council: Ms Masabata Mokgesi
International Affairs & Ex officio: International Student Council: Mr Makate Maieane
Student Media Affairs & Ex officio: Student Media Council: Mr Samuel Phuti
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Fundraising Council: Mr Johan du Plessis
RAG Community Service & Ex officio: RAG Community Service Council: Mr Manfred Titus

Qwaqwa Elective portfolios:
President General: Mr Thulasizwe Sithole
Deputy President: Ms Zethu Mhlongo
Secretary General: Mr Vukani Ntuli
Treasurer General: Mr Langelihle Mbense
Media & Publicity: Ms Nongcebo Qwabe
Politics & Transformation: Ms Nkosiphile Zwane

Qwaqwa Ex officio Portfolios
Student Development & Environmental Affairs: Mr Ndumiso Memela
Academic Affairs: Mr Simon Mofekeng
Arts & Cultural Affairs: Ms Samkelo Mtshali
Off-Campus Students: Mr Khanyisani Mbatha
RAG, Community Service & Dialogue: Mr Njabulo Mabaso
Religious Affairs: Mr Mfundo Nxumalo
Residence & Catering Affairs: Ms Ntombifuthi Radebe
Sports Council: Mr Luvuno

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