WORDS Cheri Morris
Three projects by local architecture and design studio SAOTA – Buffelsdrift, in Ladismith, South Africa; Starlight in Arizona, USA and project One in Dakar, Senegal – have been shortlisted as finalists for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2022.
In the Completed Building – Old & New category, Buffelsdrift is a working farm that entails restored Cape heritage buildings; a main house, two barns and a wine store converted into a guest dwelling. It’s a collaborative project between SAOTA and Jaco Booyens Architect, a specialist in clay buildings. The brief sought to honour the site’s architectural history; simple, well-proportioned spaces, a profound connection to place, simple use of materials and a building suited to its climate.

Shortlisted in the Future Projects – House category is Starlight – a desert oasis that appears a mirage emanating out of the Camelback Mountain in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Inspired by the geology of the desert landscape and the rolling erosion that characterises the surrounding topography, Starlight is a dialogue between sculptural forms. Rammed earth walls slide out of the mountain and the strong cantilevering horizontal planes echo the structural heroics of the rock formations. The heart of the space looks across the paradise valley basin and back towards the mountain across a courtyard carved into the rocky embankment.
READ MORE: World Architecture Festival 2022 Shortlist
A finalist in the Future Projects – Residential category, project One is sleek, angular, futuristic – a luxury residential apartment building situated along the coastal line of Dakar. Its dusty site is lined with statement dark granite – the start of stories in stone. SAOTA notes One’s design methodology as comparable to metamorphism – the process precious stone undergoes during its lifetime.
WAF 2022 will be held in Lisbon, Portugal from 30 November to 2 December 2022. See more outstanding examples of projects from the Completed Buildings category here.
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