Winner: 2020 PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative

WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES courtesy of PG Bison


Cape Town-based interior design student Armand Barnard has been announced as the winner of the 2020 PG Bison 1.618 Education Initiative.

The annual design competition aims to identify talented third-year South African architecture and interior design students. Armand Barnard, as well as the two runners-up, are students at Design Time School of Interior Design in Cape Town.

Armand and his lecturer Anel Joubert both take home a R50 000 cash prize. Sarah Jane Sperryn took second place, winning R25 000, and Dillon Titus took third place, winning R10 000. The remaining seven finalists each received a cash prize of R2 000.

Armand Barnard

“Firstly, I am so honoured to have been chosen as a finalist and winning first prize is nothing short of sensational,” says Armand. “This really creates opportunities within the design/architectural world in terms of clout regarding one’s portfolio and CV when entering the working world.”

The brief was to design a community-driven space suitable for both leisure and work in South End, Port Elizabeth, and to pick a brand or tenant to occupy the space.

The winning design submission, The Cochlear, mimics the shell-shape bone found in the human ear. The idea behind he design, which includes hearing testing stations, was to translate this into a building that amplifies sound and hearing. “Hard surfaces and hollow arched hallways help bounce around waves of sound throughout this space to create an auditory experience,” explains Armand. The chosen brand occupying the space was audio equipment specialists, BOSE. 

Read more about the top 10 entries, and their creators’ thoughts on the 2020 competition brief, here.

For more information, visit 1sixoneeight.co.za.