Indian-origin student wins architecture award in South Africa

An Indian-origin student has won a prestigious award in South Africa for developing a safe water purification infrastructure model to clean the Ganga River using Varanasi's architectural principles.
Vedhant Maharajfrom the University of the Witwatersrand won the 2015 Architectural Student of the Year Award for his architectural thesis, "Yantra".
Maharaj from Wits University became the 29th architectural student to take first prize at the Corobrik Architectural Awards on May 11, the organisers of the competition said in a statement.
For nearly three decades, this prestigious award has been presented to a young graduate who is on the brink of making a name for themselves in the extremely competitive architectural profession, it said.

Maharaj's winning dissertation, entitled Yantra, Infrastructure of the Sacred and Profane, exhibited critical elements that had been picked out by the judges, such as innovation and technical excellence expressed with a keen understanding of the combined social, economic and environmental context that is changing the approach to the built environment today, the statement said.
Maharaj's offering illustrated how creativity could make an exceptional and meaningful contribution to South Africa's diverse and multi-cultural landscape, said Corobrik managing director, Dirk Meyer.
Maharaj's co-supervisor, said that Yantra explored water infrastructure which provided water that was safe for human consumption while respecting the rich architectural heritage of Varanasi in India.

Matsipa said, "I would advise him to continue working and thinking across different scales and locations. I believe that he could become a leader in the field, specifically in terms of thinking about water architecture from the Global South.