WINNER
RUAN SMITH
NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY
CLAYTON JOHNSON-GODDARD & BARRY BRADLEY
In 2025, thoughtful design should cultivate rituals of healing, not mere spaces. Through the berthing of architecture from buried landscapes and materials regenerated from decay, we can orchestrate sensory sanctuaries of renewal. Wellbeing is a personal journey; an empathetic process of unearthing found within mother nature’s imperfect and honest entropic beauty.
2ND PLACE
MORNÉ FERREIRA
NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY
CLAYTON JOHNSON-GODDARD & BARRY BRADLEY
In 2025, thoughtful design is vital to human wellbeing. Biophilic architecture reconnects people with nature, light, air, water, and texture, restoring balance in an overstimulated world. By integrating inclusive, sensory-rich environments, designers foster health, reflection, and resilience, ensuring built spaces actively support mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing for all.
3RD PLACE
TYLO BARENDS
SCHOOL OF EXPLORATIVE ARCHITECTURE
LORENZO NASSIMBENI
The future of South African design embraces innovation, sustainability, and cultural heritage, blending technology with tradition. Designers will craft socially conscious, aesthetically compelling solutions that respond to local challenges while engaging globally. This future celebrates creativity, resilience, and identity, positioning South Africa as a hub of visionary, inclusive, and transformative design.
BEST PRESENTATION
GINA OLLES
BHC SCHOOL OF DESIGN
JACO LANDMAN
Thoughtful design ensures that wellbeing lies at the centre of each design. This can be achieved through inclusivity, by creating a welcoming environment that prioritises people and nature. Through sensory engagement and a connection to nature, a sense of wellbeing can be achieved. Community and nature inspire a deeper sense of wellbeing and a renewed sense of respect for the environment around us
Finalists
AMBER SMITH
INSCAPE EDUCATION GROUP
ABRI COETZEE
The future of South African design lies in the balance of harmonising global inspiration with an unapologetic African presence. We are shaped by a complex past and driven by a vivid future. No longer on the back burner, South Africa has long led in design, and it is now our duty as young designers to claim that space more fiercely.
HANNAH LOUDON
SCHOOL OF EXPLORATIVE ARCHITECTURE
LORENZO NASSIMBENI
The future of South African design lies in people first solutions. By addressing real challenges, design can improve daily life while inspiring emotional connection. Moving beyond uniform modernism, it should craft functional, human-centered spaces and products that evoke feeling, solve problems, and enrich communities with meaningful, lasting impact.
SANELE MZAIDUME
UNIVERSITY OF KAZULU-NATAL
SIBUSISO SITHOLE
My design approach reflects a pursuit of creative expression while maintaining constant awareness to context. This leads to critical thinking towards understanding the human needs and behaviour to create spaces that aren’t only appealing but responsive and contextual, ensuring a thoughtful design that positively impacts mental, physical and social wellbeing.
SARAH SIMS
DESIGN TIME SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
ANEL JOUBERT
In 2025, thoughtful design becomes a quiet medicine for the soul. Spaces shaped to breathe with us, soften overstimulation, and awaken the senses. By weaving light, texture, and nature into daily life, design restores balance, nurtures belonging, and transforms interiors into sanctuaries of healing and renewal.
STELLA CARTER-JOHNSON
DESIGN TIME SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN
ANEL JOUBERT
In 2025, thoughtful design plays a vital role in enhancing well-being by creating spaces, products, and systems that prioritize human needs, sustainability, and inclusivity. By blending technology with empathy, design fosters healthier lifestyles, reduces stress, and nurtures connection, ensuring people thrive mentally, physically, and socially in rapidly changing environments.
