Every year, the Jacques Rougerie Foundation acknowledges daring and visionary architects, designers, engineers, artists and urban planners worldwide. 

Handré de la Rey and Inge de Beer, the architect and director of DG International Architects, based in Franschhoek, were honoured for their groundbreaking project, The Solar Cell, which received both the Grand Prize and the Lab Special Prize Architecture and Innovation for the Sea. 

The award 

The prestigious Jacques Rougerie Foundation and the Institut de France’s Academy of Fine Arts annual architectural awards ceremony for 2023 was held at the Grand Hall of the Palais de l’Institut de France on 29 November. It bestowed three international grand prizes and a special prize for Lab Architecture and Innovation, each valued at 10 000 euros. 

These awards celebrated exceptional biomimetic and multidisciplinary architectural projects that aim at promoting carbon-neutral designs. 

The project 

DG Architects’ award-winning project, The Solar Cell.

The Solar Cell stands as a pioneering model for alternative resource provision, prioritising environmental preservation and study. This innovative design integrates natural elements, harnessing the energy-saving potential of salt and sunlight, offering a self-sustaining living space with freshwater, electricity and crop provisions. It aims to leave a zero-carbon footprint. 

The team 

De Beer has been involved in a large scope of projects, specialising in large land development, design and planning as well as a variety of bespoke architectural design ventures. She believes that when you seize to dream you seize to live, so just do it. 

De la Rey has been involved in many projects all over the world, giving him carte blanche to develop his tailored design skills as well as the language in which he is able to communicate it through modern software, sketch and always model building. He thinks architecture is a lifestyle where anything is possible if you apply yourself fully to it. 

Franschhoek-based architects win prestigious Jacques Rougerie Foundation and Institut de France’s Academy of Fine Arts annual architectural awards. 

Full acknowledgement and thanks go to:

www.dgiarch.com for the information in this article.  

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