Winners Ruan Smith and Rudi Scholtz
A total of 1,445 students from 239 universities across 34 countries competed first nationally, with the winning team from each country advancing to the international final in Belgrade.
Here the Mandela University students, representing South Africa, emerged as the overall winners from a highly competitive global field.
Their winning project, Ceding the Sava, responded to a brief calling for international athletes’ accommodation on a former industrial site along Belgrade’s Sava River, together with the transformation of an adjacent boat club.
The jury commended the relevance of the project’s architectural expression.
The design retained the site’s industrial memory through the preservation of existing silos and infrastructure, whereas the new building’s demountable industrial character responded to the broader Eastern European industrial context.
The jury recognised the novelty of their proposal in the context of other entries and further praised the project’s boldness, innovation and comprehensive resolution across urban, landscape and building scales.
“I am immensely proud of Ruan and Rudi for their depth of engagement, independence, talent, humility, dedication and resilience throughout this journey”, said Mandela University lecturer and project teacher John Andrews.
“I acknowledge the students and Saint-Gobain Africa for the rare opportunity to view our students’ work within a broader global context, through a contest that brought together all these universities from five continents.”
About the design
A public plaza to the city and expression of the building making reference to industrial identity in the Eastern European capital.
Rather than designing an isolated building, the students developed a broader proposal for the surrounding industrial precinct. This allowed them to explore the long-term ecological and urban potential of the site.
The building was conceived as the first intervention in a future waterfront precinct. It acted as a catalyst for growth while connecting the river and the city. Along the river, the proposal created a natural public landscape. Bioremediation wetlands restored the contaminated site, managed pollution and supported cohabitation with the local Pygmy Cormorant.
On the city side, the building defined a new plaza where key movement routes converge. This established a centre to guide future development. The building was elevated to respond to flooding yet also maintained a permeable connection between the city and river.
The site sits at the confluence of two rivers and along major European transport routes. In response, the students proposed a landmark building that reflects the site's complex identity.
A single semi-transparent ETFE roof enclosed athlete accommodation, social spaces, training and recovery facilities, an internal hill-running track, and sports courts. Together, these spaces created a unique mix of activities within a buffered passive microclimate.
A dry-bolted frame and pod system allowed salvaged materials to be reused. It also enabled future expansion and eventual disassembly. Using life-cycle assessment software, the team achieved an A-rating for embodied carbon. This was made possible through material reuse, design for disassembly and reduced transport and manufacturing emissions.
The students’ journey to the international final was marked by logistical challenges, lost baggage, and visa and travel delays. They arrived in Belgrade in the early hours of the morning, only hours before presenting their project to the international jury.
Despite these circumstances, the team delivered a compelling presentation and secured first prize, ahead of Portugal in second place and France in third.