CoK to recognise top architects, engineers

The City of Kigali (CoK) is set to recognise outstanding architects and other industry practitioners for their contribution in the development of sustainable infrastructure in the city, Liliane Mupende, the CoK director of urban planning and the One Stop Centre, has said. City of Kigali Mayor’s Architecture Engineering Awards are scheduled for March 7. “Through these awards, we hope to motivate the professionals to constantly challenge their limits in developing innovative solutions and raising the profile of our construction and architecture,” Mupende said last week. She added that the awards present an opportunity for the public and peers to recognise efforts of sector professionals, and provide the institute a valuable mechanism to promote architects and engineers in Rwanda and globally. Only architects and engineers working in Kigali who subscribe to the Rwanda Architects and Engineers Association qualify for the awards. Submission of competing structures and projects is ongoing, she added. Mupende also noted that the competing projects will be assessed on structural design processes and solutions that emphasise safety, quality approach in design, details and specification design for safe operation and constructions that ensure public safety. Only projects already constructed or under construction will compete. Mupende said the other issues they will consider to determine winners are quality and environmentally sustainable structures, buildings that conform to safety standards, residential, commercial, office and institutional, as well as industrial buildings that ensure energy efficiency, water efficiency and environmental protection. They will also look at indoor environmental quality and other green features and innovations, according to Mupende. Dismas Nkubana, the chairperson of Engineers Council, said the awards aim at encouraging quality work to boost standards in the construction sector.