ARCHITECTURE
INTERVIEW
Sharné Bloem -
regenerative design professional
Sharné Bloem, currently the sustainability consultant at Afrimat Hemp and founder of Team Mahali, is a qualified architect whose formal educational journey has taken her far and wide. Her most recent educational qualification is as a master’s graduate from the Urban Future Studio, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, focusing on green architecture, energy efficiency and experimentation. Sharné Bloem
Gareth Griffiths
Sharné has worked for some dynamic international architectural practices on various exciting international projects, including SOM, Rolfe Judd, PRP and C7 architects. “It was only recently that my journey within resilient architecture became more prominent. I initiated and championed Team Mahali in 2017 for the 2019 Solar Decathlon Africa competition in Morocco. Our design was awarded second place in architecture and a netpositive carbon house design,” she adds. Team Mahali refers to a multidisciplinary group of professionals passionate about shaping sustainable and inclusive African cities. “Mahali One project was built in the Green Energy Park, an Urban Living Lab in Benguerir, Morocco. Born from the biomimicry idea of a tree, the overarching roof structure protects the main structure. It creates a passive cooling element of shading, the flexible solar PV panels over, generate energy, whilst rainwater is harvested into a central water feature to connect place and function of the courtyard typology. The bioclimatic architecture elements catch the desert breeze whilst hiding the open spaces from the direct rays of the hot desert sun by managing the retractable external screens and window boxes. “A playful, colourful, crocheted plastic panel cladding covered the main structures, tying into the circularity of upcycled materials,” she explains. 30
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