Better Living Challenge

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Kelly Arendse joins CCDI as BLC 2 project manager

Dec 15, 2016

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The CCDI has welcomed Kelly Arendse as the new project manager for BLC 2 – she brings with her a wealth of experience in architecture, design and construction locally and internationally.

Kelly has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, and participated in a Master of Science degree in Urban Management and Development, specialising in Urban Competitiveness and Resilience from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam.

She was instrumental in setting up architectural offices in Johannesburg for her previous architectural firm, and has worked for the University of Johannesburg as a Lecturer in Design and Construction amongst other related areas.

While at IHS she served as an Institute Ambassador; won a planning proposal competition for a city in Kenya (Thika) and presented it with the United Nation’s Habitat programme in Nairobi. She also participated in Habitat 3, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.

Describing herself as an adventurer, humanist, urbanist and feminist, Kelly says there is tremendous potential within challenges such as the BLC.

“Through concentrated short bursts of effort, the ability of challenges to develop, prototype and test innovations creates a safe space for the development of different ways of thinking and doing, through design and inclusionary processes,” she says.

Currently Kelly is working on the Better Living Challenge programme for approval and roll out; establishing meaningful networks and complimentary relationships toward active citizenship; looking at spring-boarding future innovation projects and partnership at the CCDI; and developing meaningful content and documenting existing and future innovative systems embedded in design “ways of thinking and doing”.