SIT students urged to take part in Camion Hall extension architectural design competition |16 November 2021
Students of the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT) are being encouraged to take part in the Camion Hall extension architectural design competition.
The extension is aimed at providing additional space to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to operate their business.
The Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, through the Enterprise Seychelles Agency (Esa), is proposing to extend the Camion Hall building onto parcel number V1937 where the current Victoria Taxi stand is located.
As part of the Global Entrepreneur Week, Esa chief executive Angelic Appoo met with the students following the Diploma in Construction and Mechanical Engineering courses to explain to them the concept of this competition.
“With the proposed extension, Esa wants additional space of operation for MSMEs, a training room for Esa’s capacity building sessions, a traditional restaurant (if possible), and additional parking space. The proposal should maintain the traditional look…but must be innovative,” explained CEO Appoo.
The competition, which opened on November 12, 2021, is open to all students following the Diploma in Construction and Mechanical Engineering courses. The closing date is temporarily set for February 12, 2021.
An exhibition shall be organised at the Camion Hall whereby all submissions will be displayed and open to the general public. An independent committee of five people will be set up to judge the submissions.
CEO Appoo noted that “the students can submit one proposal by a group of no more than three people; a student can feature in only one submission and all submissions must be accompanied by an application form”.
To recall, the Camion Hall building built out of limestone in 1920 served as a girl’s schools for the Anglican Church in the 1900s, a school meal centre in the 1940s and sewing training centre after (1970s) with classes led by Ron Gerlach, an Englishman who was in the art of Batik. A new building was constructed through a project financed by the European Commission and the government of Seychelles in 1991.
The purpose of the building was to act as a centre for the development of local artisans by providing training and workshops to develop the skills of the local people. The building was under the management of the Coopération de Développement de L’Artisanat (Codevar). It also had only one shop, the famous ‘Artisans des Iles’.
The name Camion Hall was later given to the building in 1969 by the late British artist Ron Gerlach in reference to the parking area or camion bay for passengers in the 1960s, situated adjacent. The parking area is now used by taxi operators as the main taxi stand.
The Seychelles Industrial Development Corporation (Sidec) was the first government parastatal to occupy Camion Hall in 1992 with Maxwell Julie as the managing director. The aim of Sidec was to make funds available to people who would like to start a small business and be self-employed, particularly in the area of craft. From Sidec, the name of the parastatal was turned into the Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (Senpa) and subsequently to Esa today.
The Camion Hall building is currently the head office of Esa and it additionally caters for 26 tenants who are renting a space of operation for their businesses. The property is registered on the government of Seychelles and it is 2191 square metres in size. The grounds also cater for a car park comprising 21 parking spaces and a field containing 15 booths/stalls whereby activities are held. The property is surrounded by a green fence. There is currently only one entry for vehicles, however there are altogether four entries for individuals.
Vidya Gappy
