Cape Town: The Cape Flats water plant won the Top International Architecture honours for completing the first Advanced Water Reclamation Plant (AWRP) of the City of Cape Town in December 2024. The city proudly celebrates another milestone towards excellence, as the AWRP was named Jury Winner in the Factories and Warehouses category at the prestigious 13th Annual Architizer A+ Awards in June 2025, in New York.
The AWRP is situated next to the Cape Flats Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) in Pelican Park and is a vital part of the groundwater action plan of the City to build water resilient future of Cape Town.
Reportedly, the state-of-the-art AWRP is one of the key facilities in implementing the New Water Programme by the Water and Sanitation Directorate. The AWRP will play a crucial role in the managed injection of treated secondary effluent into the Cape Flats Aquifer, replenishing the vital groundwater source.
This will further enable the City of Cape Town to abstract water from the aquifer sustainably, which will then undergo for treatment at potable water treatment plants (WTPs) to meet SANS 241 drinking water standards. AWRP is a fundamental component of the Cape Flats Aquifer Management Scheme, which is expected to yield up to 54 million litres of water per day.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien said that the Cape Flats AWRP is a major public infrastructure investment towards improving water security and climate resilience. He emphasized that every rand spent on this facility contributes towards building a more drought-resilient Cape Town.
According to Badroodien, this international award shows that South African Infrastructure can lead the world in advanced functionality and also in aesthetically pleasing and purposeful design. The building has achieved top honours in design, as the city is striving towards implementing top-quality processes once the facility is completed by April 2027.
Currently, the work on the next phase is under way, which will see the installation of mechanical and electrical components such as – ozone generators, ultra-violet disinfection, pumps, and filter media.
Working for Excellence
AWRP is striving for excellence. Local civil engineers are working in water and wastewater alongside SALT Architects, who has led to the momentous accolade in the Factories and warehouses category at the 13th Annual Architizer A+ Awards.
The nominees were selected from over 5000 entries spanning 80 countries, the Cape Flats AWRP is now officially recognized as one of the best-designed buildings in the world in its category. It is a major global architecture prize and a remarkable achievement for South African architecture.
Significance of the Architizer A+ Award
It is recognized at a global level, the Architizer A+ Awards is the largest international awards programme for architecture. Where projects are judged by a panel of global leaders in architecture, technology, media, and business.
Appraised local municipal infrastructure is its strength. This is a rare moment where a South African public works project has been honoured internationally for engineering, and for design excellence.
The recognition aims to maintain sustainability in the water supply. The project exemplifies how municipalities can lead in implementing water resilience projects with thoughtful, future-oriented design.