Interior architects and colleagues, Juliet Kavishe and Tanja Somers, recently returned from seven days in Rio de Janeiro, where they soaked up the sights and sounds, including the iconic concrete architecture.

The duo from Cape Town-based Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects (SAOTA) earned the trip when their entry in last year's Autodesk-sponsored OpenThinkBox design competition was judged to have made the best use of BIM (building information modelling) technology.

"The food was carnivorous, the music bossa nova and samba, the dance was samba, the shopaholic's bliss was pure leather products, the architecture old, new, concrete and glass and the beaches full of the loud, proud and unashamed." says Juliet.

Her personal favourite was the Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Rio.

"As an architect, and a Roman Catholic to boot, I lay on the floor staring into the skylight atop the cone-shaped structure," says Juliet.

In Rio, poverty is never very far away and reminded the SAOTA duo of the plight that had motivated their OpenThinkBox entry.

The competition challenged architectural professionals and students to make the world a better place by improving a small part of their world. In response Juliet and Tanja designed library facilities for Parkwood Primary School, which is in one of the most impoverished areas of Cape Town.

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