Armand Barnard, of Brackenfell, scooped the PG Bison Education Initiative Award for interior design and won a R50 000 cash prize from a particle-board manufacturing company.
The competition, which has been running for 28 years, is aimed at South African third-year architecture and interior design students.
Mr Barnard submitted a creation of a cochlear-shape building with a focus on hearing and sound. The design includes wheelchair access and hearing-testing stations.