From schools and affordable housing, luxury resorts and ecotourism facilities, to student accommodation and engineering solutions for large scale power producers and the mining sector, we take a look at some of South Africa’s most inspiring sustainable architectural and engineering projects.
Freedom Park Sandbag Houses, Cape Town
Architect Luyanda Mpahlwa’s innovative 10×10 Sandbag Houses were created in an effort to provide affordable and dignified housing for residents of the Mitchell’s Plain township informal settlement, Freedom Park, where shelters made from scrap material and corrugated metal are commonplace. The two-story homes are built out of timber frames filled in with sandbags, a method which allowed the community members who would take over the houses to assist with their construction – giving them a sense of empowerment and ownership, while simultaneously lowering construction costs.
The project was in response to Design Indaba’s 10×10 Housing Project, which aimed to find innovative low cost housing solutions which could be completed at under R50,000 (approximately $7,000 US) – equivalent to the national government’s housing subsidy.
Some of the advantages to this kind of method for constructing housing include:
- Greater wind and moisture resistance than brick housing
- Excellent thermal insulation
- Cost-effective, energy-efficient, minimal transport and zero electricity requirement
- Easily scalable and replicable
- Double story design makes the most of the small plot size allocated by government
Vele secondary school, East Coast Architects, Limpopo
Designed to be more than just a school, but also an extension of the local community, Vele Secondary School in Limpopo was one of the winners of the prestigious Afrisam SAIA Awards for Sustainable Architecture.
Solar energy, a rainwater-harvesting installation and green roofs with indigenous plants are some of the sustainability features included in the design, which was partly funded by the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. The school also boasts a permaculture medicinal and food garden, which provide fruit and vegetables for the school and medicinal plants for the larger community.
Sustainable geocell technology used by the mining and power production sector:
On a larger scale, giants like MRC (Mineral Commodities Limited) and Eskom have also managed to incorporate a more sustainable soil stabilization technique, namely Neoloy geocells, in some of their projects.
At Tormin beach in the Western Cape, MRC needed a solution which would allow heavy vehicles to move over the soft mineral sands of the area. Geocells allowed them to utilize that soft local sand, eliminating the need to bring in large scale mats and the regular maintenance associated with them. Once the mining process ends, the geocells can be easily removed – leaving minimal impact.
And at Kusile, power utility Eskom used the same cellular confinement system in SA in place of the conventional concrete solution for their coal waste lagoons. This byproduct of the power production process needs to be safely stored for as long as 60 years to prevent contamination of groundwater – and geocells in combination with a composite liner system proved to be a more resilient and durable solution, guaranteeing ongoing protection against pollution.
Woodlands Spa and Forum, Homini Hotel, Cradle of Humankind
Created by Activate Architects, the Woodlands Spa and Forum is an excellent example of how responsible tourism can be used to restore our pristine natural environments. The buildings are constructed largely from reclaimed bricks, recycled construction materials, waste rock left behind by a former mine, as well as timber from invasive species which were cleared out during construction. Cavity walls in addition to the green roof provide excellent thermal insulation, making sure the internal rooms remain cool in the harsh summer heat and warm in winter.
The surrounding landscape and waterways were rehabilitated, a black water treatment facility added, and the farm dam converted into a natural wetland. Small game are able to graze on the green roof, and indigenous plants flourish in the gardens. Invasive trees and plants were replaced with 140 indigenous species to return the grassland environment to its original glory.
Mill Junction shipping container and disused grain silo student housing apartments, Newtown, Johannesburg
With room for 375 students, this innovative building by property developers Citiq created from disused grain silos and salvaged shipping containers addresses the urgent need for student housing in the Johannesburg city center while ticking an impressive number of sustainability boxes. The entire 40 meter high building took just 12 months to complete, and thanks to double-glazed, light sensitive windows, uses about half the energy of a similar building without them. South Africa has a large surplus of shipping containers arriving from large importers such as China and taking advantage of their usefulness for low cost housing projects such as these makes an enormous amount of sense. All the units are well insulated, and aside from space for living quarters, study facilities, libraries, lounges and computer rooms are also included.
