Who are the South Africans that are shifting paradigms by making place and buildings that are ecologically restorative and regenerative and also contribute to the upliftment of our communities?
The AfriSamSAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture was created to find out.
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CONTENTS FOreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
Afrisam introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .02
saia introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .03
The Pursuit of a Sustainable Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .04
Trajectory of Environmentally Responsible Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05
EVALUATION CRITERIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .06
Jury Panel Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
All The Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Successful submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Commended submissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Awarded submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
A New World In a world increasingly conscious of the impact our activities have on the globe’s ability to sustain us, architects have to face up to their significant role in contributing to the process of global warming.
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hat AfriSam and the South African Institute of Architects had in mind with the establishment of this award was to highlight that buildings contribute substantially, through material and energy consumption, to the global carbon footprint, during their erection and throughout their lifespan. The construction industry, of which we are an integral part, is the second largest contributor to global warming on the planet. Consequently, architects are perfectly placed to be part of the solution.
works of social importance. The adjudication criteria were vigorously workshopped by the adjudication panel. These built on a foundation of local and international precedent, referring to the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction target issues, some principles behind CSIR’s Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT), and the Trajectory of Environmentally Responsible Design, inspired by the work of Bill Reed and Eco Design Architects and the current SAIA awards programme.
Through conscious design that places sustainable choices at the heart of the process of designing and making buildings, broad issues of sustainability can be addressed. This award sets out to recognise a holistic approach to sustainable design that incorporates social, economic, cultural as well as ecological sustainability that is innovative and delights the spirit.
The adjudication follows a qualitative process of built works that have been occupied for at least a year. In this inaugural round, the eligibility period was from 1 January 2000 to 29 February 2009.
The award encourages the producers of architecture to be aspirational in their practice of sustainable architectural design and implementation; to inspire the architectural profession at large in continually improving the quality of architecture produced. Eligibility for entry is to paid-up SAIA Corporate members in two categories: built work and research or
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SAIA is grateful to the foresight shown by our sponsors AfriSam, in supporting these awards and being integral to their formation. We are delighted to present the inaugural AfriSam-SAIA Award for Architecture! Al Stratford SAIA President
People, Planet and Performance AfriSam has been producing building materials since 1934 when the company commissioned its first cement plant.
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oday we are a leading producer of cement, readymix concrete and aggregate with over 70 production and distribution facilities strategically located throughout southern Africa.
The three core focuses that guide the manner in which we conduct our business on a daily basis are: people, planet and performance. These are closely aligned to the concept of “the triple bottom line� and reflect our commitment to environmental stewardship and to the meaningful and sustainable upliftment of the communities in which we operate. We have been involved in significant environmental and social responsibility initiatives for many years and are serious about leading the way in reducing our carbon footprint, developing eco-friendly products, promoting green building initiatives and making a sustainable difference. We published our first environmental policy in 1994. This is reviewed and updated annually and commits the company to optimal utilisation of resources and to rehabilitating our mining sites to self-sustaining or positively usable landforms on final closure. Other programmes include energy saving and emission reduction where the company is a recognised industry leader.
In 2009, we introduced a world-first CO2 rating system on all our cement products which indicates the carbon footprint of each product relative to the world average. We have also extended these initiatives to assess and manage the ongoing carbon footprints of each and every one of our 40 readymix concrete operations as well as 17 quarries and aggregate processing plants. We recently launched our Eco Building Cement, which more than halves the world’s average carbon footprint for cement without compromising on quality. We are proud of our partnership with the South African Institute of Architects in this initiative and recognise the fundamental role that architects play in sustainable design. As a conscientious and responsible manufacturer, AfriSam has long recognised the need for a drive towards sustainable development. We therefore encourage architects and their clients to look at architecture with new eyes, putting human and environmental needs and considerations back into design and construction. Dr Stephan Olivier Acting Chief Executive Officer AfriSam (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd
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Who is SAIA? The South African Institute of Architects (SAIA) is a voluntary association of affiliated and regional institutes established in 1996.
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AIA incorporates the former national Institute of South African Architects (founded in 1927) and the regional Institute of Architects of the former Cape (founded in 1899), Eastern Province (founded in 1900 as the Port Elizabeth Society of Architects), Border (founded in 1946 as the East London Chapter of the Cape Provincial Institute), KwaZuluNatal (founded in 1901), Orange Free State (founded in 1921) and Transvaal (founded in 1909). The Pretoria Institute of Architects was established in 1993 and the following new regional institutes were established in 1996: Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo (founded as Northern Province) and Mpumalanga.
SAIA is a member of the Africa Union of Architects, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, the International Union of Architects, the International Commission on Monuments and Sites, and the International Committee Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. Membership of SAIA is open to all architects, the only prerequisite being registration as a Professional Architect or a Candidate Architect with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession.
The fundamental principles of equality and justice are implicit in the SAIA Constitution: SAIA is committed to the principle of striving to be an outstanding professional organisation, which upholds the dignity of the profession and its members. It aims to promote excellence in architecture and it seeks to contribute to the enhancement of society and the environment.
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THE PURSUIT OF A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE The concept of sustainable architecture emerges, not as a new style in architecture but as a fundamental philosophical intent and generator of architecture today and into the future. It is an architecture born of a consciousness of the limit of nature and of the planet to provide for indefinite human development within current paradigms, whilst still respecting and affirming architecture’s role as a critical public art for enquiry and delight. It is this philosophy and intent which informed the jury when considering the submissions for the inaugural AfriSam-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture.
As a framework, a ‘Trajectory of Environmentally Responsible Design’ was developed (as inspired by Reed 2006 and Eco Design Architects) along with four core criteria (as developed by Holcim Awards Target Issues) for the review of submissions.
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Trajectory of Environmentally Responsible Design
Damage Limitation High Performance Design This is design that realises high efficiencies and reduced impact on the environment during site activities, in the building structure, and in the ongoing operations. Green Design Beyond a focus on purely technical efficiency “Green Design” is a general term implying a specific direction of improvement in design – a continual improvement towards a whole and healthy integration of human activities with natural systems.
Neutrality Sustainable Design This is “Green design” with an emphasis on reaching a point of being able to sustain the health of the planet’s organisms and systems over time. Sustainability is at the inflection point between degenerating and regenerating health.
Regeneration Restorative Design This approach thinks about design in terms of using the activities of design and building to restore the capability of local natural systems to a healthy state of self-organisation. Regenerative Design This moves the design intent beyond being restorative to a more place-based and context- specific approach. It is thought that by engaging all the key stakeholders and processes of the place – humans, earth systems and the consciousness that connects and energizes them – the design process builds the capability of people and ecology to engage in continuous and healthy relationships. Through the process of co-evolution there is continuous learning and feedback so that all aspects of the system are an integral part of the process of life in that place. Whole System Integration Process This process seeks to optimise the relationships among key systems and entities in the service of desired objectives, a recognition that all processes and activities belong to a system. This process typically requires that even the smallest unit of design be considered within the context of the broader “catchment” area or watershed within which the project resides. If we restrict ourselves to only considering our impact to be within the property boundaries, we are missing the point.
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four core criteria
Having made in loco observations and clarified all relevant details with the respective architect and client or their representative, the AfriSam-SAIA jury panel evaluated the entries according to the following submission criteria:
Criterion 1
Paradigm Shifting The work must exhibit a paradigmatic resolution that enables, with relative ease, the development of innovation in responsible design – and can be easily applied to a wide range of other projects.
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Criterion 2
People UpliftMENT The work must seek to address the dignity of people and communities through the creation of a socio-economic environment that is inclusionary, humane, empowering and self-sustaining, and that maximises on efficiencies during and after the implementation process.
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CRITERION 3
Planet Rejuvenation The work must exhibit, in a holistic way, conservation and efficiency in the use of resources. It must exhibit the ambition to go beyond conservation and make a positive contribution to the rejuvenation of the ecological environment.
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CRITERION 4
Place-making Performance The work must infuse delight, enhance the natural and/or built environment and create a real sense of place within the broader landscape.
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Jury Panel Profiles Al Stratford
Andy Horn
JURY PANEL CONVENOR SAIA President
JURY PANEL MEMBER Architect and consultant
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l Stratford began his working career as a draughtsman in the field of structural steel and engineering. Although he has no formal education in architecture, he is now registered as a professional architect after passing a special qualifying examination with SACAP.
Since 2004, he has been a board member of SAIA and convenor of the Habitat committee, serving on the management committee as Vice President. In 2008, he was elected President of SAIA. He has won awards for industrial design from the South African Bureau of Standards and two SAIA Awards of Merit for the Audio Video Gallery and his own development, Stratford’s Guesthouse in East London. Stratford has worked across a range of building disciplines. He is the author of a number of patents and registered designs. He is a principal of Native Architecture co-founded with Alan Ter Morshuizen and he is a director of several companies, including an East London-based social housing development association. Stratford’s overarching focus is the development of a broad-based approach to architecture, starting with DNA grounded in sustainable technology and linked to the transference of skills and the development of new compact urban communities. He and his partners practice in Buffalo City, East London. With the assistance of private developers, foreign aid and the municipality, he is working towards urban renewal and the establishment of a revitalised inner city.
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aining his experience in hands-on workshop facilitation, integrated systems thinking and ecological design, Horn is widely recognised for his pioneering work in the field of green building in the South African context. His firm, Eco Design – Architects & Consultants, is an award-winning practice specializing in green building design, natural building construction and specialist training workshops. After qualifying as an architect at the University of Cape Town, he worked in various practices while voluntarily gaining practical experience on the construction sites of a number of earth building projects. In 1998 Horn wrote and presented A Manifesto for Green Architecture at South Africa’s first Sustainability in the Built Environment Conference. In 2004, he won a Sustainable Building Best Practice Award for Africa and in 2005 was awarded the silver medal in the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction in the Africa and Middle East region. In 2007, he was shortlisted for a Daimler Chrysler Award for Excellence in Architecture. He has worked with a wide range of clients, from governmental, institutional and NGO-based to the resort and leisure industry to residential clientele. He also lectures and writes and has been broadly published and exhibited both locally and internationally. He is currently busy with a heritage revitalisation project in the historic town of Mamre for the City of Cape Town.
Daniel Irurah
Gerrit Jordaan
JURY PANEL MEMBER Architect and academic
JURY PANEL MEMBER Architect, urban designer and environmental planner
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aniel Irurah is a Kenyan architect and urban environmental policy planner with specialisation in sustainability and the built environment. With research and consultancy interests focused on developing countries, Irurah’s core interest is the understanding and applied resolution of the dilemma of achieving socio-economic development for the majority within the tightening eco-limits of our planet.
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Although his main area of interest is energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings and cities, he is also intensely engaged in the field of industrial ecology for the construction industry and especially the cradleto-grave-and-cradle cycle of construction materials. Irurah’s key interests in these fields is the coupling of green innovations to socio-economic development priorities such as jobs/skills and eco-entrepreneurship.
Jordaan is an external examiner for the University of Pretoria in the Architecture and Town Planning faculties. He has presented numerous lectures on urban design and environmental issues at various institutions and conferences and has been widely published.
Irurah is a leading African academic. He lectures at Wits University’s School of Architecture & Planning and is currently helping shape the curriculum at the Aga Khan University in Tanzania, where he is also helping guide the development of an eco-campus. He is a key player in adjudicating several international sustainability competitions and is project Leader of Wits-PREA, a global research initiative that promotes renewable energy in Africa. He also works on private sector energy initiatives and is a Director in Syn-Consult Africa (Pty) Ltd. He holds a PhD in Architecture.
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errit Jordaan joined the firm Holm and Holm Architects in 1981 and became a partner in 1983. He was instrumental in building the firm into an interdisciplinary environmental consultancy, specializing in sustainable architecture, urban design, resources planning and restoration. He is currently a director of the Holm Jordaan Group of Companies.
He has undertaken fact-finding and research tours throughout the world to study urban management and regeneration. He has received a number of awards for architecture, restoration and energy studies and has been involved in a range of affordable housing, urban regeneration and environmental management projects. Currently Jordaan is involved in a number of multidisciplinary teams involved in urban design project implementation and the formulation of policy documents, as well as management tools for local authorities. He was admitted as a member of the International Institute for Urban Design in 1994.
Dr Mongane Wally Serote
Vincent Blackbeard
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Serote could be considered South Africa’s Poet Laureate. His work, Joburg City, is studied at schools. A section of his early poem Ofay-Watcher, Throbs-Phase (1972) has attained the status of local proverb: “blacks must learn to talk; whites must learn to listen”.
During the 1990s, Blackbeard began to follow a more commercially-orientated career and obtained tertiary qualifications in marketing and business administration.
JURY PANEL MEMBER Writer
ongane Wally Serote was born four years prior to the coming to power of the National Party and the establishment of apartheid in South Africa. Always conscious of himself in relation to his society, Serote, in his life and writing, provides a chronicle of and commentary on the apartheid era.
He is primarily known for the passionate intensity of his work, his uncompromising commitment to political liberation, the breadth of his sympathies, and the tension he maintains between the clichéd image or expression and the startlingly original one. Apart from his volumes of poetry he has also written one novel, various short stories, and many essays dealing with those subjects encapsulated in one of his essay titles: Culture, Literature and Liberation (1990).
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JURY PANEL RESUME ADJUDICATOR Technical expert incent Blackbeard’s experience in the construction industry began at Roberts Construction (now Murray and Roberts), during which he qualified as a civil engineering technician. He next became a technical consultant for the concrete industry and over the years held various management positions in the field as well as introduced new concrete products to the local market.
He has represented the industry on numerous SABS committees, The Foundation for Research and Development, NHBRC and other ad hoc committees. He was also invited to lecture for the Advanced Concrete Technology course which is run by the Cement and Concrete Institute. It was probably his experience as an adjudicator for the Fulton Awards that best qualified him to represent AfriSam as one of the adjudicators of these awards.
Mike McDonald
JURY PANEL RESUME ADJUDICATOR Technical expert
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ike McDonald heads the Product Technical Department at AfriSam South Africa. His responsibilities include customer support, product development and quality assurance within the group. He has gained extensive experience in cement process quality assurance and process management during his career with AfriSam.
I don’t think sustainability is a design aesthetic, any more than having electricity in your building. It’s an ethic, a basic consideration that we have to have as architects designing buildings. In 10 years we’re not going to talk about sustainability anymore, because it’s going to be built into the core processes of architecture.
McDonald graduated as a chemist in 1990 and completed an MBA degree in 1999. He serves on a number of SABS and industry committees. He is the founder chairperson of the North West Province Air Pollution Control Forum and has a vision for the province to be known as “the clean air province”. He was closely involved with the development and launch of the AfriSam Carbon Footprint initiative in 2009. He cares deeply about the environment and the development of AfriSam’s Eco Building Cement and range of Eco Concretes were initiatives from which he derived a great deal of personal satisfaction.
Robert Stern, academic
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A note on all the SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSIONS Following a preliminary review meeting of the jury panel, submissions were appraised for fulfilment of formal criteria. The panel decided that all the entries would be evaluated for the awards and the panel would then conduct in loco inspections of all the built projects.
All the Results
In their observations and deliberations, the jury panel noted that all the submitted projects were conceptualised, designed and developed during a period when the general understanding of sustainability and its enormous demand on various project stakeholders had just started to emerge in South Africa, but was well advanced in the developed world. Consequently, each of the projects was confronted by immense implementation and operational challenges which led to serious trade-offs between the ideals of the various stakeholders and the pragmatics dictated by the operational contexts. Because of the diverse nature of the award entries as well as the complexity of the issues around sustainable development, it was agreed by the jury panel to identify projects that have successfully addressed a specific component of sustainable design in an exemplary way.
Each project was executed in a different context, for different clients or communities and also with different approaches. But all of these projects contribute to the advancement of sustainable development.
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The Jury CongratulAtes - SUCCESSFUL SUBMISSIONS -
The Alexandra Renewal Project Savage + Dodd Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Brickfields Social Housing D+E Precincts Joint Venture Architects (Savage + Dodd Architects, Fee & Challis, Makhene and Associates) . . . 17
Forum Homini Activate Architects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
New Residence, Linden Savage + Dodd Architects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Tsoga ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRE ARG Design, Anna Cowen Architects, Vernon Collis & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Wolwekloof Youth Centre ARG Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- COMMENDED SUBMISSIONS -
The eKhaya Neighbourhood Improvement Programme Savage + Dodd Architects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Lifestyle Home Garden Retail Centre and Offices Nsika Architecture & Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Lynedoch Community Centre ARG Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
New Residence, 8 Norwich Drive Metropolis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
- AWARDED SUBMISSION -
The Dalton Compound Koop Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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The Alexandra Renewal Project Savage + Dodd
This is a joint urban regeneration project between government, the private sector, NGOs and community-based organisations situated on the eastern side of Alexandra township. The development targets people in the low end of the housing market and aims to build a sustainable typology, offering single room accommodation with shared ablution facilities, and a common creche and community hall. Spaces between clusters are arranged for urban agriculture and the project provides free hot water via a solar heat exchange system as well as rain water harvested from the roof.
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Rain water is harvested from the complex roofs to be used in the gardens and supplemented by a borehole supply
‑ 02 ‑ The spaces between clusters are arranged for urban agriculture based on the principles of permaculture, recreation and general open space activity
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‑ 03 Â‑ Arial View of Brickfields Brickfields consists of a perimeter block development with both 9 storey tower and 4 storey walk up units located around a central parking courtyard. Smaller garden courtyards separate the perimeter blocks from inner blocks and are separated by circulation staircase and drying yard elements
Brickfields Social Housing
D+E Precincts Joint Venture Architects (Savage + Dodd, Fee & Challis, Makhene and Associates) The Brickfields Social Housing Precinct is located in the inner city of Johannesburg, close to the Mandela Bridge and within the site of the historic brickfields that dates back to the 1890s. The overall development consists of three separate precincts and offers a model for economically and socially sustainable housing provision. It is a mixed use development that, in addition to residential units, provides retail units, live-work units and community facilities.
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Forum Homini
Activate Architects In building a boutique hotel in a game and residential estate in the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, the team were inspired and constrained by the landscape of a World Heritage Site. Existing timber structures and mine dump-rock were reused in the development, endemic landscape was reintroduced, a water treatment plant built and a natural wetland reinstated. Drawn to an evolution narrative, the architects also commissioned a set of contemporary artworks by local South African artists that enhance the unique place that is the Cradle of Humankind.
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Honeymoon Suite Indigenous turf covered concrete roof structures ensure a very efficient thermal performance of the buildings
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New Residence, Linden
A ‘single room deep’ planning arrangement allows for easy ventilation and light penetration
‑ 06 ‑ A verandah deck runs along the length of the house with a planting shelf on it, serving as the kitchen garden. Planting is integrated into the functionality of the house
Savage + Dodd Architects
The vision of this project was to create a live-work environment that would explore a multiplicity of living options on a sub-urban plot. The aim was also to create a habitat that would respond to its environment with as light a footprint as possible and to allow the occupants of the house to reduce their collective footprints. The result is a green (sub)urban village in one house.
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‑ 07 -
Tsoga
ARG Design, Anna Cowen Architects, Vernon Collis & Associates The design and construction of an Environmental Education Centre for Tsoga in Samora Machel, a marginalised apartheid township on the Cape Flats, was conceived to address degraded apartheid township conditions through engaging with environmental issues experienced by residents. The building, which uses a significant proportion of re-cycled material, was designed to support the activities of two hundred participants already involved in urban food gardens, environmental education and recycling.
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Recycled materials from recovered bricks from dumped waste and recovery of materials manufacturer and supplier waste streams were used, with a view to make these available on an ongoing basis
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The Wolwekloof Youth Centre
Renewable and/or locally abundant materials were selected
ARG Design
‑ 09 ‑ Use of local resources - labour, skills and materials
- 10 There was a focus on refurbishing existing buildings in initial phases of the project
This learning academy and residential facility for unemployed youths was born from an unused public facility in the mountains outside Ceres in the Western Cape. The project transforms a fragmented complex into an eco-friendly settlement through working with old buildings, creating new buildings and integrating the space in-between to create unique experiential qualities. Simple construction methods were used to introduce ecological building concepts to trainees.
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THE eKHAYA NEIGBOURHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Savage + Dodd Architects eKhaya Neighbourhood Co-ordinator & Facilitator Josie Adler Architects Savage + Dodd Architects Project Managers Amprodev BT Smith Project Managers
THE PROJECT The eKhaya Project in Hillbrow, Johannesburg was premised on developing a sustainable neighbourhood within the inner city. The project involved the re-cycling of several decayed and mismanaged residential blocks along Pietersen Street into healthy, economically and sociallysustainable buildings. eKhaya was one of the first projects of its kind to envisage neighbourhood-wide regeneration developed through discussions concerning common interests between property owners and the community and it now covers 16 city blocks.
- COMMENDED SUBMISSION -
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JURY PANEL CITATION The vicious circle of precinct neglect and resultant building degradation has been ongoing for so long in Hillbrow that most property owners reached a stage where they viewed their properties as liabilities to be written off rather than the wealth-generating assets they had aspired to. At another level, the pathological condition of precinct and buildings had extremely negative effects on the collective and personal health of the inhabitants.
PEOPLE UPLIFTMENT Placemaking PERFORMANCE At a certain critical moment, what was supposed to start off as architectural intervention on specific sites under the Johannesburg Housing Company evolved into a dynamic neighbourhood improvement mobilisation programme targeting both physical and social decay. Neighbourhood watch elevated security to allow people to re-inhabit their streets. This in turn created the desire to keep the streets clean. Additional effort went into securing and improving open spaces such as parks for children and the organisation of local sporting events. Channels of communication among building owners and with the City Council service departments facilitated the dialogue for prioritising the incremental interventions which over seven years have re-created a healthy and revitalised community. This new vitality has laid the foundation for the gradual process of physical improvements to buildings and infrastructure. The properties are gradually regaining their value and also creating revenue for their owners again.
translates to major environmental gains from a lifecycle perspective of buildings and related infrastructure. Equally, at operational services level, the mitigation with regards to leaking water loss and surface flow of raw sewage contributes to significant saving on water and prevention of water pollution. This contribution to the rejuvenation of the planet, though secondary to the socio-economic upliftment focus, is possibly the most valuable contribution of this initiative to architecture and the rest of society.
PARADIGM SHIFTING Evolving and implementing the programme collaboratively among all the stakeholders of the precinct has challenged each of them to step out of their conventionally defined domains and engage with their counterparts with an approach of mutual value-add in mind. The architect has been a key facilitator of this process on a sustained basis over seven years and is still engaged with the vision and mission of a programme whose demand for conventional architectural expertise is relatively minimal. This has been a clear indicator of the paradigm shifting outcome of the initiative. The rewards the programme is reaping in terms of growing memberships and geographic spread of participating properties demonstrates the emergence of valuable lessons which will hopefully be adapted to other precincts and areas of Johannesburg and other cities faced with similar challenges.
- Main Cresthill (2006) Rehabilitation of 1950's modernist building
‑ 01 ‑ Lanes before rehabilitation
‑ 02 ‑ The spaces between clusters are arranged for urban agriculture based on the principles of permaculture, recreation and general open space activity
‑ 03 ‑ Smitshof (2004) Upgrade of highrise residential building
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PLANET REJUVENATING The eKhaya Project has achieved multiple sustainable architectural goals through an indirect mechanism of first restoring dignity to people and communities. While on the surface this could be interpreted purely as a social programme, at a deeper level this programme has made significant headway in addressing all the other criteria. It is an intervention which manages to bring back a large stock of existing buildings from the brink of ruin to being available again for re-use. This
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Reclaiming a precinct for the life of the community, the buildings and for architecture 23
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LIFESTYLE HOME GARDEN RETAIL CENTRE EXTENSION Nsika Architecture & Design Client Lifestyle Home Garden Architects Brent Buchanan, Bryan Charters and Denise Hill: Nsika Architecture & Design Garden Centre Specialist Wertheim van der Ploeg & Klemeyer
THE PROJECT The goal was to double the overall size of the Lifestyle Centre’s Garden Centre without utilising any additional power. The team utilised solar shading devices, natural light and ventilation, solar powered heating, evaporative coolers, alternate chilled water production systems, rain water harvesting and grey water recycling. They describe it as a true journey of discovery into the world of sustainability.
- COMMENDED SUBMISSION -
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JURY PANEL CITATION Consumerism and its supportive retail infrastructure constitute the most hostile battlefront in sustainability. The coupling of our overconsumptive lifestyles with a large growing population has translated into the overproduction of goods and services and the resultant overshoot in exploitation of resources and the environment (bio-capacity). Is there place then for sustainable retail the way our systems function today? In the short term, there is a definite “yes” as part of the transitional step, but in the long term, humanity will have to seriously commit to the decoupling of “progress and materialism” and thus tone down on consumerism and its associated production and distribution rationale.
PARADIGM SHIFTING Lifestyle Home Garden has adopted this “yes” view and focused its attention on the energy consumption and quality of its indoor environment. Given the enormous energy required to air condition and light conventional malls, Lifestyle Home Garden decided to exploit prevailing electricity supply constraints as an opportunity for tapping into energy efficiency and renewable energy for growth and expansion. This strategy has ensured growth in trading floor area while keeping the overall energy consumption levels (kWh/yr) constant. This translates to lower overall energy intensity in terms of kWh/m2/year. This marks a major shift in the energy paradigm within retail developments.
PEOPLE UPLIFTMENT PLANET REJUVENATING In the extension, solar water heating (for hot water services and underfloor heating, especially in the new Garden Hall) and day-lighting were prioritised as the key strategies for reducing energy consumption. Storage of cheaper night time electricity as ice for cooling during the day is another local innovation which facilitates spread of electricity use beyond peak-demand periods into the low-demand period. The extensive provision for day-lighting within the key function areas of the extension (the restaurant and Garden Hall) has created a pleasant ambience while ensuring internal heat gain is minimised through extensive sun shading interventions. The overall design adopts a structural/construction approach which also optimises the recyclability of the building materials (especially steel) and facilitates eventual disassembly rather than demolition. These can be regarded as initial steps towards planet rejuvenation.
- Main Primi Life Exterior
‑ 01 ‑ Office Exterior
‑ 02 ‑ Office Atrium
‑ 03 ‑ Aerial view
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Daring to ask: What will greener future retail look like? 25
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LYNEDOCH COMMUNITY CENTRE ARG Design Client Lynedoch Section 21 Architects/Town Planners ARG Design Project Manager Proman
THE PROJECT The relocation of the Spier Wine Estate farm workers school in the Western Cape presented an opportunity for the conception of an educational facility and eco-village. The team recycled an existing farm shed into a new school using a significant proportion of recycled material. The site has food gardens, recycles water, generates wind and solar energy and contains a constructed wetland, restoring indigenous vegetation and features of the landscape.
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JURY PANEL CITATION Lynedoch Community Centre is a multipurpose facility within the winelands of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. It was designed and developed as an upgrade and extension project to an existing rundown building. The key objective was to serve as the anchor-resource for a community which set itself the goal of living sustainable lifestyles within the paradigm of an eco-village. Through its architecture and programme, the project was to make tangible demonstrations of sustainable living to the nascent and visionary host-community, whose members come from diverse socio-cultural and economic backgrounds. Knowledge areas studied and shared with the host-community include, amongst others, ecodesign for low-impact lifestyles, energy efficiency, water conservation and organic agriculture.
PEOPLE UPLIFTMENT Experiencing Lynedoch Community Centre and interacting with its multiple user clients, one is immersed into an experience of a building-as-community-resource. The development has transformed the community who, by engaging in an ongoing process of adaptation, similarly transform the architecture. A dialogue between space and society. One experiences an architecture which started as the predominant element in the relationship but has been transformed into a background canvas that now seems almost overwhelmed by the community life it has kindled and nurtured within almost a decade of operation.
scholars and researchers, both local and international, in sustainability. All of these are co-located within a community function hall that has blended function with structure in a truly unique way.
Placemaking PERFORMANCE Following on the maturing of its programme, the architecture has almost receded to the background and left user vibrancy as the dominant feeling one experiences within the facility. It is this outcome of placemaking performance that earned the project a commendation.
- Main Vegetable gardens used by the students
‑ 01 ‑ Natural ventilation avoids air conditioning
‑ 02 ‑ Construction process with local labour
- 03 Shading devices avoid overheating
PARADIGM SHIFTING Through the symbiotic relationship between architecture and programme, Lynedoch Community Centre is in the process of achieving its paradigm shifting goal for sustainable lifestyles and communities in a developing country like South Africa. The lessons which the community continues to accumulate would be invaluable to other communities and countries aspiring to a sustainable lifestyle.
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PLANET REJUVENATING The building itself settles for the low-tech sustainability principles of passive cooling and heating, use of natural light, water recycling/re-use and low-lifecycle impact materials as dictated by a seriously tight budget. It also sets itself an ambitious programme of pioneering learning and knowledge for sustainable communities in South Africa. There is a harmonious co-location of early childhood learning (primary school) with tertiary education (a sustainable development masters programme of the University of Stellenbosch). There is also the hosting of interdisciplinary practitioners,
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NEW RESIDENCE, 8 NORWICH DRIVE Metropolis Architects Jon Jacobson, Jenny Bath: Metropolis Structural Engineer Sutherland and Associates Environmental Consultant Paul Carew Consulting
THE PROJECT In Bishops Court, Cape Town, on a site entirely surrounded by trees, this family residence combines the concerns of contemporary and sustainable architecture into a building which is firmly modernist but is integrated with its natural surroundings. The formal composition of the house is drawn from the image of a group of tree canopies and tree-houses floating over the ground plane, as an evocation of the forest on the site.
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JURY PANEL CITATION In the field of sustainability, the impacts of overconsumption by middle-to-high-income households and their lifestyles poses the dilemma of demanding urgent action while available options in the market constrain choice with regard to performance and affordability. In particular, with regard to energy efficiency and renewable energy options which can leave a household at the same quality of life as what our conventional systems offer, the cost can be prohibitive and the limited industry experience in this field poses far higher risks with regard to technical performance and quality of service.
PLANET REJUVENATING The strategy applied in this project is firstly to minimise demand on energy services through optimisation of passive heating and cooling, natural light and other energy needs for security etc. The reduced energy needs facilitate the use of renewable energy technologies such as solar water heating for domestic use and for underfloor heating and photo-voltaics for electricity which is installed with the capacity to be interactive with the grid (when that option opens up in future). The passive and active systems are then integrated into a smart monitoring system which facilitates remote control to ensure optimised performance. Rain water harvesting is also one of the greening strategies systematically applied. The architect has worked closely with a client who was very keen to work through the market challenges of turning green technologies into viable solutions for contemporary homes and lifestyles. In the process, the residence has prioritised comfort and convenience with reduced resources and environmental impact and taken the initial steps towards planet rejuvenation, all done at relatively higher initial costs to the client.
In such circumstances, they demonstrate a dual expectation of resource/environmental security (in case the conventional systems gradually fail or gradually become too costly and unreliable) coupled with the mission to catalyse change on a bigger scale. Given that prevailing socio-economic development will continue for some time before equity takes hold as a component of sustainability, the new residence at Bishops Court is an excellent example of daring-to-go-it-alone even when current circumstances totally mitigate against such solutions. Even though it is unlikely that this view can become a common framework of decision making among many such households, it demonstrates a bold commitment to questioning the prevailing paradigm and taking the first steps towards shifting it.
- Main Exterior
‑ 01 ‑ Eco system: water recycling
‑ 02 ‑ Eco system: water heating
- 03 Eco system: electricity generation
PEOPLE UPLIFTMENT Placemaking PERFORMANCE Experientially, New Residence at Bishops Court presents well-articulated indoor spaces which dynamically interact with the outdoors in terms of views and ambient noise as well as physically as complementary spaces. Harmony with landscape and orientation both to view and movement of the sun gives excellent diversity spatially and visually that are the qualities of placemaking. Choice of external materials and textures were driven by a desire to contextualise the residence both to its site as well as to the larger Western Cape natural and geological heritage. Materials for the interiors respond to a desire for sensorial diversity and indoor air quality, uplifting people while paying attention to mitigating the use of resources and environmental impacts over the lifecycle of the building.
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Mitigating overconsumption at a middle-to-high-income household level
PARADIGM SHIFTING When an architect and his high-income household client decide to commit to these solutions at this stage, they are demonstrating strong intent to be trailblazers for other high end consumers and the market in general.
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For excellence in architecture Inspired and rooted to context, born of necessity
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THE DALTON COMPOUND KOOP DESIGN Client The Dalton Trust Architect Richard Stretton: Koop Design Landscape Design Sonja Swanepoel Structural Engineering Advisor Louis van Loos Site Project Coordinator Joe Dawson, Director: Dalton Trust
THE PROJECT The Dalton Compound is an integrated component of its environment, a 3 000-hectare reserve in the Estcourt area of rural KZN. It is the operational centre of the reserve with buildings that are flexible to various utilitarian needs yet offer exclusivity to guests staying at The Compound’s luxury accommodation. The project included the removal of alien vegetation, recycling it for use and the re-introduction of indigenous vegetation. Amongst other initiatives, the project included the creation of a vegetable garden for staff and a nursery, orchard and animal pens. An old timber yard is developed into a solar wood-drying kiln allowing for locally processed timber employed in the building. Local villagers were trained and employed in the construction. The Compound consists of two work sheds arranged around a vehicle yard; a central administrative block; management accommodation; a barn for meetings, stores, laundry services, an industrial kitchen and upper floor luxury accommodation. Architectural development focused on previously inhabited areas of the farms, minimising infrastructural expansion and environmental degradation. Buildings are flexible to the needs of the holistic system as opposed to being singular and definitive in their use. - AWARDED SUBMISSION -
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- PREVIOUS PAGE Aerial view of the Compound
‑ 01 ‑ The Barn Built on the foundations of the original farmhouse, the Barn is the focal point in the “village square” and the pinnacle of the technology developed to deliver buildings in the Compound
‑ 02 ‑ View from the Barn terrace The central office block separates the 2 core functions of the Compound; i.e. Reserve operations and luxury hospitality
- 03 View from the Barn portico This view demonstrates the spatial hierarchy and human scale of the village within the context of the Reserve
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JURY PANEL CITATION The value of architecture is often questioned in contexts where survival outweighs aspirations. When an architect and client fall into the trap of confronting this challenge literally, the resultant work can be gratifying from an architectural point of view but can fail dramatically as a long-term sustainable solution. It can leave the community feeling alienated from the project and its process. It takes a great vision and dedication for both client and architect to weave a solution that integrates the diverse opportunities of a given site to address the immediate spatial needs while creating the platform for sustained livelihoods for the associated communities. The Dalton Compound utilises this hidden force to generate an inspiring architecture which cannot exist in the absence of the needs and livelihoods of the surrounding communities. On the other hand, one is tempted to envy the architect who confronts such a challenging context and decides to take the “old route” of architecture: Setting the basis for the crafts and materials which go into the design and construction of the building solution (with minimal pre-processed components), while still commanding the benefit of doubt from the client. It is this type of context which challenges a jury panel in The Dalton Compound submission. A context where architecture has become the fundamental logic of the value chain within a community and its livelihood.
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The Reservoir House The first building designed in the Compound, The Reservoir House was used to develop the structural system for the project. The experimental design process and the creative process of delivering it resulted in a building with character and contributed to an enduring Dalton vernacular
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- 05 ‑ N.E. view of The Compound With the food garden and indigenous nursery in the foreground, work sheds and then the Barn in the background, the Compound is planned to operate and feel like a village and evokes a strong sense of place within the wider landscape
‑ 06, 07, 08 ‑ An intensive land rejuvenation programme has resulted in the combatting of erosion, the re-introduction of indigenous flora and fauna, food security and a thriving biosphere
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PLANET REJUVENATING When and where did architecture begin at The Dalton Compound? Was it when the architect discovered the disused timber drying and handling yard which was then transformed into a high-quality timber seasoning solar kiln? Could that have taken place if the alien blue-gum trees growing profusely on the ranch had not been recognised as being in need of management and eradication? The required clearing and disposal of these trees presented an opportunity for onsite processing of timber to be used in construction (as door frames, furniture etc.) as well as in the local community. This introduced and promoted continued clearing and harvesting of alien species in the area.
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PARADIGM SHIFTING For this to be a source of inspiration rather than a constraint for the architect and his client, a total paradigm shift had to be adopted. The architect’s role as incubator for this has been significant. If one visited The Dalton Compound and viewed the scattered shelters, one would be inspired by the excellent design and craft on display.
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- 09 Hospitality income is re-invested in the operations of the Reserve
‑ 10, 11, 12 ‑ Pigs, ducks, chicken & geese are raised to feed staff, and for purchase by staff and for paying guests. Animals culled on the reserve as part of ecosystem management are utilized fully
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PLACE-MAKING PERFORMANCE After being taken through the underlying concept and vision for the project and what has evolved over eight years of development, one is left with an overwhelming feeling for the deeper purpose in the architecture. It is found in the sensitive synthesis of an architectural language; in detailing that evolved as a direct response to the reuse of the beautifully crafted stone bases of the existing ruins of the site and in maximizing the use of the locally available Eucalyptus timber. It has manifested into a work of exceptional poetry. It is this sense of a strongly rooted architecture which is so profound at The Dalton Compound. The project proves that an investment in time can sometimes be a more valuable resource than financial capital.
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- 13 The architecture is of the land and blends into the landscape. It is part of the landscape as a positive intervention. It is the device by which humans have a beneficial experience with the environment
‑ 14 ‑ A pedestrian bridge over Bushman’s River was built by the Trust for employees living in Dalton Bridge, the neighbouring community, to cross the river rather than travel 5km by road. This reduces the carbon footprint and literally bridges the Reserve with its neighbours
‑ 15 ‑ The Trust has a deep conviction in the importance of people being able to sustainably produce their own food
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An extensive vegetable garden and orchard has been established in the Compound
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PEOPLE UPLIFTMENT The Dalton Compound is a centre for the affluent, a campsite where high nett worth individuals (often foreign tourists) spend days and weeks in exceptional exclusivity and comfort. However, uniquely this environment has been developed with a mission of upliftment of the local community through the use of skilled and semi-skilled trades persons drawn from these communities, through the development of a small-scale timber industry capable of supplying other workshops and furniture outlets and through the associated organic gardens and small scale farming. It is a fine example of a combination of several criteria of sustainability coming together in an aesthetically and spatially pleasing way that have resulted in this project being awarded the AfriSam-SAIA Aaward for Sustainable Architecture.
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- 17 Local people have been trained in a variety of skill bases which are self sustaining and contribute to the community at large
‑ 18, 19 ‑ Alien timbers such as Wattle, Poplar and Gum are cleared by teams trained by the Trust
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Timber is used as structural components in architecture and a carpentry team has evolved. This team make furniture designed by Koop for retail sales and commissioned projects, as well as providing furniture for the needs of the Reserve
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I firmly believe that in order for a building to be sustainable, it must be loved; it must touch the soul. People – not just the current owners, but future generations – must find enough value in a building to continue to occupy and maintain it. Some of this is aesthetic, some performance, some economics. David Arkin, architect
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The jury panel expresses its sincere gratitude and acknowledgement to the SAIA team which worked so diligently to facilitate our process, making our task fulfilling and enjoyable. In particular, our gratitude to Ms Zola Kgaka assisted by Ms Bronwen Foreman for the smooth programming and logistics and to Mr Al Stratford for his excellent role as convener which ensured efficiency in completion of tasks within what was an otherwise extremely tight schedule.
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