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Repositioning for the future
CASE STUDY 3.1-3.3
Sustainability, densification and the knowledge economy are all key phrases to be included in Cape Town’s plan for the future, not only to develop its local skills base and economy, but to be a significant contributor to and player in the international landscape. It is a vision embedded into the City’s masterplan – the Spatial Development Framework - to see it by 2040, become “..one of the greatest cities in the world to live, work, invest and discover. A place of possibility and innovation with a diverse urban community and all the opportunities and amenities of city life within a natural environment that supports economic vibrancy and inspires a sense of belonging in all.” The three case studies contained in this last section of our bid book offer diverse opportunities towards meeting this vision – from innovative technologies developed in Cape Town and a design showcase to rival the best in the world, to the development of a model for a sustainable future.
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3.1 Design Indaba 3.2 MXit 3.3 The Sustainability Institute and Lynedoch EcoVillage
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CASE STUDY 3.1 World Design Capital 2014
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Design Indaba® Design Indaba is a 16-year-old, non-profit institution created by Interactive Africa, a Cape Town-based media and projectmanagement company founded by managing director, Ravi Naidoo. Design Indaba has changed the face of design in South Africa. Its vision is that creativity can fuel an economic revolution in South Africa. This vision starts from the basis that “design can help solve the problems of an emerging country, [and] takes the view that a better future can be design.” Since 1995 it has consistently brought together international and local thought-leaders through the Design Indaba Conference – hosting more than 40 speakers and 2 400 delegates in 2010. The numbers have trebled since 2003.
THE TOP SHOW IN TOWN The annual Design Indaba expo which
The quality of its speakers are impressive and include industrial and graphic designers, architects, educationalists, record producers, chefs and many more – some of its alumni from across the globe have included designers Bruce Mau (USA) and Shigeru Uchida (Japan); product and interior designer Marcel Wanders
follows the conference is considered the best showcase of South African design talent in the country.
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(Netherlands); architects David Adjaye (UK) and Alejandro Aravena (Chile); record producer Chris Blackwell (Jamaica); and chef Ferran Adrià (Spain), The event’s target market has increased from young “hipsters” from the advertising industry to a mix of senior and middle-management marketers, design practitioners, students, academics, and overall growth in attendance from the corporate sector. It has become an annual “must-go-to” conference and an important networking opportunity for the design industry across all disciplines and from across the country. Through its opening events and “Dine Around” programme, it introduces its speakers to its local constituency. The Dine Arounds are intimate gatherings in which speakers and media are invited into the homes of local designers or thought-leaders. 384
The Design Indaba Expo, which follows the conference, provides a commercial platform for South African designers to showcase and sell their products and services. The Expo attracts over 30 000 visitors and importantly has 475 registered buyers attending, many of whom are influential international buyers. Working closely with partners, Design Indaba hosts a competition annually for the “Most Beautiful Object in South Africa,” the winners of whom are announced at the Design Indaba Expo after an extensive public voting campaign. This is a major opportunity to raise the profile of local designers. The hugely successful expo and conference garnered an impressive R27.7-million worth of media value in the 2010 financial year. The University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of
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DIVERSITY ON DISPLAY Displays from furniture designers Fiona Stansfield (left) and Haldane
Business did an economic impact assessment which found that Design Indaba contributed R232m to the national GDP in 2010, the bulk of which came from business orders to the value of R123m. It has sustained or created a total of 956 full-time jobs. There have been consistent increases in all these values annually.
Martin (middle) stand side-by-side with those of architects such as VDMMA.
Apart from the economic impact it has, Design Indaba has also won important local and international awards, most notably: - The international EIBTM Award for Best Conference in the World (2005); - A Gold Award at the South African advertising, communication design and experiential media awards, the Loeries, for Best Live Event (2007). Besides its annual flagship conference and expo, Design Indaba is now a multi-tiered “experience� 385
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION While the Design Indaba conference is a delegates-only event, the expo which follows is open to the public who annually flock to it to see the latest design innovations on show.
which combines other events, media, education, training and business development. This includes a regular Design Indaba magazine, an active website and social media presence, the Design Indaba Trust, the 10x10 project which includes housing and industrial projects as well as the Cape Town Design Route. The quarterly Design Indaba magazine was launched in 2001 and serves to spread the impact and values of the Design Indaba conference and expo throughout the year, reaching people who are unable to attend, reinforcing fraternity within the creative industries, as well as increasing local consumer awareness of high-quality design. In alignment with the flagship event, it offers an inclusive view of design, featuring disciplines including fashion, architecture and animation to product, interior, industrial and jewellery design. The Design Indaba magazine is the only African magazine to win the Best Design for New Magazine Award at the Folio Show in New York, and won gold again in the Open Category in 2005. In 2009 it was included in Colophon’s (the international magazine biennale) Top 100 Most Innovative Magazines in the World. - T he Design Indaba Trust’s development work is significant and includes a regular workshop series conducted around the country and aimed at young designers where it exposes these designers to the workings of international designers through one-on-one engagements. The end-product is always a tangible piece of work that is produced, such as a brochure, book bag or posters. - L aunched at Design Indaba 2007, the 10x10 Low-Cost Housing Project challenged ten handpicked local architectural teams, 386
supported by 10 international alumni from previous Design Indaba conferences, to provide innovative and dynamic design solutions for the low-cost housing sector. The inaugural $100 000 Curry Stone Humanitarian Design Prize went to MMA Architects for their solution to Design Indaba’s challenge, which incorporated the Ecobeam sandbag system. This international prize is awarded annually to recognise breakthrough design solutions with the potential to improve our lives and the world we live in. Sustainable, energy-efficient design, construction and operation techniques have been incorporated into the Design Indaba project, and the design principles are to be encapsulated into a manual to be presented to the South African Minister of Housing, so that these principles and resources utilised can be added to the low-cost housing database, as well as be made available to all as architectural open source material. - T he Design Indaba 10x10 Industrial Project matches ten local manufacturing companies with ten design groups (made up of local and international designers) to collaborate, design and manufacture new products for export. All companies involved have distinct competencies in a variety of niches such as injection moulding or sheet metal work. As suppliers to bigger manufacturers, these companies often become buried in the value chain. The 10x10 industrial projects aim to give these companies new scope and a sizeable morale boost by producing their own marketable products. The trickledown effect includes increased exports and job creation. - D esign Indaba has regularly experimented with projects to promote creativity including
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innovative interactive marketing campaigns as well as projects such as the SOUTH Exhibition. Over the past few years, Design Indaba has witnessed the emergence of a new creative ethos. With South Africa’s diverse, rich heritage as source material, and inspired by the rebirth of the South African nation, definitions have emerged that move beyond ethnicity, religion, race or language. In recognition of this development, Design Indaba, working with The Creative Circle and the Loeries Awards established the Creative Alliance towards the inaugural SOUTH award and exhibition, sponsored by the South African Broadcasting Commission (SABC). The SOUTH exhibition in 2009 celebrated the legendary creative icons who have been at the centre of the country’s creative renaissance over the past few years. As the Design Indaba institution has grown, it has taken a leadership position in South Africa, driving advocacy programmes to promote the creative industries among business, government, academia and civil society. Creative Industries: The Sleeper in South African Economy is a document compiled by Design Indaba and was briefed to cabinet ministers and the Office of the President. It inspired the formation of a government task team that plotted a way forward in creating a much-needed coherent, cohesive national strategy for the creative industries. Through advocacy, Design Indaba hopes to expand South Africa’s global reach by increasing its international delegate base, promotion of South Africa for tourism development, encouraging export of South African design goods, and being part of the process of growing the creative industry towards sustainable job creation and development. 387
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3.2
MXit
Mobile social networks are alive and well in South Africa. Thanks in no small measure to a nextgeneration company called MXit (pronounced mix it) that was born in the early 2000s in the university town of Stellenbosch, about 40 km from Cape Town. In its infancy of development, the MXIT application was used as a cheaper replacement for SMS among the youth. Rapidly however the service has evolved into a broader social network. Today the MXit Lifestyle is continually evolving to enhance the lives of an ever-increasing number of people globally. Once described by its founder and CEO, Herman Heunis, as a lifestyle company with “disruptive technology” (which refers to it using innovative approaches to build new mobile service models that go against the grain), it has close to 33-million registered users, making it the largest social network in Africa, with more than 40 000 new subscribers joining every day. Connecting the world MXit is a free instant messaging application that runs on mobile phones with WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) connectivity, for Java-enabled phones, as well as Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android and iPhone. The name evolved from the concept of message exchange, and it fulfilled the need for a free instant messaging (IM) application, both text and multimedia for computers and mobile phones, as well as music, social networking, fashion, banking access and more.
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It works by sending and receiving instant messages via GPRS/3G, rather than via standard SMS technology. The user can also accept contacts from other online chat communities like Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM and Google Talk – as well as update Twitter and Facebook. The range of services now also includes communitybased applications and entertainment. The application is distributed internationally and used in over 120 countries daily, but the bulk of the user base is in South Africa and Indonesia with fast growth in 123 other countries. While the service has swiftly achieved cult status among the youth of South Africa with its affordability of messaging, its online chat rooms and other mobile services, the company targets all age groups. MXit Lifestyle South Africa has been profitable since September 2006 and since then has not required any outside funding. MXit has recently launched into international markets in South East Asia, Latin America and Africa, and is downloadable internationally. MXit International is still in an investment phase and the shareholders are Cape Town-based corporate media giant Naspers (30%) and Heunis. Talk to me Heunis, who has been the driving force behind MXit, now faces the challenges of growing wireless communications in a developing country. Notwithstanding the fact that the product became part of the youth identity, MXit’s vision is to be a vehicle for change and a social network with a social conscience. It strives to eliminate barriers, enabling communities to develop, grow and interact unhindered by demographics. After graduating with a degree in communications from Stellenbosch University, Heunis followed
CASE STUDY 3.2 World Design Capital 2014
In 2003, the game’s functionality was re-assessed and in the latter half of the year the first version of MXit was released - the first mobile instant messenger of its kind in South Africa. In April 2004, Swist’s R&D division achieved independence as Clockspeed Mobile and on 1 July 2006 the entity became MXit Lifestyle (Pty) Limited. The team’s initial aim was to create a community using mobile phones. Its success can be ascribed to it anticipating the desire for connectedness among people on the move but without complex technology and at low cost. Young users especially and immediately saw a cost benefit - it almost renders ordinary text messaging obsolete. It is an easy application to place onto even a low-end phone and makes sense compared to something more complex like Facebook or Twitter. Since launching, MXit has shown explosive growth and has introduced many new products and continues to make communication affordable for all, allowing users to adopt the MXit brand as their own. The service offers free text services but charges for chat rooms and other content. It also carries mobile advertising. The MXit team continues to innovate, striving to break barriers and in so doing, to create an extended and intricate web of networks across cultures and lifestyles. With only around a hundred employees, a company like MXit can also move
quicker than other operators in implemening new services demanded by its customers. Many industry analysts say that demand for innovations like MXit could hasten the spread of mobile broadband in emerging markets. In some parts of Africa, in-home high-speed Internet access can cost as much as eight times more than Web connections over wireless networks. Add to that weak infrastructure such as access to electricity, phone lines and the Internet, it makes surfing the Web often an expensive luxury.
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a traditional software engineering path until he started his own ICT consulting company called Swist Group Technologies. In 2000, the research and development division of Swist developed a Massive Multiplayer Mobile game. The game was SMS-based and was not successful due to the high cost of SMS, since GPRS was still not widely implemented.
Social conscience MXit describes its brand as simple, energetic, iconic and a little rebellious. A brand that everyone can identify with, and to which everyone can aspire. It has a brand language that demonstrates that
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“The mobile phone is the remote control of the Universe.” Herman Heunis, CEO and founder of MXit
Vital statistics
Close on 33-million users; MXit attracts between 40 000 and 50 000 new registrations per day; Everyday, around 350-million messages are sent on MXit – this is seven times more messages than Twitter globally; 75% of MXit’s users are between 19 and 25 years of age. 389
MXit is in touch with its users, and has a strong emphasis on community creation. It is to the community power of MXit that many turn when they want to actively engage the youth. In comparison, less than three-million South Africans use Facebook, which is why - during the 2010 teachers’ strike - tutors chose MXit as a platform to answer questions from students and to provide study materials for download to allow preparation for exams. In addition and following the release of the end-of-year 2010 exam results, almost 500 calls per day were handled in post-result counselling via MXit by Reconstructive Labs (RLabs) to alleviate learners’ disappointment and frustrations. Other social initiatives Supporting Childline South Africa Childline South Africa and MXit have launched a joint venture to increase calls of help from children, by being available to a wider social networking platform and where the youth feel most comfortable to request counselling for physical and emotional abuse, neglect and family problems. Around 68 000 MXit users have downloaded the application on MXit for private counselling sessions conducted in specially adapted chatrooms. HIV/Aids information and counselling service MXit, in partnership with Cell-Life, hosts the “Red” contact service offering free HIV/Aids information and advice. When the user adds the service on his/her MXit profile as a buddy, it allows them to view HIV/Aids information in four of the official South African languages, as well as in text (mobile) language. The counselling integration to MXit is by means of a Gmail contact.
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Drug, substance abuse, depression, stress and debt counselling MXit supports RLabs efforts to offer South African youth drug and substance-abuse counselling, as well as depression and debt counselling. The RLabs portal, called “Angel”, is available free of
charge to all MXit users and is supported by twelve counsellors available daily. Information includes description and affects of drugs and substances such as tik (crystal methamphetamine), heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol and even cigarettes. Users can then speak anonymously to a counsellor or “Angel”, who is most frequently an ex-addict or rehabilitated substance abuser themselves. Over 40 000 youths have added the “Angel” contact in the first week of live counselling and the counsellors help an average of 384 youths every three hours using a JamiiX interface to MXit. (JamiiX, another Cape Town-based innovation, is a web-based tool allowing users to manage multiple conversations from different social networks and instant messaging platforms.) Mathematics educational schools partnership with Nokia This project, run by Nokia in collaboration with the Department of Education and MXit, allows a number of Western Cape Grade 10 learners (around 15 years old) to receive free access to an interactive mobile learning solution in mathematics. Learners work through a series of math modules from easy to difficult, competing with other South African schools. The pilot of 260 learners was recently extended to 3 000 and will soon extend to schools in two provinces. Combating illiteracy by promoting reading MXit users are able to download m-novels, as well as to comment on chapters and publish their own works. MXit work with authors as well as organisations such as The Shuttleworth Foundation to develop literacy programmes to get youth excited about reading. The aim is to access and interact with literature at a fraction of the price of books sold in traditional book stores. Supporting UNICEF’s “Red Card” campaign UNICEF’s initiative of “Let’s Give the Red Card to Child Exploitation” seeks to help children and
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY With only one hundred staff members, MXit uses innovative approaches to build new mobile service models that go against the grain and rise to challenges quickly to meet users’ demands.
Preserving language and intelligence through mobile games MXit understands its role in preserving language, and as such it has developed two multiplayer educational mobile games; chess and tiXi - the latter being a cross between Tetris and Scrabble which helps users with their spelling and numeracy. Launched in January 2010, tiXi has seen close on 154 000 MXit users adding the spelling contact, which is available in two languages (English and Afrikaans). Teaching South Africans to learn how to drive MXit assists learner-drivers to pass their examinations by offering young drivers mobile tutorials, drive-assist questionnaires to fill in and access to online video tutorials to help them pass their learner-driver (K53) tests. Over 85 000 users downloaded and used the m-learning portal in the first month of operation, with over 124 760 subscribers to the “k53assist” contact on MXit. Developing energy savings initiatives with the South African Department of Energy MXit helped the Department of Energy to develop a fun, interactive game that would encourage the youth market to save energy. Supporting “16 days of activism” to curb abuse against women, children & men The “16 Days of Activism” against the abuse of women, children and men is an international campaign which runs annually from 25 November to 10 December and is aimed at raising awareness about the prevalence of abuse around the world. MXit hosts a celebrity chatroom for this initiative, and has recruited a local celebrity DJ to use the
platform to help young people open up in a nonthreatening environment. Helping US President Obama connect with African youth In an effort to better understand the mindset of African youth, President Barack Obama asked young people across the continent to engage with him on MXit prior to his visit to the continent in July 2009. 65 000 MXit users, over a 24-hour campaign period, sent a question or comment to President Obama.
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young people to stay safe. Children around the world are at risk and by working in partnership with government, civil society and the private sector to enhance and strengthen child protection systems in the country, the red card contact on MXit assists with this.
Supporting the global “15andCounting” campaign The “15andCounting” campaign was a plea to governments globally to honour their pledge made at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994. Governments agreed on a 20-year programme of action to improve the sexual and reproductive health of young adults globally. MXit not only canvassed its user base to support the initiative, it also ran a user poll amongst 222 000 of its 22-million user base to determine key issues and concerns highlighted by South African youth. Disaster management The World Health Organisation (WHO) has turned to South Africa’s MXit and JamiiX to prepare communities in Southeast Asia for disaster management. The plan is to provide emergency preparedness information, as well as how to prepare emergency kits and plan for evacuations. Information on safe hospitals in disaster zones, along with ways to support the WHO’s drive for safe health facilities, is also provided. The WHO said that using such mobile and social media platforms was novel for the group. “We are leveraging new communication technology in order to ease the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of health information and services,” said Dr Roderico Ofrin, the regional adviser for the WHO’s emergency and humanitarian action.
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areas such as the Government’s Economic Policy, Sustainable Cities, the Non-Profit Sector, complexity theory and leadership development.
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THE SUSTAINABILITY INSTITUTE A non-profit trust, established in 1999 by Eve Annecke and Mark Swilling, focuses on learning for sustainable living by combining practice with theory in a way that integrates ecology and equity, specifically focusing on ways of reducing and eradicating poverty. The Institution works in partnership with the School of Public Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch across a range of educational programmes. The institute offers a MPhil and Phd in Sustainable Development Planning and Management; courses in Early Childhood Development; it encourages job creation for youth through Sustainable Construction training and it is involved in Community Development, Management and Practice which focuses on capacity building and career-pathing in the HIV/Aids sector. There are applied research projects on the strategic design of sustainable neighbourhoods at Phillipi AgriBusiness Place, Oude Molen and other locations. The Institute is involved in ongoing research in
The Sustainability Institute is based in Stellenbosch within the Lynedoch EcoVillage and has partnerships with Spier Holdings (with which the Institute was involved in ensuring the Spier developments were done sustainably) and the Stellenbosch Municipality. It is a working example of an integrated private-public-community partnership. THE LYNEDOCH ECOVILLAGE Managed by a non-profit company called the Lynedoch Development Company (LDC), this is the first ecologically designed, socially mixed intentional community in South Africa. The main aim for the EcoVillage was to create a mixed community organised around a child-centred learning precinct, which is the Lynedoch Primary School - a government school, for 475 children from the farmworkers’ families. It focuses on being a successful working example of a liveable, ecologically designed urban system whilst being financially and economically independent by not requiring external funding to sustain itself. The LDC board was set up in 2000, made up of a mixed group of local community leaders and professionals. The board was never able to raise
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CASE STUDY 3.3 World Design Capital 2014
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the resources required to cover the costs of the innovation and social facilitation processes that were needed to close the gap between vision and implementation, and in terms of it the creation of a living and learning community demonstrating what it means to live in sustainable ways. The Sustainability Institute was however able to close this gap by working in partnership with the School of Public Management and Planning at the University of Stellenbosch. This NGO/University alliance was able to mobilize intellectual capital, research networks and a sense of vision-in-practice that made the project credible for the providers of investment, the Development Bank, local bankers (Nedbank), local authorities and the property buyers themselves.
in 2004. The ecologically designed infrastructure included water, roads, sanitation, electricity and telecommunications. The housing scheme in the EcoVillage bridges the gap between the wealthy and poor by creating an urban design framework which merges government-subsidised housing with commercial-rate housing. The urban system has been designed to ensure ecological sustainability by having appropriate water, refuse and electricity management as well as enforcing green-building principles in the development of housing. It must however be noted that the Lynedoch EcoVillage is also ensuring social and economic sustainability which provides a holistic approach to development and is an excellent precedent for the development of other areas in Cape Town and further afield.
The village consists of the Lynedoch Primary School (a Montessori-based non-government school), a multi-purpose hall, offices and classrooms for the Sustainability Institute, 25 student residences, a conference venue, 45 residential units, commercial space and a village green.
Ecological Sustainability Five systems have been introduced to encourage ecological sustainability within the village. The systems involve appropriate freshwater, stormwater, grey-water, energy and waste (including effluent) management within the urban fabric. This also includes a regulated housing scheme involving architectural guidelines which provide a range of housing typologies suitable for the range of
Phase 1 of the housing development saw a R4-million infrastructure programme completed 394
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incomes, as well as specifying building materials to be used and where they can be sourced.
CREATING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES The Lynedoch EcoVillage focuses on being a liveable, ecologically designed, fully integrated
Each household in the EcoVillage is supplied with potable water from the main municipal water, and recycled water which is used for toilet flushing and irrigation, reducing potable water consumption by at least 40% per home. Each household has two water metres generating one invoice per household with a fee for potable water, which goes to the municipality, and a fee for recycled water that goes towards the operation and maintenance of the on-site water recycling system. Each house is also fitted with water-saving devices such as taps, shower-heads and the dual-flush toilet systems. Stormwater run-off (from both surface and roof areas) is conveyed via open channels and pipes into a dam located at the bottom of the site. Household effluent passes through septic tanks where the main solids are deposited and follow through to a vertically integrated, constructed wetland at the bottom of the site where treatment occurs. Once treated, the water flows into a dam from where it is pumped into storage tanks for onward transmission into households for toilet
urban community that is financially and economically independent of any external funding as well as being sustainable.
flushing and irrigation of gardens. Effluent from the on-site guest house and main building is channelled directly into a biolytic system. This is an engineered micro-ecology consisting of a peat filter that has been inoculated with earthworms that deal with the solid matter. The treated water then retains its primary nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) for re-use as a natural organic fertilizer for developing a nursery or for irrigating the orchards on the property. By treating the household effluent on-site the Lynedoch EcoVillage cuts costs on bulk sanitation. On top of this, three buyers have collaborated to build a biogas digester to replace the septic tank and the methane gas produced will be used to fire the kitchen stoves. 395
Energy efficient systems have been integrated into the design of the buildings which make up the EcoVillage. Electricity is reticulated for each household from the grid; however solar water-heaters are used in every household, saving 60% of normal energy costs, and only gas stoves are permitted in households. Passive heating and cooling methods are in place to ensure effective thermal regulation such as the north-south orientation of buildings together with roof overhangs and proper insulation. Low energy lighting is required throughout the EcoVillage in both public and private areas. There is a mixed system on-site for energy generation and for feeding back into the grid using solar, wind and hydro systems.
The design of the built form of the EcoVillage is one of its most important aspects as this has a major impact on the natural environment. Five pre-designed housing types are in place which range from single residential dwellings to semidetached houses and terrace housing. Buyers are able to generate their own design as long as it is in accordance with the overall architectural guidelines. The main building materials set out to use are either an adobe brick made from clay and straw, or a cement-soil brick (with a 5% cement content).
Social Sustainability There are two aspects to the social sustainability of the Lynedoch EcoVillage Development, the first being the governance and the second ensuring a proper social mix of people. The Lynedoch Development Company acts as the developer which means that it applied for the development rights, raised the funding and managed the infrastructure construction as well as the community building aspects of the development. When the local authority approved the development, this approval was granted on condition that a Home Owners Association be established to take primary responsibility for service delivery within the EcoVillage. This resulted in the Lynedoch Home Owners Association (LHOA) being registered as a Section 21 company and this association drew up the code of conduct which defines the way in which the community would like to live on a daily basis. The most important aspect in this scheme is that all property owners, including the Lynedoch Development Company, are members of the LHOA, which means they have taken ownership of the development and truly care about the sustainability of the EcoVillage.
A community based, sustainably managed, forestharvesting project in Mozambique has agreed to supply hardwoods for the manufacture of
Retaining a balanced social mix was a challenge as the subsidy buyers were refused loans from the bank. Due to this, an innovative system was
Waste management is achieved by each household separating their own waste into five separate containers (paper, cans, glass, plastic and organic waste). The waste is then collected and sold to recyclers for the productive re-use of non-recyclables, and the organic waste is composted and used in the community garden. This system results in at most 5% of waste reaching the landfill site.
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windows and door frames in order to prevent the use of woods imported from forests in Indonesia and Brazil (which are widely used throughout the Western Cape). Aluminium is also being used as, even though it has a high embodied energy content, it is maintenance-free, durable and insulates well. All other finishes have to be in accordance with the architectural guidelines to ensure a balanced relationship between natural and built environments.
Economic Sustainability In retaining the economic sustainability the main challenge is ensuring the intended beneficiary remains the beneficiary. This is achieved by the constitution that the LHOA compiled, which imposes strict restrictions in the resale of property. The seller of any property has to first offer the property to the LHOA who can accept or decline the offer. It can then either be sold to someone else who has qualified for a subsidised house and can make the financial obligations, or it is sold to a buyer who is prepared to pay commercial rates resulting in a profit for the seller. The LHOA can still approve or disprove a buyer even if they, as an association, don’t purchase the property. These schemes ensure the integrity of the vision and values of the EcoVillage. The LDC has worked closely with the Sustainability Institute to assist with the establishment of a Savings and Credit Cooperative at Lynedoch. This is essentially a non-profit community bank that provides nonsecured loans to low income earners, based on their savings record. LDC is also connected to a land-reform project led by farmers from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. The project aims to supply food directly to the Lynedoch EcoVillage members,
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devised whereby the buyers have possession and occupation rights but ownership is achieved after the house has been paid. Another design element introduced to achieve a social mix was that not all subsidy sites were grouped together in one place. Instead, both the subsidy and non-subsidy buyers were invited to choose their plots, which created a natural balance amongst buyers and therefore a more natural integration. The most important factor is the centrality of the children in both the spatial structure of the development process and in the social dynamic that characterises daily life.
bypassing packhouse operators and supermarkets. This means that the farmers are not getting ripped off by the packhouses (who normally buy food at very low prices) and reduces wastage of food as food which is perfectly edible but not perfectly refined (as supermarkets require) still finds a market. The Lynedoch EcoVillage is an example of how ecologically designed urban systems and built forms can save households money and reduce the operation costs of municipal infrastructures. The concept of developing a child-centred community could be mandated through zoning conditions that provide equally for low, middle and high income households, thus encouraging a social mix. The social mix can then be enhanced by integrating low- and high-income households. This integration creates a diverse range of markets that build relational capital and reinvestment rather than detracting resources from poor areas, while at the same time providing affordable healthy food, thus increasing household nutrition levels and higher returns for the farmer. 397