Housing in Southern Africa August 2015

Energy Efficiency, Green Building & IBTs

Eastern Cape housing

South African brick-and-block making machinery leader, Hydraform, has contributed to the construction of low income housing in the Eastern Cape.

T he Department of Rural De- velopment and Land Reform initiative at Radway Green Farm, outside Grahamstown, pro- vided housing for the local commu- nity using Hydraform’s block-making machinery. The turnkey project enabled the local community to participate in the rural build and learn new skills. Nazlie Dickson, Sales and Mar- keting Director of Hydraform says, “Hydraformblock-makingmachinery provides smart solutions to the logis- tical challenges presented by a rural or peri-urban build, and due to its innovative dry-stacking method, the final product has a lower embodied energy than traditional bricks and blocks.” Dickson comments: “Hydraform blocks are not baked or fired, which saves a remarkable amount of en- ergy. The dry-stack interlocking tech- nology also saves construction time and cement costs as well as providing materials with less embodied energy, contributing to a structure that is greener overall.” The Radway Green Farmproject is a self-sustainable, independent de- velopment that includes solar power, a waste management system as well as water delivery.”

She continues, “A key objective of the project was to ensure that the community members were not only beneficiaries of homes, but that they were trained in block-making and construction as part of their skills de- velopment. The communityproduced 150 000 blocks that went into build- ing their houses. Our products are able to work around infrastructural constraints and still deliver housing, community centres, health facili- ties and schools – even in the most remote areas. The Radway Green project began in March 2015 and will be completed by August 2015 – on time and within budget.” While the project houses a number of families, it also showcases Hydra- form’s projectmanagement skills and unique technologies that are well suited to local housing delivery. “Projects like this prove that we are able to adapt to market needs, and in this case, the affordable hous- ing market, by providing specialised and dynamic turnkey housing deliv- ery options. This extended offering meanswemakemeaningful contribu- tions to South Africa’s job creation, skills development and community upliftment objectives,” says Dickson. Hydraform’s block-making ma- chinery was transported to site,

ensuring a good quality product that didn’t have to travel far to get to its destination, which cut down tremen- dously on transportation costs and rendered the product more inher- ently energy efficient. The Radway Green Farm project also offered a unique set-up to test out the versatility and robust nature of the machinery. Notes Dickson, “The project itself is in a rural set- ting where there is no formal water and power facilities or supply. But this made no difference to the per- formance of our machinery, which is highlymobile and canproduce blocks on site,” concluded Dickson. Hydraform has 25 years of ex- perience in alternative building technologies. Through continuous research and development with lead- ing institutions, the company has developed a dry-stack interlocking building block, eliminating the use of mortar in 70% of the building struc- ture. There is no need for concrete or steel columns and this offers a cost effective housing solution and qual- ity product. For further information contact Hydraform on 011 913 1449 or email: sales@hydraform.com ■

August 2015