Housing in Southern Africa October 2015

IPOZI

EEZYBUILT

Housing Innovation Hub the Highveld and building wear and tear, without anymaintenance being carried out on the structures. All tests have their merits and the state has accumulated a great deal of scientific research and information, including which systems are best suited to the different climatic zones around the country. ing houses well documented, some systems have been duplicated and Mahachi and his team will deter- mine which houses to retain that are unique or offer the best examples of fit for purpose housing. innovation in housing finance at the National Housing Finance Corpora- tion.

Under his guidance the Social Housing Foundationwas established and, for the first time in the housing sector, government created a vi- able, sustainable, affordable rental housing option. Born in Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, the housing visionary raised funds from foreigngovernment agencies tobuild community projects, in his role as a special envoy for the South African Partners in the European Union’s Special Union. Under his leadership as a board member of the Johan- nesburg Housing Company and in partnership with the Gauteng pro- vincial government, the Brickfields Housing Project in Newtown was funded. The social housing project received global recognition and the United Nations Habitat Award for innovative and sustainable building solutions in 2006. His unfaltering dedication to ensure that the poor were housed, formed and shaped the housing policy. And, the launch of the robust Capital Housing Subsidy was the founding principle and policy frame- work that enabled government to provide over three million houses to the poor. ■

The NHBRC Centre for Research and Housing Innovation aims to at- tract a number of new technologies and systems for assessment and ac- creditation at the Eric Molobi Hous- ing Innovation Hub. Withmost of the operations and capital expenditure of mass residential sector construc- tion companies geared to traditional building systems and a preference for bricks, mortar and cement, the challenge is to introduce IBTs to ac- commodate speed of erection and improve energy efficiency inhousing. The scope and mandate of the NHBRC’s Hub is to provide research on innovative building systems and products. The Hub serves the sector by continuously assessing newprod- ucts and systems to improve on envi- ronmental sustainability and ensure a better quality of housing, whichwill lead to growth in the sector. The Hub was named after Eric Molobi for his forward think- ing philosophies. An illustrious political activist and ANC stalwart at the time of the new democracy, Molobi was the first Chair to promote

The purpose built Hub has cre- ated the opportunity for developers, manufacturers and suppliers of IBT systems to build show houses. It offers housing departments, devel- opers, municipalities, town plan- ners and industry stakeholders the opportunity to get up close and personal with the myriad of systems and the diversity of housing styles and designs on offer. The wealth of Agrément certified and NHBRC Rational Design Approved building technologies at the EricMolobi Hous- ing Innovation Hub will be included in the national database. Many systems at the Hub still look pristine, despite a deliberate lack of attention and maintenance. Of course, over the 10 year period since the show houses were built, some IBT suppliers, manufacturers and developers have flourished, while others no longer focus on the residential sector and a few are no longer in business.With all the exist-

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