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C
hikane says, “The South Af-
rican population dynamics
require that we rapidly imple-
ment innovative building technolo-
gies. It has been almost five years
since the launch of the Legacy Build-
ing project using innovative building
systems and there is still market and
consumer resistance amongst low
cost housing householders.”
The project aimed to explore
the use of innovative building tech-
nologies (IBTs) in enabling the de-
velopment of sustainable human
settlements as well as addressing the
backlog in housing delivery.
He adds, “South African construc-
tion firms by and large have shown
resistance to building houses using
innovative building technologies.
There is clearlymore that needs to be
done to educate consumers in order
to drive demand of IBT.
An IBT house looks like any other
houses but its building materials are
typically thin and hollow compared
to conventional materials although
no less durable”
While the issues stem largely from
the perception that the materials
and systems with which they are
built are not as sturdy as the trusted,
hundreds-of-years-old bricks and
mortar, this has caused stakeholders
in the housing sector to tread care-
fully in employing these technologies
on a wide scale.
As much as the human need for
shelter is one of the most fundamen-
tal of human needs, these needs
and the needs of our societies as a
whole are not static. Chikane points
out, “While the world around us has
changed significantly over the past
few centuries, building materials
have remained relatively the same.
Innovations in housing have the
potential to stretch the use of a house
far beyond merely providing shelter
and create housing that can adapt to
its physical and social environments.”
He cites, “Changing energy de-
mands and urban migrations pat-
terns showing almost 80% of our
population will live in cities. This
makes it necessary to produce hous-
ing at a faster rate. The varying and
changing climatic conditions are all
reasons why we must continue to
make innovative building technolo-
gies a priority for the housing sector.”
Government has set a target that
will see at least 60% of all houses
constructed by 2017 built using
IBT systems. The National Building
Registrations Council is the agency
of government tasked with driving
the adoption of innovative building
technologies.
As it is the case withmany innova-
tions, early adopters of new technolo-
gies are always a small percentage of
total population. The new technology
needs to prove itself first before it can
enjoy broader acceptance, but when
one looks at the benefits of technol-
ogy – which are all around us – there
Asmuch as the human need
for shelter is one of themost
fundamental of human
needs, these needs – and
the needs of our societies as
a whole are not static.
Acting CEO of the
National Home
Builders Registration
Council, Abbey
Chikane says that it
is important that we
relook at the housing
policy and improve
on it. He addressed
media, delegates
and industry
stakeholders at the
recent inaugural
2016 National
Human Settlements
Conference.
What b
will not take
Abbey Chikane