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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.
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-
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.
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
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.
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