WEEK 17: WESCAPE GROUP HOUSING

The increasing number of RDP housing has created an evolution on how the underprivileged live their lives, over the past two decades. The housing strategy, which was aimed to decrease the still increasing rate of informal settlers and “equalize” the citizens of South Africa, saw an incredible number of happy home owners but at the same time left a number of people cut off from these services.

The citizens who suffered the fate of being excluded from this housing project were those who earned a “decent” income. What was missed throughout this was that within this group of people existed an unfortunate group that earned around the lower margin, thus being unable to afford paying bonds but at the same time not qualifying for RDP housing.

So the solution to this was to introduce subsides versions that this group of people could fall under so they can benefit from this democratic programme. My bosses managed take part in this in the Mitchell’s Plain Wescape group housing project a few years ago.

This week we revisited the area to check the construction progress and how the housing looks as a community. What we did not expect was how the owners would respond to the designs as individuals, because the entire project consisted of different “template” designs repeated throughout (due to financial and time constraints), with slight changes made here and there depending on the context.

What we saw was very impressive as every house had a sense of individuality which was missing initially. Even though the area is fairly new, you can already see that it is heading towards the right direction. Some have painted differently, some have added their own design elements and some have even extended their houses in a manner that does not even disturb the aesthetics of the community.

It is quite interesting to see their response, and it leaves one wondering how the area will look in 10 years. And if now is anything to judge from, I have high expectations of how it will turn out.

WEEK 16: MODEL BUILDING

Working with pencil on a drawing board the old school way is a very exciting task, because the amount of freedom it offers is limitless. But there are times when a pencils, or even the sophisticated 3D programmes we used fail to solve design problems.

The Muizeburg project we are currently busy with on site has hit a construction problem (or should I say challenge?), that has forced us to stop our endless clicking and put our pencils aside in order to get down and dirty in model building. What is the problem? Well, the opposing pitched roofs require more care than we foresaw. Since the new structure has two blocks of rooms that sit parallel to each other, with one sitting slightly lower than the other and the taller one sitting lower than the existing structure, we were forced to treat the walls on which the roofs go against as parapets.

That meant that we had to physically mock up a construction method that will leave the clients, the builder and the architect happy. Here is the model showing the roof relationshop….

WEEK 15: CONSTRUCTION

There is something heartwarming about the construction phase. I can’t exactly put my finger on it, though. Perhaps it’s the thrill of constantly being on site, or the relief of successfully getting the design approved by the client or the devil we all love to hate – council! The Muizenburg project I blogged about the previous week is finally being given life to, today. Yay! But I am not exactly happy…

As much as I am enthusiastic to see something that I worked on become a physical entity, the designer and the inner perfectionist in me are not exactly fond of the design. Yes it is just an extension, and yes the clients love it (they gave a lot of input) but there is something “builder” about it.

I feel that it lacks that spark, that creativity and that constrained design liberty the existing structure generously offered. Maybe I am just being too finicky and I am looking at things through the eyes of an over-imaginative student who is used to designing without actual budget constraints. The ,manner in which the functions are placed and how they are linked isn’t exactly the problem. In fact they work well, given the site conditions faced. My problem lies with the aesthetics. Why?

Well, the existing structure is a Victorian beast with a pitched roof that slopes on all four sides. The new structure doesn’t complement that at all, in my opinion. The new structure (like I described in the previous post) consist of two rooms “lining up” behind the existing structure. Each room has a roof that slopes to a side that opposes the other, both corrugated sheet unlike the existing tiles roof. I am aware that the language they speak should not necessarily be identical, but it should at least have common grounds or intense contrast – and not lurk in the middle, as that will be its demise.

Who knows, maybe my view will change when the structure has been fully erected. I do not dislike the design, I am just sharing my design opinion which changes from time to time.

Construction pictures below!