PROJECTS Belhar Gardens, affordably efficient

1 Hamilton Naki Square in Langa, one of the City of Cape Town s Community Residential Unit (CRU) PROJECTS , was recently recognised by the Cape Institute for Architecture and awarded the 2017 Cape Institute for Architecture Award for Architecture. According to the City of Cape Town, this underpins its commitment to providing well-located housing opportunities and helping to ensure safer communities through urban design, while creating HOUSING FOR THE COMMUNITYThis CRU project offers housing opportunities to 463 tenants and their families. The planning and construction of the units was managed by the City s Transport and Urban Development Authority, with the design expertise of Architects Associated, in consultation with the City s Assets and Facilities Management project cost about R170-million and comprises 463 two-bedroom 40m units in three-, four- and five-storey buildings.

2 These rental housing opportunities are aimed at people residing in the worst hostel conditions in the city, following the development of a priority model for all hostels in Cape provide the buildings with a sense of identity, the architects used the gradation of the buildings as well as the staircases, balconies and vistas to create a unique addition, the precinct s layout boasts a network of pedestrian routes, courts and play areas, a new public square on the corner of Bhunga Avenue and Ndabeni Street, as well as pockets of parking and allocated green and narrower streets have been created in the precinct to provide tenants with a thermal buffer and shading against the harsh south-easterly wind and sand and horizontal north-west IT RIGHT This project showcases the value of City departments and private companies working together to improve the living conditions of our tenants and their families.

3 The teams who worked on this project should be commended for their creativity and determination. They did not allow the challenges of the sandy Cape soil to deter the construction. Instead, they used innovatively-designed foundations and a load-bearing system of reinforced concrete blocks for the construction of the four- to five-storey buildings. Also, the ecological footprint of this building is reduced by excluding reinforced concrete structural frames. Over the 20-month period of construction, this project created employment opportunities for local labour and subcontractors, through the main contractor, says the City s Mayoral Committee member for Transport and Urban Development, Councillor Brett rentals are managed by the City s Assets and Facilities Management Directorate.

4 We are proud that our tenants and their families can enjoy affordable rental accommodation. In going green, all our units are connected to solar water heaters which offers our tenants some financial relief as the demand for energy and its cost decreases. The maintenance of the City s rental stock usually forms a large part of our budget and therefore I am pleased that careful consideration is given to creating the robust architecture to reduce the level of maintenance required in future. In this way, the budget can be spent on other needs to benefit our tenants and their families, says the City s Mayoral Committee member for Assets and Facilities Management, Councillor Stuart Diamond.

5 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 AFFORDABLEHOUSINGSA28 This CRU project offers housing opportunities to people residing in the worst hostel square is tops for housing and design In recognition of architectural, spatial and community-enhancing achievements, the City of Cape Town recently received a prestigious architectural award. By The City of Cape Town | All images courtesy City of Cape TownPROJEC TSThis social housing project located in Cape Town is recognised by the GBCSA for saving Gardens development was recently recognised by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) as a project that shows Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (Edge).

6 The City of Cape Town sees this is a significant achievement, saying that this will assist Cape Town s water saving efforts while at the same time it makes the rental units more affordable for development, situated on the corner of Carmen End and Symphony Way, was completed in August 2017 and boasts 630 social housing units, comprising of bachelor, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. It is currently managed by the Madulammoho Housing Association, one of the social housing companies that has partnered with the City of Cape Town. Belhar Gardens recently achieved an Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (Edge) preliminary grading from the GBCSA; final certification will be issued in early 2018.

7 The significance of this certification cannot be overstated. Cape Town is facing one of the worst droughts in recorded history. The long-term sustainability of our city depends on our ability to plan, use innovative technologies and foster an acute awareness of how we use scarce resources. It is imperative that all of us who are involved in urban development, be it the private or public sector, focus on methods and innovative designs to save water and electricity, and to limit the impact on our environment, says the City s Mayoral Committee member for Transport and Urban Development, Councillor Brett also wants to commend Madulammoho for this achievement and for setting the benchmark in social housing developments.

8 We are proud to have them as a social housing partner. They have proved to the industry that one can go green when building affordable housing units, and that energy and water efficiency is not the sole preserve of upper-income developments. LIVING IN Belhar GARDENSThe tenants, the majority of whom are from the Belhar area or work close to the development, have already moved in. Belhar Gardens, affordably efficientA Cape Town social housing development is the first affordable housing project in South Africa to be recognised for its water and energy saving design. By The City of Cape Town | All images courtesy City of Cape TownPROJEC TSJANUARY - FEBRUARY 2018 AFFORDABLEHOUSINGSA29Up to 30% of the units were reserved for households with a combined monthly income of less than R3 500 per month, and 70% were allocated to households earning a monthly income of between R3 500 and R7 500.

9 Tenants residing in social housing developments must be able to pay rent, and are charged for their water and electricity usage. Therefore, the energy and water saving design implemented at Belhar Gardens also benefits the tenants as the savings are passed on to the households, making these units more affordable, says Councillor units at the Belhar Gardens development use, on average, use 30% less water and energy than other housing developments with traditional water and energy designs. Each unit has been fitted with water flow restrictors and water meters that measure the amount of hot and cold water used.

10 In doing so, the household or tenant is aware of their water usage at all times, and can implement their own water saving methods. We have also replaced conventional geysers with heat pump stations at every block of units. The heat pumps can save up to 48% in electricity use, compared with conventional geysers. The hot water is measured separately for each unit, meaning we pass the savings on to the tenant, explains Madulammoho s CEO, Renier CERTIFIEDThe EDGE preliminary certification confirms that the design implemented at Belhar Gardens development meets the minimum benchmark saving of 20% in water and energy used.