Design Indaba 10x10:
Ten houses for Freedom Park
Design Indaba’s 10x10 Housing Project is pleased to announce that building has started on the designated plots in Freedom Park.
Launched at last year’s Design Indaba, the 10x10 Housing Project challenged 10 architectural teams to provide innovative and dynamic design solutions for the low-cost housing sector. Ten of the first solution will be built in this first phase of the project, thanks to sponsorship from PG Bison and Pennypinchers. Future constructions involving the other nine designs are envisioned.
Said Justin Berry, group marketing manager of PG Bison: “As a leader in the South Africa’s building industry, PG Bison is proud to be part of a project that proposes a meaningful solution to the housing problem in South Africa.”
The solution to be implemented is the entry from architect Luyanda Mpahlwa, assisted by Kirsty Ronné. Using an innovative new building system, Ecobeams, which complies with all the rules and regulations of the Cape City Council, fits within budget and fulfils all the requirements with regards to testing and certification of an alternative building system.
"To be part of this project meant a lot in terms of making a significant contribution towards innovative, dignified solutions to the housing situation. I'm looking forward to seeing the final construction," said Mpahlwa.
The design also offers a number of improvements on the standard RDP house. Ecobeams are equal, if not superior, to brick-and-mortar, but cheaper and more eco-friendly. Taking this into account Mpahlwa has increased the size of the house and created a fluid interplay between public and private spaces in and around the house. The house is also built on a framework, making it easy to expand, and involves the whole community in its construction.
The design, and those of the other architects from around the world will be distributed as architectural open source. “All of these designs will bring new materials and concepts to low-cost housing, and will be an absolute boon to poor families across Africa,” said Ravi Naidoo, founder of Design Indaba and director of Interactive Africa.
The participating architectural teams are: Jo Noero (Cape Town) and Cameron Sinclair (San Francisco); Vanessa September (Cape Town) and Lindy Roy (New York); Luyanda Mpahlwa (Cape Town) and Will Alsop (London); Andrew Makin and Janina Masojada (Durban), and Christoph Egret (London); Lesley Carstens and Silvio Rech (Johannesburg), and Thomas Heatherwick (London); Stefan Antoni (Cape Town) and Eva Jiricna (London); Ruben Reddy (Durban) and Mark Dytham (Tokyo); Martin Kruger (Cape Town) and David Adjaye (London); Henning Rasmus (Johannesburg) and Shigeru Ban (Tokyo); and Don Albert (Cape Town) and Tom Dixon (London).
DESIGN INDABA 2008
Design Indaba will fortify as the South African Design Week in 2008, with the expo and conference programme running over a week from Saturday 23 February to Friday 29 February 2008.
DESIGN INDABA EXPO
For the fifth time, the Design Indaba Expo will offer a curated commercial platform for South African designers to showcase local goods and services to the global market. Based on the success of the 2007 event, which played host to more than 20 000 visitors, the 2008 event has been extended for an extra day, running from Saturday 23 to Tuesday 26 February, 2008. The Expo will also be even bigger than before with more floor space, a host of new exhibitors and a brand-new dedicated fashion arena with day-long shows and movie festivals.
DESIGN INDABA CONFERENCE
The Design Indaba Conference will run from Wednesday 27 February to Friday 29 February, 2008. Judged the best conference in the world by EIBTM in Barcelona, the conference has played host to luminaries from all over the world since 1995 and been sold out for the past three years.
SPECIALIST INDABAS
Due to demand from delegates and the public to attend the Specialist Indabas, these will run parallel to the Expo on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 February 2008. These two-hour architecture, fashion and jewellery events feature local and international designers debating the contribution of these creative sectors to the South African economy. Bookings for Specialist Indabas open at Computicket on 14 January 2008.
YOUNG DESIGNERS SIMULCAST
As part of Design Indaba’s ongoing commitment to design education, Design Indaba 2008 will again offer a Young Designers Simulcast, catering to young designers and students under the age of 25. This is a live broadcast from the main plenary session to a second auditorium. Students and young designers will be able to access speakers in short, informal chat sessions during and at the end of the day.
DESIGN INDABA JOURNALISM WORKSHOP
For the first time, Design Indaba is presenting the Design Indaba Journalism Workshop in conjunction with the Design Indaba Expo taking place from February 23 to 26, 2008. New York design critic and assistant professor at Parsons, Susan Yelavich will lead the workshop with the assistance of an international team of acclaimed editors, journalists and writers. The cost is R1500 per person. To apply for participation, please contact Deborah Weber.
For more detailed information about the above activities taking place, and for related high-resolution images, please contact:
Deborah Weber
E-mail: deborah@interactiveafrica.com
Nadine Botha
E-mail: nadine@interactiveafrica.com
Tel: (021) 465 9966
Website: www.designindabaexpo.com
|
