Sustainability is a strand that runs through all projects - with specific emphasis on low-tech and passive climatic design principles as a means of achieving a comfortable sustainable environment - refer WITS SCEM; Sun1 Newcastle
Research into the application of passive design to homes in different climatic zones in South Africa integrating design and technology was published in a chapter on Passive Sustainable Design in South Africa
- Introduction
- Arid Interior - Upington; Kimberley
- Cold Interior- Johannesburg; Bloemfontein -
- Existing built house's passive climatic properties was analysed for the home design in the Cold Interior - House Felix Ferreira
- Other houses designed with passive design principles -
- Hot Interior- Makhado; Nelspruit
- Sub-Tropical Coast - East London; Durban; Richards Bay
- Temperate Coast - Cape Town; Port Elizabeth
- Temperate Interior- Pretoria; Polokwane
- Unbuilt design for a rammed earth house - House Mokoena - was analysed for the Temperate Interior
- published in The Home Guide to Energy Efficient Building in South Africa – Bluebird Promotions January 2012.
We have also explored and experimented with new and alternative building technologies.
- Rammed Earth -
- We participated in a workshop on rammed earth building and subsequently designed a house on rural outskirts of Pretoria in rammed earth - House Mokoena. This was designed and detailed with the assistance of an engineer experienced in rammed earth
- We experimented with physically building in rammed earth in a small extension to our offices.
