Human Settlements Review - Parliamentary Monitoring Group

Human Settlements Review, Volume 1, Number 1, 2010
Coming To Terms With Alternative Building
Technology: Gauteng Province Experience
.
Chief Directorate: Housing Needs, Research and Planning
Gauteng Provincial Department of Local Government and Housing
and
Chief Directorate: Research
National Department of Human Settlements
1. Introduction
In the last 15 years, the Gauteng Provincial
Department of Local Government and Housing
has delivered more than 500, 000 units to poor
households. However, this delivery has not
been sufficient to meet increasing demand for
housing in the province. Inevitably, a deficit of
600, 000 households continue to live in housing
conditions that do not meet acceptable minimum
requirements for residential quality. Many
reside in informal settlements and overcrowded
backyard shacks. According to Statistics South
Africa, in Guateng Province the 2007 Community
Survey showed a decline of 1% in the number
of households leaving in formal dwellings from
74.6% in 2001 to 73.5% in 2007. Arguable, this
could indicate a possible increase in demand
for low cost housing creating an additional
burden for the state. It is for this reason that the
department explored different means of meeting
the growing need for adequate shelter.
This paper explores the experience of the
province in its engagements with alternative
building technologies and innovative building
systems. The paper narrates the experience
of practitioners such as project managers
and other officials involved in various housing
development projects where alternative building
technologies are utilised. It is also important to
note that, though the province began trying out
alternative building technologies since early days
of democracy, this paper focuses on the most
recent (between 2004 and 2010) experiences.
2. Preparatory work: working the
ground
Preparatory work that the provincial department
had undertaken included consultation with the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) which is a significant research
institution for innovation and alternative building
technology and with the National Home
Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). The
consultations assisted the department to gain
insight and understanding of alternative building
technologies and the technical requirements in
constructing houses with such technologies. In
addition, the departmental officials gained insight
by visiting housing projects where alternative
building technologies had been utilised. The visit
to Eric Molobi Innovation Hub provided valuable
lessons in understanding the various types of
technologies available.
Once the Department made a decision on the
type of building technology, a bill of quantities
was determined by a quantity surveyor.
When appointing the providers of alternative
technologies the normal government tender
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