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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Sustainable and informal: a case study in the shadows of housing policy in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa
Author:Perry, Adam. F.
Year:2012
Periodical:Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Volume:11
Issue:1
Pages:114-127
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:housing policy
urban housing
vernacular architecture
External link:https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC126060
Abstract:This article takes opposition with a trend to ideologically separate dwellings built with natural resources, often regarded as traditional, in comparison to formal or urban-type dwellings. A case study carried out at Site Five or Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa, explores how fusion of materials is technically possible, and indicates a need to revisit how the literature on housing is framed, particularly relating to notions of 'traditional' and 'modern'. The article traces the process of building an urban (township) house with more or less indigenous materials. It shows that the potential of the building project to speak of 'sustainable' solutions in housing may have been undermined in its goal to showcase an alternative in low-income housing because it pushed the envelope by building beyond building codes. During construction, the use of earth, a locally sourced material, challenged regional building codes, but was viewed as acceptable by local residents, architects, engineers, and foreign volunteers who participated to build a more sustainable alternative in low-income housing. The interest of the project is reflected in the manner in which local residents accepted an alternative housing product once it matched a 'modern' aesthetic. The success of the project was defined when innovation met local response and new knowledge was generated through discussions defining appropriate technology. Ultimately, the building process challenged local residents, and others interested in the project, to confront and redefine their ideas about vernacular architecture, in turn, stimulating debate about what constitutes low-income and appropriate housing in South Africa. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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