Contents of February 2009

COMMENT
Beauty is essential

LETTERS
Merit of Olievenhoutbosch debated

UPFRONT
What’s new and happening?

GREEN BUILDINGS
Sustainability achieved at the Energy Works

GREEN BUILDINGS BRIEFS

CITY VISIT
Bridge City: a buffer strip transformed

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN
Cape Town’s Grand Parade revitalized

WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Can vermicomposting be applied on a city-wide scale?

WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT BRIEFS

INSPIRATION
A sense of place in Philippolis

INSULT
Has greed destroyed Cradock’s main public square?

VIEWPOINT
The Coastal Management Act brings welcome protection for South Africa's coastline.

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COMMENT

Beauty is essential

A visionary landscape architect wrote in the 1970s that ‘beauty is necessary’. Why have we not listened?

Why do we, as a society, overlook well-established principles that could guide our development path to the future? If we simply pay attention we, most probably, could avoid many pitfalls when it comes to planning our cities and towns.

How many of today’s municipal officials, town planners, urban designers and landscape architects have read Joane Pim’s Beauty is necessary? Although I have often heard mention of this book (I even read parts of it in my university days), I only recently rediscovered this gem – of all places, in a small bookshop in the remote village of Rhodes!

Reading Pim’s views on urban development and landscape design is sobering, to say the least. In 1971, she predicted the results of bad planning policy. Results that, 38 years on, are obvious to everyone in South Africa.

For instance, she wrote: “There is cause for apprehension about the large-scale speculative building development, which is spreading like a blight along the coast, far too close to the sea, so that, literally, only those who have been quick enough to purchase a stand in the front row have any view of the sea. Surely even seaside resorts should have open reservations proclaimed by government decree so that no village or town council has the right to sell certain portions in such a way as to prevent all residents and visitors from having equal opportunities to enjoy space and views of the seashore”.

The premise of Pim’s argument is that people are happier and more productive in an inspiring environment. She argued that town councils and large-scale employers should ensure people are housed in comfortable and beautiful surroundings. Without beauty, people are generally miserable and miserable people are unable to build a thriving and productive society.

In the 1970s, Pim worked with Anglo American on mining towns and mine sites to establish a sense of beauty in desolate and featureless landscapes. Welkom is one town that shows her efforts.

But why have we not paid closer attention?

Why is beauty treated as an unnecessary luxury today? Why are we developing housing projects galore without paying attention to landscaping?

I would argue that Pim is wrong in one regard only: beauty is not necessary; it is essential. South Africa would solve many of its problems if we engendered a sense of pride.

A good place to start would be the improvement of our environment. An uninspiring, depressing and threatening cityscape is a recipe for a crime-ridden and hopeless society.

But this can be changed!

Gerald Garner
Editor

An insult repeated
If only the town of Cradock (see “insult” on page 47) had paid attention to Pim’s remarks about Potchefstroom – made in 1971!

Writing about a public space surrounding the Dutch Reformed Church and opposite the town hall, she said: “The trees have been cut down and a row of shops now takes up about half the entire perimeter of the square; later a garage and filling station, with an accompanying assortment of second-hand cars, added to the ugliness. There is no feeling of space and the church is partly obscured… There is now little space in Potchefstroom”.

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LETTERS

Merit of Olievenhoutbosch debated
What about the local economy?

Olievenhoutbosch is criticised as another dormitory township that does not offer real economic empowerment. Its spatial and urban design is also questioned.

I read Urban Green File’s October 2008 article on Olievenhoutbosch with anticipation, which – sadly – soon turned to dismay. My immediate impulse was to declare a “pen war”. However I restrained myself, fearing I was being a tad too judgmental, and decided to wait and see what my colleagues had to say on the matter in the follow-up edition of Urban Green File. Alas!

Not a word in December 2008. So forth with my little war. The term “sustainable development” has become an abused label; no development these days goes on the market without the “sustainable” tag (social housing schemes included). Olievenhoutbosch is a bit different from the norm: some green issues have been addressed, yes, and some social issues (such as “equity”) as well... and the township’s design is more legible than others. However, the main issue, its “economy” (and the socio-spatial implications thereof), has been handled in similar vein as township planning of the previous five or six decades.

From the outset, I want to state that I do not know the project from first-hand knowledge; only what I’ve read about it and the photographs in Urban Green File. I am not informed about the constraints within which the consultants had to work.

Consequently, some of my critique may be unfair or unjustified within the given planning constraints. If so, I respectfully apologise. Maybe I should start with some positive comments: The general approach towards housing, namely the provision of a housing type and income-group mix, is commendable as it promotes the principle of equity.

The project steering committee’s apparent commitment to public participation, as well as the sourcing of local labour and contractors, promotes the sense of belonging and control over their own habitat by the locals.

The attention to dwelling placement/orientation for surveillance is also a fresh item in the planning modus operandi. As a prerequisite for surveillance to be effective, building placement must be married to the design of the public-private interface, which is lacking in this case (a heady subject but for another discussion).

However – and here the story really starts – the positive observations made above are far outweighed by important issues, which have not been addressed:

Economy: only the retail and services sectors have consciously received planning attention. This was done by way of provision of commercial and business sites, and the mixed-use zone along the southern boundary; in the apparent belief that this “mix” constitutes a sustainable economy. See page 18: “as well as sites for education, business, open space, sports and other facilities – a mix required to establish a quality live-work-play environment and which promotes a sustainable society”. I beg your pardon? Exactly the same requirements for the provision of space for different land uses apply to all township development, and have, in fact, long been part of normal planning practice; even during apartheid. How is this different? Let me take another quote from Urban Green File’s December 2008 edition on Soweto (page 14): “Not planned as a sustainable urban unit, the lack of an economic base resulted in Soweto’s dependency on the larger metropolitan economy”. How then does Olievenhoutbosch differ from Soweto? Although provision has been made for shops, spazas and the like, has anything been done to develop an economic base? It does not seem to be the case. Without local primary and secondary economic sectors, no money can be generated locally. Within this scenario, economic activity cannot be sustained without the importation of goods and money from outside and the exportation of resources. The majority of residents will have to travel elsewhere to sell their labour. Voila! Another dormitory town.

A huge opportunity has been lost during planning: it seems as if Olievenhoutbosch had a resource, which could have been used to “seed” primary and secondary economic activities. “90 ha of Eucalyptus trees was cleared from the site (about 20 000 trees)”, the article states. I wonder what happened to those trees. I cringe at the waste: 20 000 mature trees equates (say 1 m diameter by 10 m high) to about 600 000 m³ of timber! Imagine the local industry that could have been started with this resource.

It is because of potential economic projects like this that ongoing management of all aspects of the town is necessary (as identified by Urban Green File but, apparently, not regarded as needed by the developing agencies).

How can one plan but not manage the outcome? Try this tack in the business world and see where you end up. This is one of the great failures of town planning: the lack of management of its outcomes (land-use management is NOT what I mean).

I have issues with other planning/urbandesign aspects of Olievenhoutbosch as well but I fear my letter will then become tedious. Suffice to say: the basic tenets of Olievenhoutbosch’s planning are underpinned by mechanistic thinking. As long as we continue to plan in a mechanistic mode, we can kiss sustainable development goodbye.

I also believe that sustainability is akin to pregnancy: a town is sustainable or it’s not; it cannot be half sustainable.

Thanks to Urban Green File for keeping the sensible alternative flag flying. One day it will bear fruit.

Louw van Biljon, Spatium

Environmental Design Parks are essential
In response to Urban Green File’s e-mail bulletin story on parks in Soweto (Bulletin #53, December 8 2008), Ephraim Sibiya of Tzaneen writes:

Parks are essential to all developed towns and rural areas. The relevant national, provincial and local governments should allocate their budgets to this initiative and school “eco clubs” should also be funded to deal with this in rural areas.

Truly green parks on the agenda
Significant progress has been made with the Greening Soweto Programme.The former township is fast being transformed into a vibrant city precinct of Johannesburg. The 200 000 tree-planting campaign, for instance, has already reached 120 000 trees, to date, while many new parks have been developed.

“The Soweto initiative has demonstrated City Parks is willing to be innovative and different,” Johan Barnard of NLA tells Urban Green File.

According to City Parks CEO, Luther Williamson, “developing truly green parks will be a key focus from now on”. He says this will include building solar-powered ablution systems, recycling water, harvesting rainwater and using green equipment. City Parks will also re-evaluate landscaping to move away from traditional to more innovative designs.

Nasrec’s urban designers?
An omission corrected
I read with great interest your article on Soweto in Urban Green File’s December 2008 edition, which included “Nasrec: vibrant precinct in the making”. I noticed there was no mention of the architects and urban designers?

Tshego Moiloa, Boogertman Urban Edge + Partners Urban Green File apologises for this oversight in the list of role players in the piece on Nasrec. The architects and urban designers on the project are Boogertman Urban Edge + Partners/Muhammad Mayet Architects JV.

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UPFRONT

Mine hostel site transformed
Plans for Shaft Citi – a R700-million project that intends to transform an old mine hostel site in Germiston into a hip, environmentally- and socially-progressive environment has been announced. As many as 1 900 units will form a “community of homes” rather than rows of apartments, Anton Hartman and Ben van Niekerk of Nu Citi Developments inform Urban Green File. “We are building Shaft Citi to become a 21st-century village with the sense of community a village provides,” they elaborate.

The development is based on the urban-planning approach of European design firm Art & Build. Belgian urban planner, Bruno Caballe, who lives and works in Paris, and local firm Pretorius Kruse Architects have developed the Shaft Citi concept together.

Construction of the 17 ha development is expected to begin in April 2009.

No public spaces for affordable housing?
Why is it that, when it comes to affordable housing, the focus is on delivering as many houses as possible without any thought to drawing occupants into the mainstream property sector so that they can experience genuine economic empowerment?

A prime example recently observed by Urban Green File is the Tokyo Sexwale development between Jeffrey’s Bay and Marina Martinique/Paradise Beach. This township is immediately adjacent to the ocean yet the housing development has been handled like any inland project. One wonders whether or not the engineers ever visited the site or if they merely worked on plan; oblivious to the spectacular setting?

Could the layout and design of this township not have been handled better? The fact that houses need to be small and affordable does not mean they have to be built in straight rows without creating any public spaces. Charming villages with small houses flanking narrow streets, little squares and piazzas, have certainly set precedent worldwide.

Why do South Africans not pay more attention to the quality of the urban environment they develop?

Why are South Africa’s municipalities and their consultants failing us so dismally? One can only stand flabbergasted as today’s housing developments and town precincts are rolled out.

Imagine if this township had the characteristics of a village by the sea rather than a dormitory town beside a mine! Imagine if the recipients of these houses were able to, over time, participate in the property market. Village houses near the beach could be very popular. It would entail real economic empowerment whereas the status quo dictates people receive houses in substandard townships where they are destined to live a life of poverty.

Africa’s tallest trees
What are the tallest trees in Africa? This question has finally been answered by the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry (DWAF)’s Champion Trees project. They are two Eucalyptus saligna trees in Magoebaskloof, measuring 78,5 m and 79 m respectively. According to DWAF, they are also the tallest planted Eucalyptus trees in the world.

The “Twin Giants of Magoebaskloof” were scaled and measured by Western Cape arborists Leon Visser and Charles Green.

“The Magoebaskloof Eucalyptus trees form part of a magnificent stand of tall trees in Woodbush State Forest near Haenertsburg, planted in 1906 by forestry pioneer AK Eastwood,” Izak van der Merwe, DWAF’s coordinator for the Champion Tree project, tells Urban Green File. “Benefiting from a wet sub-tropical climate and deep soils, they grew to a height unsurpassed anywhere in Africa. The tallest tree in this stand was measured by a land surveyor six years ago at a height of 81 m but the tree toppled over during a storm in September 2006, and the search was on for a replacement.” Visser and Green have also measured three mountain ash trees (Eucalyptus regnans) at the Benvie Arboretum in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

These trees have trunk circumferences of more than 6,8 m – a trunk size not yet seen among any other Eucalyptus species in South Africa, according to Van der Merwe. The mountain ashes were planted more than 100 years ago by the Scottish emigrant John Geekie who purchased the farm Benvie in 1883. Jenny Robinson, a great granddaughter of John, manages the arboretum now.

A panel of experts assisting DWAF to identify trees of national conservation significance as “champion trees” has shortlisted the giants of Woodbush and Benvie Arboretum as priorities for protection. Stihl has sponsored the travel and accommodation costs for the measurement of these champion trees.

Design Indaba shows the way
Another innovative approach to housing, which also sets out to create a better public environment, has been proposed through MMA Architects’s participation in the 2007 Design Indaba 10x10 Initiative. Luyanda Mphalwa says: “The plot sizes of 112 m² were predetermined so our team decided to maximize the usable area by minimising the building footprint as much as possible.

A double-storey unit was, therefore, proposed as the most land use-efficient option for our design. We intended to create a positive urban quality and street-edge layout. The building has been consciously located close to the street edge in order to maximise garden space at the back. Two units also share a boundary wall to maximise the outside areas to the sides of the units. So, basically, a semi-detached unit faces its neighbouring unit to share a garden.”

The house was designed as a starter home, which could be developed as the family is able to afford it. The external upper terrace, above the main entrance, is the first opportunity for this extension to be realised.

The terrace faces the street to encourage interaction and passive surveillance.

For more on the Design Indaba 10x10 project as well as the Grabouw Sustainable Development Initiative, read the December 2008 edition of Urban Green File’s sister publication, Architechnology.

An alternative does exist
In contrast with Tokyo Sexwale, the Grabouw Sustainable Development Initiative offers an alternative for affordable housing projects. This project was launched by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in 2006. The aim: the implementation of sustainable settlement principles in municipalities struggling to effect service delivery.

The project incorporates duplex, row, semi-detached and freestanding housing types – all flanking the streets to create a sense of place and identity. The tight footprint of the development is suited to the ideal of densification.

Physical planning in the Grabouw Sustainable Development Initiative had to pay careful consideration to orientation, topography, views and natural features in order to create variety and establish the first footprints of distinctive places. Roads were planned to work with the topography; effecting appropriate piping gradients on sewer lines with a minimum of blasting. Stormwater is run in surface channels to natural watercourses, which are treated as landscaped natural features.

According to ACG Architects, the urban-design concept focuses on hierarchies of public, semi-private and private spaces. This is visible in the public treatment of mobility and arterial roads; semi-private treatment of “play streets” with widened road reserves and narrowed access points; and pedestrian routes linking public-transport interchanges and flanking natural water systems.

Bill withdrawn - for now
South Africa’s contentious Built Environment Professions Bill was withdrawn by the new Minister of Public Works, Geoff Doidge, late in 2008. He cited legal and technical issues as the reason for this move. Apparently the Bill would need to be reworked before it could be tabled again in Parliament.

Doidge stated that the Bill had not been subjected to the Nedlac process, which aims to make economic decision-making more inclusive, and to promote the goals of economic growth and social equity. He added that many relevant concerns had been raised by the various stakeholders, and appropriate consultation with public and private stakeholders was necessary before the Bill’s promulgation.

Many new projects at midvaal
Apart from the nationwide roll-out of infrastructure projects, such as new roads, 2010 stadiums, the Gautrain, power stations and dams, various municipalities are also busy with significant infrastructural work. This goes hand-in-hand with private-sector developments.

One of these areas is Midvaal, south of Johannesburg, where Heineken South Africa is constructing a brewery while many new developments are planned by the Blue Rose group.

The vision for Blue Rose City, according to environmental consultants, Seaton Thompson & Associates, entails a whole gamut of new developments – some approved and some proposed. In addition to the brewery and Blue Rose, the development process of two other projects, the Eye of Africa and Graceview Industrial Park, has commenced in Midvaal.

Four additional projects are also proposed in the area: The Grace, Woodacres,

The Valleys and Mountainview. The Grace will comprise two residential areas, as well as a commercial component (Gracewood Movie Park, the Grace Shopping Centre and a Netcare hospital). Woodacres is a country estate with an equestrian component and school. The Valleys is a planned eco residential estate and Mountain View is a proposed medium-density residential estate.

Master planning for bulk civil services and infrastructure will be shared with the Midvaal Municipal Council. Arcus Gibb has also presented broad road-planning proposals.

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GREEN BUILDINGS

Sustainable Architecture can be done

At the Energy Works, green principles were incorporated from the outset. The result is an elegant and efficient structure, which has remained within the budget of a conventional office building.

Located on a small stand in Parktown North, the Energy Works incorporates two functions: commercial and residential. The former comprises a new-build office building and renovation of the existing house on the property; and the latter is made up of two rentable loft units.

“The motivation is simple,” says Rupert McKerron, client and founder of McNab’s. “I came to the conclusion that the way we’re living on this planet is unsustainable. As we were doing a new building, it made sense to apply as many green aspects to it as we could. It made absolutely no commercial sense to do it when we started but we had a very strong gut feeling, which turned out to be right – what with the power cuts of early 2008 and the predicted water shortages. We learnt a lot in the process; it’s been an exciting journey.”

Three challenges met
Enrico Daffonchio of Daffonchio & Associates Architects says the project was characterized by three challenges. “The first was to integrate the green technology that the team brought to the table in an aesthetically-pleasing way; the second was to finish the building within a market-related budget, including the cost of the additional (green) work; the third was time – to integrate a complex technology not yet familiar to the South African industry within the normal time of construction. We successfully overcame all three challenges. The technology is integrated within a very simple structure and we saved on finishes by having an industrial look. The project fell within the average budget for a normal office building; we reached practical completion within six and a half months. Generally, the response to the appearance has been good.”

9 green principles@the Energy Works

It took only nine main design interventions to turn the Energy Works into a green building.

1 Solar water heater
Solar water-heating panels on the roof supply a constant flow of hot water to the geysers. It remains astounding that more building owners in South Africa have not adopted this proven technology.

2 Photovoltaics
A single row of photovoltaic panels on the roof supplies back-up power to a battery system linked to essential equipment such as computers.

3 East-west orientation
Unusually, the building faces east-west rather than north. This is in order to capture as much sun as possible in winter. A louver system keeps the sun out when necessary.

4 Low-maintenance materials
Glass and aluminium were chosen in spite of their high embodied energies. But, in terms of the overall carbon footprint of the building, it was important to choose low-maintenance materials with a high lifespan.

5 Louvre system
The shuttering is a standard system of louvers usually used for shopfronts. It allows the building skin to become operable so that the occupants can control the amount of sun entering the building.

6 Water harvesting
Rainwater is harvested off the roofs and stored in a tank for reuse as irrigation water. A borehole is also used and replenished by allowing stormwater to penetrate the soil throughout the gravelled site.

7 Underfloor heating
Thermal panels supply hot water to the underfloor heating system. The hot water is stored outside and pumped through the floor when required.

8 Efficient lighting
Energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights have been used wherever possible.

9 Mixed-use
A mix of land uses reduces the energy footprint of a city as the need to travel long distances is negated. For this reason, the Energy Works site includes two ‘loft-style’ townhouses.

East-west orientation chosen
“The green philosophy definitely influenced the form of the building and the intention was realised within every component of the building,” says Daffonchio.

The building is oriented like a termite mound, east and west, so it gets morning and afternoon sun. This passive design is about catching as much sun as possible in winter and excluding as much sun as possible in summer – that really informed the shape of the structure and the design of the louvres. Experts within the fields of water and energy brought together different bodies of knowledge – to save as much as possible in terms of consumption and to design systems for on-site production.

The final result is a building that is almost independent of public services.

“We also looked at the embedded energy of the materials,” says Daffonchio.

“We did choose some with high embodied energy, like glass and aluminium, because we weighed the performance and durability against the carbon footprint.

We had to be practical and ensure that the building has low maintenance and upkeep costs, and a reasonable lifespan while retaining a commercial image.”

System of louvers form building’s skin
McKerron testifies that the design works.

“The louvres are such a simple solution yet they really do make a difference. Working in the building, you become conscious of the changing of the seasons, how the sun moves and how it hits your desk in the morning.” Daffonchio adds: “It’s interesting how natural light affects the mood of people.

Simple concepts can be really effective when applied. The other requirement was to keep the building transparent with communication vertically and horizontally.

So there are double-volume spaces and all the walls are glass. This also works from an energy point of view; seeing other people working and interacting. The shuttering is a standard system of louvres usually used for shopfronts. It allows the building skin to become operable and flexible. So the building’s aesthetics are a consequence of the thinking behind it”.

Henning Holm of Omnibus Engineering adds: “The louvre system gives the building personality. It changes coats as it needs to, which is hugely effective. It can be a solid black block or completely transparent”.

Historical context enhanced
The existing house was built in the mid-1920s. It was retained as a means of linking the new building to its suburb, in terms of density and style, and returned to the style of the original Parktown area.

“The old house and new building are only allowed to accommodate 20 people but have been designed and built in such a way that there’s room for expansion,” says McKerron. “We also felt it was important to have a residential component because we wanted a 24-hour presence on the site. The two loft units help to create this energy flow. These units have been particularly well-designed from a green point of view, in my opinion, and are oriented so that the occupants have privacy. We don’t have photovoltaic cells driving electricity yet but there are solar water heaters. Suburbs go through cycles and we hope that this building’s lifespan will be hundreds of years. It has been designed so that it can be completely residential – it has that ability to morph as buildings do in the older parts of Europe.”

Energy evolution
“Green has now become a revolution but I see it as an evolution; a change over a period of time,” comments Holm. “This project incorporates green systems because the client believes in this approach, and we have tried to push the envelope. The building was already going up when we were called in. This is often the case, and it makes the intensity of learning for the clients, architects and engineers very difficult – they have to absorb the information, discuss it and transform it into something sensible under pressure.”

Holm goes on to say: “We looked at the broader spectrum of energy because it forms such a big component of the project.

There are thousands of technologies and all of them work under certain conditions. As humans, our eyes are adapted for natural lighting so the more natural light, the more we can do without alternative electrical sources. This principle was already well established in this design”.

Essential equipment runs off-grid
Holm also points out: “Then we had the opportunity to incorporate some systems, which needed to be able to expand in future. With the solar electrical system, we have a very small panel area; mostly to demonstrate the principle. Because, with the law as it stands, it’s not viable to produce large quantities of photovoltaic (PV) power at a place supplied by Eskom. But we have designed the system to easily swap over from grid power to PV power when the legislation evolves. The PV electrical system comprises a single row of panels on the roof; constructed so that it can be tilted for people to remain aware of the seasons. It’s active/passive; being aware is essential. Then we have an in-line inverter, used in many countries abroad, that converts DC power directly into AC power onto the grid. So, as it’s produced, the power is converted and the frequency and voltage are followed to do exactly what the grid is doing. This works well if the grid is stable but, in these areas, we have 60% or more failures because either the frequency or voltage is incorrect. This has a detrimental effect on sensitive electronic equipment. So we’ve brought another piece of equipment into the system that functions like uninterrupted power supply. This is a battery pack that is charged and the moment the grid electricity fails, the important equipment switches over to this system. The switch over from grid to PV is fully-automatic – this is very important because the system must be convenient and it must provide clean power to all sensitive equipment.”

In other words, all the essential equipment – computers, fax and switchboard, among others – can run without Eskom supplied power.

The idea of a grid is important and it works in essence because of the concept of “economy of scale”, Holm adds.

“Because we are all on a grid and we don’t consume at the same time, we can share power and, thereby, become more efficient. If the law evolves to allow everyone to install small alternative power generators, people will be able to do their bit for the environment and secure their own power supply. It’s even possible to feed alternatively-sourced power back into the grid but there is no financial incentive to do so. In addition, there is the legislative barrier that needs to be removed.”

Commenting on the decision to retain the existing house, Holm says: “By not breaking down the existing house, we’ve done a lot more than we have in the new building with all the technology we have used. This is because a typical building will stand for at least 50 years and the initial design will determine its ongoing costs. Now the initial capital of a building should not be more than one fifth of its ongoing costs. But, in South Africa, it’s far higher – firstly because we demolish buildings before they have reached their 50-year lifespan and secondly because we spend very little capital initially; making maintenance costs very high. Also, by breaking buildings down, energy is needed to cart materials away and dispose of them or recycle them”.

Underfloor heating saves energy
With a typical office building, the major energy load is heating and cooling. “This has been sorted out, to a large extent, by the passive design,” says Holm. “But it’s a deep office with low energy so it emits little internal energy. An underfloor heating system, run by thermal panels, has, therefore, been installed. This generates hot water, which is stored outside and pumped through the floor. There is a backup gas system as gas burns more efficiently than electricity generated from coal. In a situation like this, coal-electricity has a maximum efficiency of 8% whereas the efficiency of gas is 60%. It’s important to remember that these energy-saving advantages do not lie with the client but with the global community.

People need to realise that business has a bigger responsibility in this respect.

Most efficient way of heating
Hendrik Roux of Home Comfort says underfloor heating is the most economical way of heating because heat rises naturally. “There are two ways of underfloor heating: with electrical wires or by circulating hot water through pipes in the floor. The latter is the system we have used here. Concrete is a major heat store. So water absorbs heat from the solar heating system and is circulated through the floor. The concrete absorbs the heat and radiates it evenly to create the required comfort level. As with any plumbing, there are ways of finding leaks by using infrared cameras to detect heat pooling.

What is amazing is that, two years ago, nobody grasped these concepts; today we’re busy with 20 projects like this one.”

Holm adds: “It is possible to reverse the process and put cold water through the pipes to lower the internal temperature. With a building like this, you would usually design a bit on the cool side because it requires less energy to heat spaces than to cool them.

This is a closed system so the same water goes around, and there is no consumption. The piping is also not conventional piping so, once the system has been set up, it should outlast the building. It is polyethylene cross-linked pipe (PEX), which is one of the most environment-friendly pipes if you consider how much energy is used to produce the pipe in comparison to what it delivers – it virtually lasts forever”.

Water harvested
Holm continues: “There are two ways of harvesting rainwater: through run-off stored in tanks or from the ground through a borehole.

Boreholes are only detrimental to the environment if you don’t feed them again.

But, if fed by allowing rainwater to slowly soak back into the ground through vegetation, for example, the water will be recycled over a period of time”.

McKerron says: “We don’t use much water in the office but did install a borehole with the aim of becoming completely self-sufficient. At the moment, we are not using any municipal water because the rainwater-storage tanks are full. We have used gravel in the landscaping, which has worked very well, as the gravel allows the rainwater to soak back to groundwater. The only hard surfaces, externally, are the entrance stairs and the roofs”.

Green does not cost more
McKerron comments: “By approaching this project with a green attitude and implementing these systems, the cost has not been a cent more than it would have been for a conventional building. When you do a new build, in my opinion, there is no reason why it should cost you more; provided you don’t want the Carrara marble and the gold taps. The marketing spin-off from this project has been great. This building is entirely congruent with our brand.

We sell sustainable energy (vitamins) to people in sachets, and have now completed a building based on sustainable energy principles.

Because we did it from the heart, the synchronicity and congruency have come together naturally. I believe we have a very serious problem with this planet. Massive consumerism must be reduced. We have enough resources; we are just not utilising them properly. But I am very positive – I believe the shift has happened, and will continue to happen, and that we will make this transition.

If everyone does the best they can do, we will find a long-term solution.

Some 18 months ago, I knew nothing about green technologies. It’s amazing how simple it is when you apply your mind to it”.

The Energy Works is a landmark building in South Africa’s evolution to more sustainable architecture. It proves that green building, within budget, within time, and within aesthetic expectations, can be done.

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GREEN BUILDINGS BRIEFS

Recycling of construction materials a reality
Civil engineering and building contractors have to accept that recycling, as well as other more sustainable methods of construction, will dictate the future. So says Dave Dickerson who heads up Sanyati Civils Coastal.

Dickerson believes the ongoing call for “greener” construction methods by Nazir Alli, CEO of the South African National Roads Agency Limited, is just the start of more to come.

However South Africa’s recycling industry is extremely young and the quality of recycled construction materials remains a worry, considering very little has been done to date to certify the quality of material coming out of the mobile screen or crusher. But companies such as Stones & Stones and Bradis have spent time with Urban Green File’s sister magazine, Civil Engineering Contractor to prove their materials are the same level of quality as virgin stone.

Green gatherings galore
Two major green building conferences of note took place in South Africa in 2008. For 2009, similar events are planned.

Greenbuilding.co.za has scheduled its conference for July 7 to 8 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

“Green development and renewal is being led by design and this will be the focus of the Green Building Conference & Exhibition 2009 where leading national and international speakers, such as KS Wong, Emilio Ambasz, Llewellyn van Wyk, and Jeremy Rose, will present papers,” the organiser informs Urban Green File. The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is expected to, once again, host its annual conference early in November.

In addition, the GBCSA will also present various Green Star SA Accredited Professional Courses during the year.

Another green event of note is the Green Cities Conference taking place from March 1 to 4 2009 in Brisbane, Australia. It will be hosted jointly by the Green Building Council of Australia and the Property Council of Australia. Green Cities is Australia’s premier conference for sustainability in the built environment.

Bricks can be 100% recycled
Today alternative building materials and systems are receiving the bulk of attention of South Africa’s green architects and engineers. However some seemingly traditional building materials are turning green.

One example is Cape Brick. This brick maker has been producing bricks from building rubble and cementitious waste slag for many years.

Jean Tresfon, sales director of Cape Brick tells Urban Green File the slag originates from the Saldanha Steel plant and is bought in bulk by PPC Cement, which uses it to blend its cement products. “A portion is resold to certain bulk cement customers. It arrives in powder form not dissimilar to cement; only almost pure white in colour.”

In addition to the slag, Cape Brick obtains construction and demolition waste, which it crushes for use in the manufacture of new bricks.

Green rating tools in the offing
Having launched the first in the suite of Green Star SA environmental rating tools for buildings, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) informs Urban Green File that it is now focusing its tool-development programme on other building types. These range from tools for existing buildings (operations and maintenance), and multi-unit residential, retail and hotel applications.

“The order in which future tools are developed will depend on market demand, which is gauged and demonstrated via the availability of tool sponsorship funding,” the council has stated.

Green Point is green
Green Point Stadium in Cape Town is one of five 2010 FIFA World Cup match and training venues participating in a programme to review the stadiums’ sustainability performance. The project is spearheaded by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, through its Urban Environmental Management Programme (UEMP) and funded by the Royal Danish Embassy. The UEMP commissioned a review of the greening status of the stadiums early in 2008. The reviews were undertaken by Green by Design WSP, PJ Carew Consulting and the CSIR. Not only would this process establish how green the stadium designs were, it would also give the design teams the opportunity to enhance some green aspects of their designs. At the same time, the review would summarise the lessons learned for the benefit of other stadium designers and operators. The five participating stadiums are Green Point (Cape Town), Moses Mabhida (Durban), Athlone (Cape Town), Royal Bafokeng (Rustenburg) and Peter Mokaba (Polokwane). At Green Point, significant achievements are being made in terms of water and energy efficiency.

The total projected water consumption has been reduced from 64 299 m³/year for a standard stadium hosting 55 000 spectators to only 25 067 m³/year. The most significant projected saving has been achieved by eliminating potable water as a source of irrigation for the Green Point Common “urban eco park” surrounding the stadium.

The plan is to rather direct water from the Oranjezicht springs to Green Point through a combination of existing and new pipes. Other initiatives contributing to water efficiency include:

§      Toilets fitted with dual-flush mechanisms, taps with self-closing metering valves and aerators, and low-flow showerheads.

§      Water-wise, indigenous landscaping.

§      Site greywater (washwater off truck wheels and batch-plant water) is reused for dust control.

§      A natural soccer pitch with artificial matting was specified to help reduce the need for irrigation. Among the positive energy-saving features incorporated at Green Point:

§      The building is raked outwards to shade itself while the mesh fabric cladding allows only 30% light through and the white colour reduces thermal radiation.

§      The fabric cladding allows for natural ventilation.

§      A translucent roof facilitates natural lighting.

§      An open concourse at podium level facilitates natural ventilation.

§      A 5 m gap between inner and outer skins of the façade provides for passive ventilation through a stack effect.

§      Insulated panels behind the fabric façade reduce the need for cooling.

§      The water-cooled, variable refrigerant volume cooling system affords individual cooling units for different spaces.

§      Heat transfer between spaces is possible if one room needs cooling and another heating.

§      Compact fluorescent lamps are used where possible.

§      Where halogens are used, they are 45% more efficient than the standard.

§      The building-management system allows for the control and monitoring of air-conditioning and lights in different areas.

§      CO monitors in the parking garage control fans.

§      Offices are fitted with presence detectors to automatically switch lights on/off.

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CITY VISIT

A buffer bridged

Can Durban’s new city precinct successfully bridge the buffer strip that, until now, existed between different townships as a legacy of apartheid? Can it set a precedent for the development of new town centres?

Apartheid planning has left South African cities scarred by buffer strips. However, today, these strips of land offer opportunities for development.

An example is situated just 17 km from the Durban city centre where Bridge City occupies one of the last remaining unencumbered pieces of land for development within greater Durban – midway between the communities of Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu (an area known as INK) and Phoenix. Planning for development has been under way for close to 15 years. In the process, the concept has changed from a simple industrial township to a fully-fledged town centre.

It is the second land-development project being carried out by the eThekwini Municipality in joint venture with Tongaat Hulett’s property development operation – collectively known as the Effingham Development Joint Venture (EDJV). This follows on River Horse Valley Business Estate – recognised as a huge success financially as well as in terms of its environmental, social and economic contribution to the area. The EDJV has made substantial profits out of River Horse Valley.

These profits, in turn, have been used to kick-start development at Bridge City.

The joint venture has been a successful model of a public-private partnership with the respective parties contributing different and complementary skills. Their joint venture developments have been ring fenced financially and funded in total by using the initial value of undeveloped land as seed capital. The Public Investment Corporation is funding Crowie Projects’ retail and residential project while eThekwini Municipality is funding the installation of certain bulk infrastructure such as a new electricity sub-station and a half-diamond interchange on the M25.

This includes an underpass and an on/offramp at Bhejane Road, as well as a portion of Bhejane Road extension and railway. At the time of writing, various large funds and financial institutions were beginning to show interest in developing buildings in the new precinct.

Rigorous planning process followed
Bridge City has been subjected to a rigorous planning and development process; meeting all the necessary criteria for township establishment within eThekwini.

An urban design framework details the layout, spatial concepts, building design code, design principles and development management for each precinct. A design review panel (DRP) works with the developers and their professional teams for individual sites; ensuring a strong sense of control over the design process. The DRP’s function is to ensure that the vision is translated into reality. Each step of the design process comes under review.

“Using a workshop format, the designs are tweaked, morphed, changed and sent through an interesting process of growth,” Nick Poulsen of MDS Architects tells Urban Green File.

Various management forums keep a close eye on the process and the resulting construction. The JV has an executive committee (exco) overseeing various “work streams”, for sectors such as empowerment, stakeholder engagement, planning, strategic planning, economic development, finance and infrastructure, as well as design. The work streams guide the development team, which brainstorms ideas and decides on the way forward.

Any decisions or matters requiring resolution are taken to the exco and then to the JV committee.

Bridge City will fulfil the role of a regional CBD. This is according to Nathan Iyer of IYER Urban Design Studio, who informs Urban Green File that the development, encompassing a visionary new town center with an estimated investment of R5,8-billion, is about urban living.

The vision stated in Bridge City’s 2008 Urban Design Framework is “to create a dynamic, harmonious and wel balanced city precinct of the highest aesthetic, landscape and urban design quality that promotes the notion of African urbanism”.

The overall concept entails high-density, mixed-use development with a typical city block consisting of retail on the ground floor, commercial, manufacturing, office or parking space on the second floor, and residential use on the floors above.

Density is ensured with buildings ranging from three to 11 floors in height.

4 precincts
Comprising four precincts for civic, town centre, small and medium enterprises, and transport/retail activities, general development concepts embrace:

·                      “pedestrian-friendly” surroundings

·                      “walking distance” planning to minimise vehicle use

·                      well-developed, carefully-crafted public spaces

·                      tree-lined boulevards to ensure free flow of traffic

·                      wide sidewalks

·                      paved pedestrian areas with street furniture and good lighting

·                      CCTV security

·                      traffic-calming system to enhance pedestrian safety  

·                      entertainment sites such as restaurants, hotels and venues, providing an additional economic catalyst and supplementary tourism income sources

·                       potential for “urban” schools and tertiary education
substantial on-road parking

·                      a management association to oversee security and maintenance, among others

Areas stitched together
According to Iyer, the urban design was generated by “stitching” the various areas together to bridge communities. A hierarchy of roads – primary-linking, higher-order secondary and pedestrian-priority routes – will facilitate the stitching function. The construction of internal roads and extensions of existing roads will link and connect the development with its context.

New infrastructure includes:

§      Bhejane Road extension up to the Bridge City boundary.

§      The M25 half-diamond interchange, which will provide strategic access to KwaMashu and Bridge City as well as to Phoenix Industrial Park.

§      The rail line and station, as well as an intermodal facility for taxis and buses, will be critical to the success of town and shopping centre.

Urban design characteristics identified
Key characteristics the new development should strive to achieve are stipulated in the 2005 Urban Design Framework:

·                      A new, mixed-use compact town center with multi-storey buildings built up to the street boundaries.

·                      A strong sense of local community in order to create a sought-after residential precinct.

·                      A strong retail and commercial center with vibrant interaction between urban places.

·                      A regional centre with large-scale facilities such as a state regional hospital, regional magistrate’s court, civic and institutional buildings, as well as an intermodal transport facility.

·                      Dedicated urban management with an association to manage surveillance, safety, cleansing and maintenance.

·                      Social and economic improvement empowering local communities through ownership.

·                      Catalyst for economic growth by linking and integrating all local communities through the creation of a new town centre.

Pedestrian links determine design
Bridge City has been designed as a formal urban space. Movement and transportation in and around the site is fundamental to the design. The texture of roads at intersections and the network of boulevards, located strategically, all have different surface treatments to create a sense of place. The design is built around a central iconic space with strong pedestrian priority linkages radiating outwards from it towards zones of importance, such as the station and hospital. The idea is to create a “walkable” CBD with opportunity for roads to be closed to cars for celebrations, processions and markets.

“The retail centre opens up onto the street while also focusing on the interior,” says Nick Poulsen of MDS Architects, consultant to Crowie Projects – the developer of the shopping centre. “It responds to the street and integrates the public realm as well as the informal sector.” The informal sector has been taken into account and included in the design of the taxi-bus rank. The rank also opens up to the southwestern edge of the site linking Bridge City with the neighbouring informal settlement of Bester.

Perimeter blocks at core of design
The central core of the design uses the concept of perimeter blocks (four to 11 floors high) with internal courtyards. It was a challenge to reconcile parking requirements at the stipulated densities but the municipality has lowered the required parking ratios in order to accommodate the envisioned bulk. The municipality considered the provision of a range of public transport modes in its decision to relax parking stipulations.

Street life will be vibrant. On-street parking ensures constant activity on the streets and relieves each individual site of some parking requirements. Streets are lined by shops opening out onto the street with residential apartments above.

Bridge City will be most dense in the centre; becoming less dense outwards.

Land uses also become less intense and more small and medium enterprise-related as one moves outwards. This creates an “economic ladder” – a new model for the Durban metro.

The precinct for small and medium enterprises has been designed to a maximum of three floors for live-work-play with opportunities for entrepreneurs to sell their products in retail space on the ground floor; manufacturing on the second floor and living on the floor above it.

It is envisaged that occupants and users of Bridge City will be drawn from INK, Phoenix and other parts of Durban to this quality urban environment. The EDJV’s studies show that adequate primary and secondary educational facilities exist within the surrounding context while it is hoped that tertiary institutions, such as Damelin and other colleges, will take up space in the CBD.

As designers on the project, Iyer and Andre Duvenage are of the opinion that sufficient provision has been made for public space in the form of the town square and pedestrian lanes. The aim was to create an urban environment and to balance the delivery of land for development, and the cost and provision of public space. The streets are well-landscaped, pedestrian-friendly and designed to add to the quality of the pubic realm.

Intermodal transport facility at the heart
In terms of transport, Bridge City forms part of eThekwini’s high-priority public transport corridor. The South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) is extending the rail link from Durban CBD to KwaMashu into Bridge City so that it will be accessible to all INK areas as well as Phoenix. The intermodal transportation facility, adjacent to the railway station and beneath the shopping centre, is the first model of its kind in eThekwini and will cater for trains as well as long- and short distance taxis, buses and cars. It is projected that more than 40 000 commuters per peak period (three hours) or 100 000 commuters per day will ultimately utilize this new facility. Together with the installation of infrastructure, this project is driving the development. Ensuring Bridge City is a vibrant town centre, residential use forms a large part of the development. Between 4 500 and 5 000 residential units will be developed above retail and commercial space. Studio, one-, two- and three bedroom options are available with sizes varying from 30 m² to 90 m² or more and opportunities for the development of penthouses. The broad target market is between R350 000 and R750 000 per unit (the affordable or gap market). Despite obvious Financial Services Charter opportunities, the interest shown by banks has not yet materialised into development – possibly due to the early stage of development, tentativeness about the market and current unfavourable market conditions.

Amid three densely-populated townships
With more than 800 000 people living in the immediate vicinity, Bridge City is a welcome improvement on the physical and economic landscape. As an apartheid-era buffer area, Bridge City was seen as inaccessible and risky. However, with the growth and stability that followed the democratic transition in South Africa, the realisation is now that the site enjoys exceptional accessibility and linkage potential.

The 60 ha of undeveloped land was originally owned by Tongaat Hulett. It is located to the south-west of Phoenix Industrial Park; at the confluence of the INK areas – three densely populated former “dormitory” townships.

According to Gary Kimber, the City of eThekwini’s project manager for the development, the land was originally zoned and subdivided for industrial purposes.

The surrounding land uses display poor-quality public environments. The area boasts a catchment of close to 800 000 people over a radius of 5 km – a significant portion of the total population of 3-million living in the eThekwini metro area.

Bridge City is connected to the surrounding areas by major arterials and is easily accessible from the N2 freeway. Three upmarket areas – Umhlanga, Mount Edgecombe and Durban North – lie to the east and north east of Bridge City; also within a radius of about 5 km and provide additional “catchment” for the development.

INK is a predominantly residential area situated on hilly terrain with little vacant land available for development. The townships show low levels of internal economic activity with a 40% unemployment rate and 33% of residents not economically active.

INK has the status of a presidential lead project as recognised by the national Urban Renewal Programme. It is also one of five Area Based Management learning areas within the  eThekwini metropolitan region. Until now, INK’s growth prospects have been almost entirely dependent on external areas such as Umhlanga and the Durban inner city.The majority of consumer spending leaks out of INK.

Just over half (52%) of the housing within INK is formal, 43% informal and 5% traditional. Some 70% of INK’s residents travel to work in the city by rail with the remaining 30% using minibus taxis, buses and cars. A Department of Planning & Local Government report on INK (2007) states that 65% of INK’s population is below the age of 29; citing youth development as a priority within the area. No tertiary educational facilities exist within the immediate context and it is no surprise that skills and education shortages are severe constraints to economic growth.

Expenditure on health is high with 26 clinics and only one existing hospital. On the positive side, access to basic services is good.

Public participation presents a challenge
The scale of the surrounding areas has made it difficult to engage stakeholders in the early stages of the development. However this has now changed as the EDJV has recognised the importance of effective stakeholder engagement early on, Brian Ive, development executive of the EDJV, tells Urban Green File. A stakeholder engagement forum has been established to represent communities from INK and Phoenix as well as other key role players and the JV. This forum meets monthly and has become an information-sharing tool.

Aside from the forum, a socio-economic impact study has been initiated to monitor Bridge City’s impact on the local economy.

A separate taxi-bus rank forum includes a transportation steering committee which represents the “big five” taxi associations, bus companies, the SARCC and the JV. The eThekwini Municipality recognises that this is potentially a politically-sensitive development.

Not only is effective participation receiving special attention from the municipality but the developers are genuinely committed to involving local communities.

With informal traders in mind, servitudes have been registered over all sidewalks within Bridge City in favour of the management association. Informal traders have been engaged and are accommodated within the transport intermodal facility and certain market or urban spaces.

What about sustainability?
Members of the professional team for Bridge City admit that the development is more about sustainable urbanism, than “green” urbanism.

Despite the fact that planning for Bridge City took place before green was on the development agenda, developers are strongly encouraged to adopt green principles in their developments and this is being incorporated into sale agreements and design review processes. So how does Bridge City contribute towards an improved urban environment?

The design has ensured a truly livework-play environment; bringing local economic development opportunities close to home for the INK communities. Bridge City is largely about bringing economic development and quality, convenient and safe urban living to a previously-disadvantaged area. Development will be provided at density; maximising the use of the land and discouraging urban sprawl. The development’s focus on public transport and walkability, to enable people to work and play close to their homes, chalks up sustainability points. Sustainable development will be achieved through business growth, sustainable employment, advanced infrastructure and encouraging developers to adopt green principles. Poulsen claims: “The architecture is sustainable in that it takes aspect into account; maximising access to natural sunlight. It is robust in form and nature; embracing the notion of adaptation and change over time and is sensitive to use and site. As the first example of architecture, the mixed-use retail centre will also display public art; possibly sourced from the INK community”.

Duvenage points out: “Sustainable architecture is about good and responsive architecture. A good building is well designed and responds to its context”.

Adopting this strategy, design for Bridge City has become about creating a quality urban centre; no different, in quality or management, to upmarket developments such as Umhlanga or The Point.

Plans for more than 500 trees
Ultimately 510 new trees and 14 000 ground covers will be planted in the road reserves and urban spaces at Bridge City. As far as possible, all planting will be indigenous. Landscaping plans for each development are required to list and motivate plant types proposed for use and are subject to approval by the design-review panel with a minimum of 20% of the site’s area to be landscaped.

“Landscaping within or on the boundary of a development facing onto a street or public space is to be undertaken to make a conscious contribution to the architecture of the development (how it is composed, meets the ground or is set within the site) and the public environment onto which it faces,” the 2005 Urban Design Framework stipulates. Tongaat Hulett is setting up an indigenous nursery to supply the site.

To assist with stormwater attenuation, a retention facility is being considered on the lowest part of the land. If implemented, this water will be collected and used to irrigate the landscape within the development. The possibility of installing and using LED lighting was investigated but, because of the high costs and the need for high levels of light in order to satisfy CCTV requirements, these elements were deemed impractical.

The City of eThekwini is working with INK to develop land on the south-western edge of the development into a park. Environmental consultants are engaged in this project.

Urban management considered in sustainability  
Any sustainable development must include urban management and, in this case, the developers have a vested interest in ensuring that the development “works” after completion. The notion of management has, therefore, been incorporated from the start and will follow a City Improvement District model.The EDJV partners have experience in urban management in other developments, such as Umhlanga and The Point. According to Brian Ive, the JV has established the Bridge City Management Association (a Section 21 company), provided seed capital and operational funds and continued to fund it on a reducing basis. Urban management at Bridge City will provide formal security measures, additional cleaning services and well-managed public spaces; ensuring excellent security and a well-maintained urban environment. It is recognised that the development will require top security.

As much as R12-million will be spent on CCTV and security, alone, in order to provide a secure public realm throughout the entire development.

Many challenges ahead
Despite thorough planning and glowing intentions for the development, a number of challenges need to be overcome. Possibly the most prevalent is the macro-economic climate having a negative impact on the development. Two of the proposed developments have been shelved due to greater cost.

Gary Kimber, project manager and engineer for the eThekwini Municipality, is of the opinion that community buy-in and ownership within the development is the key to making the project work. The EDJV has created different levels of entry investment into the development – an economic ladder of sorts where smaller developers can enter the development on a small scale and reasonably-affordable level and then move upwards over time towards the centre of the development; requiring further investment. The intention is that secondary developers for the project should be drawn from the INK areas. This, though, is tricky and challenging to achieve due to the way Bridge City is structured: each high-density, mixed-use land parcel is expensive to develop; presenting another trade-off – this time between sustainable development and empowerment of previously- disadvantaged communities. According to Ive, to date, potential investors from INK have not yet shown interest – possibly because of inexperience and affordability issues. Bridge City could easily become about community ownership juxtaposed against institutional ownership of individual development parcels. The EDJV has realised this and is working on financial models to realise the “inclusivity” of local communities, which will have a positive impact on the context.

Politically, a sensitive development
On the positive side, in what could be a politically-sensitive development, the developers are genuinely concerned about the involvement of local people.

The JV is passionate about being in the process and ensuring that the end result works sustainably in terms of local economic development, management and increasing land values. They are not just about the bottom line. Bridge City has posed a steep learning curve for the developers as the communities have varied expectations – apparently, mostly about their own economic benefits rather than an improved urban environment while the development itself has its own unique set of challenges. Early on in the process, it was difficult to identify stakeholder representatives as there was a relatively low level of organization within the INK communities leading to little continuity of participants and a high turnover of representatives. According to eThekwini and the JV, participation from the communities’ side has been reactive rather than proactive with, initially, a culture of entitlement pervading, but this is changing now.

A very different scenario has been demonstrated by Phoenix residents who are keen and eager to invest or be a part of the development in some way.

Although some public open space has been provided, it seems that the amount of open space has been compromised to accommodate maximum land use. While it is accepted that the city is working to develop land along the flood plain into a park, questions arise as to whether or not the open spaces provided within Bridge City are adequate for the densities to be created. Similar questions arise regarding the provision of social amenities such as youth centres and sports facilities. However one also has to keep in mind that this is a high-density town-centre development.

Parking requirements presented yet another challenge. Under pressure from the JV, the eThekwini Municipality actually reduced parking requirements significantly for the development as the original parking ratios were unaffordable for this type of development and not necessarily applicable where the development focused on public transport. The design does provide just less than 1 000 street-level parking bays.

An overarching challenge was to create a city centre with an African identity. At Bridge City, the structure is provided but the way people use and interpret the space becomes what makes it African.
“It’s the people who make the city African,” states Duvenage.

So where is Bridge City up to?
Construction of the underground railway station is nearing completion and work on the first and the second levels of the shopping centre have commenced. The centre will be ready for trade in October 2009 along with eThekwini’s new intermodal transport facility.

The railway station is due to be opened in December 2011. Construction of the Magistrates Court is likely to start in early 2009 and the regional hospital in late 2009 while Ithala will start its mixed use development mid 2009. All sites in Bridge City are now saleable with one of27 the blocks of small and medium enterprises already sold to an investor. A development of this size and complexity is always going to present challenges to the professional team and investors alike.

Either way you look at it, and given the sincerity of the developer’s intentions, Bridge City will improve the quality of the urban environment for hundreds of thousands of previously- disadvantaged people and set a new precedent in the development of new town centers for KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.

A massive undertaking
Key developments within Bridge City will include

·                      a 450-bed provincial hospital (40 000 m²)

·                      regional Magistrates Court (13 136 m² with possible expansion)

·                      railway station concourse (300 m²)

·                      intermodal transport facility (12 000 m²)

·                      shopping centre (40 000 m² and an additional 13 000 m² in the second phase)

·                      680 apartments above the shopping centre for sale to end-user purchasers

·                      a government mall comprising different levels of government facilities and services in one building (pension pay points, provincial governmental services, municipal payment services, a library, Home Affairs branch, as well as supporting commercial uses such as passport photos, photocopy businesses and municipal official’s office) – the aim is for the private sector to own and manage the building while renting space to government

·                      Ithala mixed-use development (17 718 m²)

·                      additional retail (150 000 m²)

·                      “motor city” mixed-use development (22 000 m²)

·                      SMME sites to encourage enterprise development (28 444 m² with 7 700 m² already sold)

·                      three filling stations (27 251 m²)

·                      close to 300 000 m² of prime business space (larger than La Lucia Ridge Office Estate)

Key role players
Development partnership: Effingham Development Joint Venture comprising eThekwini Municipality and Tongaat Hulett Developments. The latter is the development manager for Bridge City.
Sales agent: Shabalala Pam Golding Joint Venture
Town planner: Simon Vines
Urban designer: IYER Urban Design Studio
Horticulturalist: Di Hansen
Civil engineer: Stemele Bosch Africa
Electrical engineer: Bosch Projects
Architect: Architects Collaborative
Land surveyor:Wall Marriott Paul & Borgen
Bridge City Shopping Centre developer: Crowie Projects
Architects for Crowie Projects: Bridge City Architects (a joint venture between MDS Architects, ADA Architects and DGIT)

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ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING & DESIGN

A grand remake

Cape Town’s Grand Parade is getting a new lease of life. But will the prescribed design interventions safeguard the quality and future of this prominent public square?

Far from “grand”, Cape Town’s foremost public square was, for many years, neglected. It functioned mainly as a parking and trading space, and the overwhelming impression was one of dilapidation. However this was not always the case. Originally, the Grand Parade was almost on the shoreline, situated between the military fortifications and the early town. “In the early colonial period, it was an open military parade ground stretching from the castle to the ‘Heerengracht’ (later Adderley Street),” wrote Melanie Attwell & Associates in the 2006 Heritage Impact Assessment of the Grand Parade.

In 1990, the Parade hosted Nelson Mandela’s first public speech after his release as a political prisoner. By that time, the Parade had already lost most of its earlier grandeur. The sea had been pushed back and the stone pines that flanked the square were all gone. In 1894, the Grand Parade formed the end point of an axis stretching all the way from the Company’s Gardens and down Adderley Street. It was twice the size of today’s public square. With such heritage linked to the Grand Parade, it was only fitting for the City of Cape Town to embark on the implementation of its revitalization plan in 2008. It was a natural progression following the restoration work undertaken on the adjacent Drill Hall and City Library.

A place for people
The revitalisation of the Grand Parade is an initiative of the city’s Spatial Planning and Urban Design Department. The Urban Design Branch of this department developed the conceptual design and appointed a team of consultants, comprising ARG Design, URBANScapes and Iliso Consulting, to finalise the design. A number of public workshops resulted in a vision for the site. This vision dictated that the Grand Parade and its surroundings would be a place where the people of Cape Town, and beyond, could honour and celebrate their memories and traditions (ancient and new); a place where they could gather to unwind, enjoy the company of friends and strangers, and trade in goods and produce from near and far; a place where they could share and connect with the life, flow and heartbeat of their city. Fulfilling this vision, though, was no easy task. Many aspects had to be considered in the design process. These ranged from the robust need to host events and markets; accommodating a number of different transport modes around the square.

In addition, the Grand Parade is a Provincial Heritage Site and known archaeological site, and the design process had to fulfil the requirements of the National Heritage Resource Act (Act 25 of 1999).

Michelle Robertson-Swift of URBANScapes comments: “In landscapes, more than any other type of historic resource, communities rightly presume a sense of stewardship. Wise stewardship protects the character or spirit of a place by recognizing history as change over time. Landscapes help us understand ourselves as individuals, communities and as a nation; their ongoing preservation and reuse can yield, above all, a sense of place and identity for future generations”. She quotes Catherine Howett who wrote, in 1987, that “historic landscapes, unlike works of art, have to function as contemporary environments – we have, literally, to enter and become involved with them”.

Many uses accommodated
It is exactly this balance, with respect to the past and contemporary, that Robertson- Swift and the project team found challenging when it came to the revitalization of the Grand Parade. The challenge was intensified by having to accommodate:

§      a space for trade;

§      a pedestrian movement interchange accommodating up to 15 000 pedestrians at peak times;

§      a transport forecourt for surrounding bus, taxi and rail facilities; and

§      a place of meeting for celebrations, festivities and political rallying.

Heritage elements informed the design
A wide array of heritage elements informed the concept for the redesigned square – the availability of water, existing trees, buildings of great architectural or historic interest and existing uses all influenced the designers’ decision-making.

The availability of water had originally played a central role in the use of the area around the Parade. “In the early days, the Vaarsche River ran towards the Parade and provided drinking water for early pastoralists and later a defensive moat for early settlers,” Alistair Randall of ARG Design tells Urban Green File.

Over the years, a wide variety of trees were planted and removed from the Parade. By 2008, a “green filter of trees” softened the edges of the square and helped define the space.

However the design team felt the large variety of species, their spacing and poor state detracted from the overall quality of the square.

Although surrounded by some architecturally-significant buildings, ad-hoc building work, a patchwork of surface finishes and street furniture eroded the integrity of the space. In addition, pedestrians, as users of the square, were threatened by busy roads and traffic barriers.

Set of design elements adopted
Design elements incorporated into the vision for the new-look Grand Parade include a paving grid, strategic greening, the reinstatement of “grachte” (canals), lighting, trading structures, an intermediate transport plan and spatial layouts to accommodate big events.

As a multi-functional public square, most of the current design intervention has focused on the paving grid. The aim was to create one level throughout the square, right up to the edge of buildings, to enhance the sense of space and connection to architectural landmarks, such as the Castle and City Hall. The grid would also accommodate the layout of services, such as lighting, conduits, temporary parking bays and trading bays. “Sympathetic paving colours” were chosen to emphasise surrounding buildings of historic significance so the overall colour scheme of light beige, charcoal and burgundy are in keeping with the façade of the City Hall.

With reference to the historical context, it was decided to pave the footprint of the old fort with reused granite blocks breaking through the grid pattern.

As a harsh city space that mostly comprises hard surfaces, strategic greening was critical. Robertson-Swift argued that a uniform pattern of trees, as once existed when stone pines lined the square, would be far better than the present disorganized mix of species.

The decision to reinstate exotic stone pines (Pinus pinea), similar those which once lined the square, was somewhat controversial. However it was in keeping with the recommendations of the Heritage Impact Assessment, which stated that the edges of the Parade should be strengthened to enhance legibility through consistent tree planting and landscaping. “The types of trees should allow for visual permeability at pedestrian height.” The stone pines would also foil the scale of adjacent buildings and define the space clearly, the landscape architect argued. Rendall further defends the choice of trees by pointing out that some of the large Ficus trees on the square posed a security risk. “They were so large and overwhelming that vagrants even lived in those trees and used them as a launch pad to jump on to pedestrians and mug them!”

As water once played a prominent role on the Parade, the designers wanted to celebrate this aspect. By reinstating the canals that once existed, they argued the space would be clearly defined while contributing to the “quality and memory of the site”.

A major design intervention (scheduled for implementation in the next phase) involved shifting all trading structures to the perimeter of the Parade. “This would allow for a larger and uncluttered multi-purpose space while, at the same time, improving the formal and informal trading conditions and opportunities to increase trade along pedestrian routes,” Rendall says.

In order to prioritise pedestrian movement, it was important for the designers to move away from the Grand Parade as, first and foremost, a transport interchange. In the same light, parking had to be minimized or, preferably, phased out completely over time.

But challenges remain
The design of a complex and visible public space is never easy. Robertson-Swift tells Urban Green File many challenges remain.

“Creating a bold, clear landscape, able to host a variety of events and functions, was not an easy task. It was not merely a case of designing an aesthetically-pleasing paving pattern as we had to accommodate services tracts and manhole covers within the design; carefully concealed with paved infill lids to safeguard the uniformity of paving. We also had to position the paving bands to facilitate legibility and accommodate various functions – for example, access to electricity, as well as demarcation for the positioning of sound and lighting equipment.”

The design may have been challenging but the practicalities on site presented different complexities.

According to Robertson-Swift, it has been an ongoing battle to achieve an acceptable consistency of colour blending with paving on such a vast area.

Design principles
Principles for design development determined by Melanie Atwell & Associates in the Heritage Impact Assessment included:

§      development of a people-centred open space

§      comfort and security

§      a sense of place and social identity

§      legibility, boldness and simplicity

§      definition and protection of edges

§      links with the related urban, pedestrian and architectural environment

§      control of peripheral area in terms of inappropriate height, use and

§      signage impact

§      prevention of loss or development of remaining open space

§      reduction of impact of transportation termini, traffic and parking

§      recognition of the link between use, continuity and character

§      avoidance of visual clutter

§      significance of landscaping

§      use of appropriate management tools

Permeable paving aids sustainability
An exciting aspect of the design intervention is the consideration given to sustainability.

It is the first site in Cape Town that has received municipal approval for the installation of permeable paving, Robertson-Swift claims. A 15 m-wide strip of permeable paving is being installed at the lowest edge (harbour side) of the square.

“This not only allows water to permeate and recharge existing underground streams but also filters and improves the quality of water,” she states. “A key concern of the city’s roads and stormwater department is not only to reduce quantity and flow rates of stormwater but also to improve the quality of run-off.”

Although the Grand Parade’s permeable-paving system does not include an underground reservoir or a lining membrane, a “McAdams layer” acts as an impermeable layer. “It, therefore, allows for future opportunity, when the grachten are exposed and filled with water, to design an on-site water-management system, which captures run-off and filteredwater for irrigation reuse,” Robertson-Swift elaborates.

The parking battle continues
Parking remains a contentious issue on the Grand Parade.

“It is an ongoing battle to have parking completely removed,” Robertson-Swift says. The council supports the removal of parking as part of its long-term vision for the site but argues that it should be phased out gradually as the traders argue that their clients need parking.

“Surveys have shown, however, that the majority of people who park on the Parade do so for a full day in order to access surrounding offices,” elaborates Robertson-Swift. The Integrated Rapid Transport system, planned for the area, should ease the demand for parking. The gradual removal of parking would, therefore, allow the traders’ customers to make alternative arrangments, the council argues.

Efficient management needed
Although the design intervention will surely result in a better-looking public space once construction has been completed, the longterm success of the Parade is not secure.

The Grand Parade Precinct Conceptual Spatial Development Framework Report states: “Many issues raised in the planning and design process relate to the need for an integrated, effective and efficient management structure dedicated to the Grand Parade. This facet is seen as critical to the success and sustainability of this initiative”.

Robertson-Swift agrees: “An integrated management/maintenance programme, addressing all issues from events management and marketing through to environmental management, is crucial. This must cater for aspects like water and vegetation management, and the ongoing maintenance of paved surfaces”.

In this regard, Urban Green File is happy to disclose that the city’s Spatial Planning & Urban Design Department has initiated discussions with other departments in order to establish a suitable management structure for the Grand Parade “These discussions are ongoing but should be concluded before work on the Grand Parade is complete,” the city claims.

Key role players
Client: Spatial Planning & Urban Design Department, City of Cape Town
Concept and preliminary design: Urban Design Branch, City of Cape Town
Heritage impact assessment: Melanie Atwell & Associates
Engineering: Iliso Consulting Engineers
Landscape architecture: URBANScapes
Urban design: ARG Design
Lighting design: QDP Lighting Consultants
Main contractor: Kaulani Civils
Soft landscape subcontractors: Trees SA – Forest Ecology
Paving subcontractor: Highland Paving

Active edges are essential
Comment by the editor
Urban Green File welcomes the revitalisation of the Grand Parade.
Could this set a precedent for other cities and towns? Would it not be a welcome intervention if South Africa’s municipalities, by and large, treat their public spaces with the necessary respect?

Three lessons to be learned – proven worldwide on many public squares and, certainly, again applicable in the case of the Grand Parade – are:

§      The need to ensure that the space is robust and flexible; enabling it to accommodate many different uses.

§      Ensuring it is well-managed and -maintained.

§      Facilitating interaction between the surrounding buildings and the public space. It is crucial that the edges of the square become “active” and “animated” as the people using the square actually determine the sense of identity and character of the space.

One of the best examples to study is the Djemaa el Fna in Marrakech, Morocco. This simple, but large, space is paved in an unassuming but uniform material. The square does not depend on elaborate paving patterns, fountains or statues for its success.

Instead, the various shops and restaurants, lining the edges of the Djemaa el Fna, render it an active and exciting space. But the people on the square are most important – from snake charmers to hawkers selling orange juice; so special that UNESCO has granted it World Heritage Site status.

The Grand Parade has the potential to be as special a space. The platform has been provided but it is now up to the city council to safeguard its future. Careful management of trading and activities, and the encouragement of activities along the square’s edges, would help to create a distinct sense of space. Only when the surrounding buildings open up their façades, for street cafés and shops, will the Grand Parade come alive. But even then, ongoing cleaning and maintenance will be a prerequisite to make it work in the long term.

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WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT

Can vermiculture help reduce a city’s waste?

With the help of earthworms, organic waste can easily be turned into compost. But does this natural process offer a solution for citywide waste management?

Astrong proponent of vermiculture (cultivation of worms) is Mary Murphy of Full Cycle, who has successfully encouraged Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel to adopt the practice. But does vermiculture have an application beyond individual facilities; perhaps on a city-wide scale?

The Polokwane Declaration first provided for zero waste to landfill by 2022. “This has since been adjusted to a 70% reduction in the waste stream by 2022 or that’s the vision,” says Roelf de Beer of Pikitup. But, with landfills reaching capacity and new landfill sites positioned further and further away from city centres, leading to greater transport costs, finding a waste-minimisation solution is high on the agenda. “A landfill lasts approximately 30 years,” says De Beer, “And it takes another 30 to make sure it settles before any permanent structure can be erected on it. As far as Johannesburg is concerned, it is running out of landfill space.”

It’s a concern shared by Petrus Venter, acting director: regulation at the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry (DWAF). “We just produce waste and hope somebody else will take care of it. We’re living in a very artificial economy that is not sustainable.”

Waste management involves big business
Venter runs the Hartbeespoort Dam biological remediation programme, which includes the introduction of algae and hyacinth to the dam in order to reduce its toxicity. The algal growth is then recycled by earthworms as waste to produce high-quality organic compost. “Waste is big business,” says Venter. “Constructing a landfill can cost up to R50-million and there’s a whole industry created around waste management.

If you want to recycle using vermiculture or any other environment-friendly process, you are fighting against a natural industrial revolution.” De Beer understands Venter’s frustration. “We conducted a feasibility study into the cost of recycling five years ago. At that time we found, to make recycling happen in the city of Johannesburg, an additional investment of R40-million would be required annually. Considering inflation, this amount is now much higher.” But it’s not a closed book for Pikitup. “To give you an idea, it is costing us around R3 000/t to R4 000/t to collect litter – that is waste lying around. However, if it is contained, the cost goes down to R500/t. But even then it’s expensive. Recycling has to be introduced in some form.”

Favourable results
“We saw results within a couple of months and the publicity has been very favourable,” says Fiander.

Murphy is also encouraging other establishments to take on the challenge of reducing their waste with vermiculture.

The Spier wine estate has a large facility while another avid proponent of vermiculture on a large scale is Graeme Tucker, a horticulturist with Hotel Izulu in Ballito on Kwa-Zulu Natal’s North Coast. “We started about a year ago with only one box as a trial and now we have 12 boxes housing approximately 30 000 worms. Tucker says the worms can produce up to 2 l of vermitea each week. This can be diluted using a 1:10 ratio.

Incentives required to kick-start waste reduction
Murphy believes we have to offer people incentives to reduce waste. “It’s still big wheelie bins, large trucks and landfill sites.

I don’t see a real commitment to encouraging people to reduce waste at home. The whole system is built on waste disposal.

If municipalities could start by simply enforcing a restriction in the number of garbage bags that are collected, it would force people to look at ways of reducing their waste.”

Aside from the added benefits of waste reduction, Murphy waxes lyrical on the benefits of setting up a wormery. “The bonus at the end of the day is soil fertility, plant health and growth, increased crop yield, reduction of methane gases, less disease and pests on plants and, ultimately, better-tasting food.”

Tucker is also very excited as Hotel Izulu is saving about R3 200/month in waste management and fertiliser costs. While he doesn’t profess to be an expert, the hotel is one of the first commercial suppliers; selling 1 l and 250 ml bottles of vermitea.

Mine rehabilitation through vermiculture
“I’m giving value to organic material,” comments Venter. He believes there is huge opportunity for vermiculture in the rehabilitation of land that has been decimated by mining. “Legislation requires mines to restore the health of the soil so that it, for example, can be used for agriculture after the minerals have been mined. In order to do this, mines are going to need organic material because it, alone, will encourage earthworms and the bacterial micro-organisms needed to rehydrate the soil. But where are the mines going to get enough organic material? “From an entrepreneur that can supply them with enough kitchen waste to feed the worms,” answers Venter.

Backbone of sustainable food gardening
But that’s not all. “Government is implementing the Golden Door project that will teach people how to grow their own gardens and live sustainably,” Venter points out.

“Vermiculture could be the backbone of this project to ensure a high yield from the crops and plants,” he points out. “Then there is another project that will teach farmers how to breed fish. And how will they feed the fish? With protein-rich earthworms, which can sell for almost R280/kg – that is more than a fillet steak!”

Why earthworms?
Vermiculture entails the cultivation of worms and, when earthworms are used to produce compost, this practice is referred to as vermicomposting. Mary Murphy of Full Cycle tells Urban Green File: “Naturally earthworms aerate and fertilise the soil; breaking down organic waste into plant-available forms while improving the structure, nutrient and water-holding qualities of soil. In the past 50 years, chemical fertilisers, over-tillage of the soil and the use of pesticides have killed earthworms; leading to poor soil fertility and soil erosion.

And, at the same time, rotting organic waste dumped on landfills is polluting our underground water supply and releasing vast amounts of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Earthworms eat organic waste and give us healthy soil and organic fertiliser in return.

It’s a deal humanity cannot afford to pass up”

What does it take to start vermicomposting?
For vermiculture, not just any earthworm can be used, Mary Murphy of Full Cycle states.

“Six worms have been identified as able to tolerate a wide range of conditions and are commonly known as ‘wrigglers’,” states Murphy. “As they move through the soil and decaying organic matter, they ingest it and aerate it; depositing castings as they go.

These castings are rich in nutrients and beneficial soil organisms.”

Murphy’s company offers an array of worm-farming solutions, including the Worm Factory, retailing from R1 299 for the complete set. It’s a simple worm farm that uses a stacking-tray system with a drainage tap on the collector tray for easy removal of the worm castings and worm tea. Its design allows the worms to move upwards through the trays to the food in the upper tray; leaving behind rich organic compost. Kitchen scraps are placed in the top tray until it reaches a level where the next tray on top will come into contact with the layer of food scraps beneath. The tap allows nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser to be utilised as a plant tonic. Worms, in great demand, are sold separately at around R125/kg to R280/kg. Full Cycle recommends that the farm is populated by 1 000 worms at the beginning. The worms can be delivered to a customer’s doorstep.

Centralised composting effective?
A biological remediation programme is under way at Hartbeespoort Dam where the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry is introducing algae and hyacinth to the dam in order to reduce its toxicity. Louis Croukamp (pictured left) says the algal growth is recycled by earthworms as waste to produce high-quality organic compost. However, in the case of a municipality, it would probably be more effective to encourage individual households to reduce the amount of waste they put out for collection than to operate centralised worm farms. Each household should operate its own, small-scale vermicomposter.
Shouldn’t municipalities think twice?
Comment by editor

It is clear vermicomposting offers a financially-viable option for large-scale producers of organic waste who are also in need of compost for landscape maintenance.

Obviously hotels and resorts stand to benefit. One would think that facilities, such as a city’s fresh-produce market, could also benefit tremendously. Perhaps an opportunity exists for an entrepreneur to set up a vermicomposting facility at a market and to sell the compost to the farmers who deliver produce to the market?

Composting must happen at household level
It is probably correct, though, to say that centralized vermicomposting would not be an effective option for a city’s waste utility. A vermiculture project would entail entering into a new business environment: selling compost. But the real benefit of vermicomposting would be in reducing the volume of waste it has to collect in the first place. De Beer mentions a cost of R500/t for collecting contained waste. One can assume that a fair amount of waste ending up in each Johannesburg household’s wheelie bin on a weekly basis is organic waste – mostly food waste from kitchens and, often, also some garden waste. If each household could be convinced to turn this waste into compost, imagine the saving for Pikitup in the long term! No wonder then that Pikitup states that it is a great supporter of all recycling initiatives, including vermiculture and vermicomposting.

Municipal-wide roll-out required
Urban Green File strongly recommends that each South African municipality’s solid waste department gives some consideration to vermicomposting. Why does a municipality not buy “worm factories” in bulk? Surely a significant discount could be negotiated. The municipality could then sell these on to households and offer a discount on waste charges/taxes for households with a certificate of purchase. In the bigger picture, it does not have to cost the municipality anything while, in the long term, significant savings could be achieved in reducing the volume of waste that needs to be collected. At the same time, landfill space would be reduced and the environment would be saved!

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WASTE & POLLUTION MANAGEMENT BRIEFS

Building rubble recycling on the up
Increased interest in South Africa’s recycling market for construction materials is visible from the number of equipment manufacturers entering this market. In recent years, reputable names, such Pilot Crushtec (a local brand), Metso Minerals, Terex Finlay and Terex Powerscreen, have made inroads into this market. Now German manufacturer, Rubble Master, is also in South Africa.

Urban Green File’s sister magazine, Plant Equipment & Hire recently attended the preview of the world-famous Intermat equipment show in Paris where it learned that Rubble Master is in talks with a potential local distributor.

The company has identified South Africa as offering significant growth potential in the rubble-recycling sector.

Hazardous lights can now be recycle

Urban Green File has learned that the “first economically-viable electronic-waste recycling plant” is being launched in South Africa by Reclite. Patricia Webb, steering this innovative project, says the technology has been funded by the Swedish Trade Council, a consortium helping countries – particularly in Africa – to set up green solutions by sponsoring the technology.

The focus of Reclite’s recycling plant is on electronic products that contain mercury, such as compact fluorescent lamps and high intensity discharge lamps – recycled to their component parts, including reclamation of the hazardous mercury, so it is a complete recycling solution for mercury-bearing lighting lamps and other mercury-bearing products.

According to Webb, Reclite’s plant includes crushing, separation and mercury-recovery stages. Various types and sizes of lamps are separated into glass, aluminium end caps, ferro-metal components and phosphor powder.

“The crush-and-sieve plant operates at sub-pressure, thereby preventing mercury from being released into the environment as exhaust air,” states Webb. “Instead, this is constantly discharged through the internal carbon filters.”.

Recovered glass, aluminium, plastic, phosphor powder, ferro metal and mercury with 99% purity are dispatched to other companies for use as raw materials or for further processing.

Reclite intends to sign agreements with corporate organisations and other businesses for the collection of ewaste as soon as the record of decision, in terms of the environmental impact assessment for its recycling plant, has been issued.

Disposal points for used lamps established
Clearly, the mercury in compact fluorescent and other types of lights is cause for concern when it comes to discarding used lamps. Urban Green File can disclose that not only Reclite is taking action in this regard. Radiant Lighting has announced it has established safe disposal units at its Johannesburg and Cape Town offices.

According to Laurence Sarakinsky, director of business development for Radiant Lighting, globes or components containing mercury are placed in 210 l drums until they are one third full.

The contents are then crushed by trained staff. The drum is filled with a chemical that neutralises the toxins. When reduced, the process is repeated until the drum is full. It is collected by a specialist company and taken away for safe disposal on an approved site.

Climate-change summit imminent
In October 2008, the South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism (DEAT) announced its official response to climate change. As early as May 2008, DEAT had already announced a National Climate Summit & Science Conference would take place in early 2009. The purpose of the summit would be “to formally launch the policy process that would translate Cabinet’s climate change policy decisions and directives into fiscal, regulatory and legislative packages, as well as sectoral implementation plans”. Now Urban Green File can disclose the Climate Change Summit 2009 is scheduled for March 3 to 6 2009 at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand. The conference sets out to “provide a platform to discuss and agree the framework for a National Climate Change Response Policy that includes, among others, fiscal, regulatory and legislative packages, as well as sectoral implementation plans”.

Effluent recycled for irrigation purposes
Irrigation is often one of the largest consumers of potable water on large residential estates. To reduce the cost of irrigation water and its impact on the environment, the Seaton Delaval Estate – an equestrian development along the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal – will receive recycled greywater from the new wastewater-treatment works being constructed in the area, Paul van der Linde, consulting-engineering technologist for UWP, informs Urban Green File. “This recycled water will be pumped from the treatment works into irrigation storage dams on the estate and it will be sufficient to accommodate the entire irrigation needs of the development,” he points out.

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INSPIRATION

Sense of place
Unexpectedly, Philippolis a small Free State town can teach some noteworthy lessons to urban designers and town planners.

Urban design and planning is not only of importance in big cities. In fact, the positive effect of proper design can have a far greater impact in a small town – and that impact can last for decades or even centuries.

One example is Philippolis in the southern Free State.

The original inhabitants of this town – the oldest in the province – got the basics right: a main street leading up to an impressive public building (church) and a public space in front of it; flanked by stately buildings and houses. With only a few streets, Philippolis has a distinct sense of place – mostly because all the houses interface strongly with the streets due to the ubiquitous verandah and “stoep”. This, of course, adds a degree of safety and security as surveillance of the streets is good. No criminal will walk around here unnoticed!

Although not in tip-top condition when it comes to maintenance, it is encouraging to see a public space dedicated to Sir Lourens van der Post. Adjacent to his birth place, and behind the Dutch Reformed Church, is an appropriate memorial garden that incorporates a paved labyrinth.

It is also inspirational to see so many of the old houses being renovated – many of them acting as weekend breakaways or second homes in the country. However all is not inspirational – as is the case with most

South African “dorpe”, new housing projects are being located behind apartheid buffer strips in the former townships. No attempt has been made to integrate new development with the historic town. And no effort has been exerted to replicate the inimitable countryside architecture of Philippolis in the townships.

But no one can deny the “inner town” of Philippolis displays all the best characteristics of a well-designed and -planned human settlement. If only modern-day designers would take note of these principles!

Philippolis is part of the Gariep District Municipality and the Kopanong Local Municipality.

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INSULT

Greed galore

Has greed destroyed a proud town’s most prominent public space?

Great was my shock when driving through the charming town of Cradock last December. What was once a public square and park flanked by impressive buildings has made way for an unsightly parking lot and mini shopping centre.

The main tenants of this monstrosity are Spar and Wimpy. How could the Inxuba Yethemba Municipality allow the heart of this town to be destroyed by such greed? Were they that desperate for income that they could justify selling such sacred space? And how could any developer find reason for such an unsightly building? It blocks the view of the Victoria Hotel, which once looked out over this space. Also a pedestrian’s view of all the buildings that once flanked this square and park is now completely blocked. Some of the historic memorials are left on a part of the square but are now hidden by the building and fenced off.

Admittedly I did, on a previous visit, believe Cradock could do with a make-over of its central square and park as it was in a state of disrepair but to allow a consumerist building slap bang in the middle of this space is unforgivable!

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VIEWPOINT

Coastal conservation boosted

With the newly-enacted Coastal Management Act, larger parts of South Africa’s coastline will be conserved.

In South Africa, the sea and the seashore were once regulated by the Sea-Shore Act 21 of 1935. In order to align the regulation of this sensitive environmental zone with the Constitution and environment-specific legislation, such as the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA), a new Act has been enacted. This Act is known as the National Environmental Management Integrated Coastal Management Bill or the Coastal Management Act. On October 27 2008, the parliamentary approval process was completed and the Coastal Management Act was presented to the president but presidential assent has not yet been obtained. It is likely this may be delayed until the next elections have passed. Nevertheless the parliamentary approval process was accompanied by some lively debate, including the issue of property rights within the coastal zone, which the Bill may affect.

In many parts of South Africa, one is struck by the beauty of our coastline. Thankfully, in most coastal areas, development has not been allowed to encroach right up to the highwater mark. This has largely been due to the fact that development was restricted in the zone 200 m inland from the high-water mark, which was traditionally known as the Admiralty Reserve. There is much academic debate about the origins of the Admiralty Reserve and, indeed, it is not even certain whether or not this was a genuine attempt to promote conservation or a fortunate windfall for conservation as government wanted to protect this area for its own purposes, such as the landing of troops or attachment of shipwrecks and associated items. Whatever the historical origins of the Admiralty Reserve, its value to conservation over the years has been enormous. The result is that large parts of South Africa have intact coastal dunes – at least for 200 m inland of the high-water mark.

The Sea-Shore Act defined the seashore as the area between the low-water mark and the high-water mark so no official protection was given by this statute to the area known as the Admiralty Reserve. The Coastal Management Act aims to provide protection and support for conservation in the coastal zone (including the Admiralty Reserve) so the area it regulates is much larger and more comprehensive than it was with the Sea-Shore Act. To completely understand the regulation of this area in terms of South African environmental legislation, one would have to look at municipal legislation and NEMA, which require environmental impact assessment in certain circumstances.

Specifically though, in terms of sections 8 and 9 of the Coastal Management Act, government will have the power to expropriate private land for the purposes of declaring it public property. Private land may be expropriated in order to improve coastal public access, to protect sensitive eco-systems, to secure the natural functioning of dynamic coastal processes, to facilitate the objectives of the Coastal Management Act and to protect people, property and economic activities from risks arising from dynamic coastal processes, including the risk of sea-level rise. These broad powers of expropriation have raised some concerns (during the parliamentary process, for one) but they would be tempered by the Expropriation Act 63 of 1975 and also by legal rights, such as the property right contained in Section 25 of the Constitution.

As would be expected, the Admiralty Reserve is given a very wide definition in the Coastal Management Act and defined as “any strip of land joining the inland side of the high-water mark, which, when this Act took effect, was state land reserved or designated on an official plan, deed of grant, title deed or other document evidencing title or land use rights as ‘admiralty reserve’, ‘government reserve’, ‘beach reserve’, ‘coastal forest reserve’ or other similar reserve”.

The Admiralty Reserve, where it is owned by the state, will then form part of the coastal public property, which will be under the trusteeship of government – the aim being to advance the conservation and integrated management of this area. Another major aim of the integrated approach to the management of this area is to facilitate access to the coastal zone.

Gated communities and housing estates have encroached on this in certain areas.

The conservation objectives of the Coastal Management Act are noble but they are required to be underpinned by solid governance if they are to be effective. If managed properly, the Admiralty Reserve could form a platform for conservation of the greater coastal zone. 

By Adam Gunn, a director of Routledge Modise in association with Eversheds