Building Up                                       

Like many countries, South Africa is in the midst of a housing crisis, and innovative solutions are required to right the wrongs of past experiments with government-subsidized housing. One initiative that shows promise is Empower Khayelitsha, through which modular housing is being built atop existing settlements. A key feature of the project was that the homes were designed in line with the needs, aspirations and cultural values of the communities – each of the 72 colourful modular homes, housing a total of 350 people, was designed to enable the owner to adapt the layout to suit their specific needs, and they can be set up to accommodate a larger family, several smaller families, or even a ground-floor shop, with the living quarters on the first floor.

DESIGN INDABA