| 12-22 september
2006 > Social
Housing Focus Trust: As part of SHiFT's mission to promote innovation and creativity in design and ensure an integrated approach and delivery of social housing, SHiFT organizes a competition for architectural students across South Africa. The first competition was organized in 2002 together with the Social Housing Foundation. This competition was so successful that the board decided to make it a biannual event. The second competition ran between February and August 2004. The award ceremony was on 08 October 2004. The competition was this time organised together with the National Association of Social Housing Organisations (NASHO), and sponsored by the Standard Bank and the Libuyile Community development Trust.
The main objective of the competition is as follows: “It is the intention of this competition to explore innovative alternatives in design and housing, which take into account the social, economic and environmental issues we face. It is hoped that it will generate housing forms that will help restore the vibrancy which previously characterized inner city communities and prove more likely to offer investment value for occupants than conventional mass-housing models. It is a student competition which aims to generate ideas and debate on alternative housing design options that are ultimately deliverable. It hopes to shift the focus to housing models that address dense residential environments within (existing) urban conditions in line with government policy objectives. This will enable linkages with the existing urban fabric, and through innovative concepts, achieve sustainable housing delivery. In addition, both SHiFT and the social housing sector would like to see a change in the mindset of persons entering the sector. The competition is not looking for a definitive solution, but it is hoped to provide alternative designs and density to inner city living and stimulate a debate which can be taken up nationally.”
How the competition is run: · Jury members draft the competition brief in a series of consultative meetings. Setting the dates for the competition and finding land sites which can be used for the hypothetical housing projects. Project sites are located in underserved and densely populated areas in and around Durban, Cape Town, East London, Johannesburg and/or Tshwane to allow all the Architecture Schools to take part. · Registration of architectural institutions taking part followed by a “Road Show”. The “Road Show” is designed to be an educational forum in which the concepts of social housing design and its impact on the environment will be discussed to stimulate a debate amongst the participating students. A financial feasibility exercise will also be included as part of the lecture to improve the understanding of cost-effective delivery. · The adjudication of the competition entries will be judged in line with criteria set by the Jury. These criteria follow what is considered in the profession as good design architectural principles, such as establishing a sense of place, giving identity to the units, integration of different uses and the surroundings, offering a choice of solutions, sustainability, and designing within the limits of affordability of the residents. · A shortlist of entries is drawn up from which the winner is chosen. The short listed candidates are invited to the award ceremony in Johannesburg at The Gallery Premises at Johannesburg Civic Theatre. The award ceremony is also an exhibition of the entries and is used as a platform to showcase excellence in innovative design in housing. In the past the media publicity gained from this event and competition has been good. This has again provided an opportunity to inform the public on the importance of good architectural design. · The first prize, consisting of a study tour to Holland (which is renowned for the architectural quality of its social housing) will be the same as previously. The feedback received for the study tour by the previous winning team in 2004 (Sabello Ncube and Sabatha Vilakati) and tutors shows that this is a prize which has added enormous educational value to the student training and understanding. SHiFT used this opportunity to develop their confidence in delivering presentations at our AGM. This has provided a genuine opportunity to develop previously disadvantaged students' understanding in housing and urban design. The jury panelists are:
About SHiFT Social Housing Focus Trust (SHiFT)
is a new organization synergising the expertise of professionals of
the built environment that aim to improve social housing projects. Although more than a million houses
have been built over the last 10 years there is still a great need for
living environments. Housing projects must be contextualised and integrated
within the city, village or neighborhood, fostering communities where
people have access to everything they need to live a decent and exciting
life: quality housing, adequate services and infrastructure and a range
of commercial, social facilities and public spaces. SHiFT started in 2000 when a group
of architects gave input to a workshop organized by the Social Housing
Foundation (SHF), an organization initiated by the National Department
of Housing to promote and assist the establishment of social housing
institutions in South Africa. These institutions develop and manage
predominantly rental-housing stock for low to middle-income households.
The workshop defined Guidelines for Social Housing Design and the architects
also contributed to the Guidelines booklet that was published by the
Social Housing Foundation. SHiFT Board |