Green initiatives in the building industry have been a world-wide trend for some years now. We are not talking the explosion of golf greens on golfing estates here, but construction developments that make sensible use of sustainable energies and green technologies in their design.
South Africa, as green as the countryside may appear, has been lagging behind many countries with the implementation of design and construction of ecological sensitive buildings. To date, only the very large corporates - specifically the large banks - have managed to implement some greening initiatives on a measurable scale. Congratulations to Nedbank Group for topping the South African Carbon Disclosure Project Report 2009 Leadership Index in this regard. Our cities are also catching onto the trends, and in Cape Town the tide seems to be turning to green. The city just recently launched on a campaign to become "The Greenest Business City on Earth".
Green business is fantastic, and by all means they should be leading by example, but what about our homes? The cost of converting existing homes into using green technologies seems to be a prohibiting factor. Fortunately, there are investors and developers that realize that green buildings are the only way forward and are using latest technologies in green design. I would think that The Green Building Council of South Africa has a lot to do with the positive changes in this area.
Buying or renting an home, one that has been designed and constructed using green technologies, will hopefully become a common experience for all South Africans. The green trend in the market is quickly spreading from a few unique homes to even large, low income, development projects such as the R2bn Tanganani project near Diepsloot or the proposed Agro-housing project in Cape Town that will include vertical greenhouses into an apartment tower.
Green living is not limited to the young, the trendy or large scale housing developments either. Retirement villages are also being developed using green initiatives, as showcased by The Farhills Private Retirement Residence in Lonehill, Fourways. Set within 1,5 acres of park-like gardens, the developers are building 70 rental only, luxurious spacious apartments with the latest solar and green technology as a priority.
Reports indicate that, world-wide, green building projects in 2009 represented more than a quarter of all project square footage. This is good news and hopefully this trend will continue to be supported by South African developers so our homes can mirror our green landscapes.
Aartwerk.Net
0 comments:
Post a Comment