The Jonkers family in their new home

Hans and Olga Jonkers with four of their six children at home in their Design Indaba 10x10 house.
(Photo: Rosemary Lombard)

Guests of Design Indaba visit Freedom Park, 28 February 2009

On the Saturday following this year's Design Indaba conference, we took interested speakers and other guests out to Freedom Park to have a look at how our 10x10 Housing Project was progressing. Some went out to site a year ago, when the frames for the first house were being packed with sandbags, and it was wonderful to be able to show them how the finished product looks. Many of the visitors took photographs, and some have promised to send them on to us, so watch this space for photos of 10x10 by some of the world's top designers!

Walkabout on site.


Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo and architect Luyanda Mpahlwa address the visitors.


Caroline Prisse photographing the Design Indaba 10x10 houses.


Kids pose for photos.


Nobumichi Tosa meets Olga Jonkers and her kids in their home.
(Photos: Rosemary Lombard)

Design Indaba 10x10 Housing design wins another award!

At the 2009 South African Elle Decoration Design Award ceremony on Sunday evening, Luyanda Mpahlwa's design for a low-cost, environmentally sustainable home - commissioned by the Design Indaba 10x10 Low Cost Housing Project - won the Architecture category of the competition.

This is the latest in a string of accolades that the design has garnered. Last year in September, Luyanda's firm, MMA Architects, was honoured with the international Curry Stone Design Prize, which recognises the potential of this housing design to improve access to dignified living spaces for the less affluent.

The Design Indaba 10x10 Low Cost Housing Project was also shortlisted for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year award, and is currently being exhibited at the Design Museum in London:

Design Museum exhibit (Photo: Luke Hayes)

A comment from the exhibition website:
"This is an outstandingly appropriate piece of design. It is changing lives not just in providing shelter, but building community and family pride for people who have had a rough time of it to date. Would that more designs were as thoughtful and well-executed. "

Comment made on March 3rd, 2009 at 9:59 am by lynda relph-knight.

A reaction to Luyanda Mpahlwa's presentation at Design Indaba 2009

The following comment and sketch are reproduced here by kind permission of their author, Masha du Toit, and were originally published on her blog.

What I enjoy about The Design Indaba above all is its buzz, all that positive energy. Mostly this is caused simply by people speaking on subjects they are passionate about. And sometimes you hear about projects which really make a positive difference in the world. Architect Luyanda Mpahlwa spoke to us about his participation in the Design Indaba 10 x 10 low cost housing project. This is an attempt to alleviate our housing crisis by encouraging innovation in constructing low cost housing.

In 2008, Design Indaba invited architects to design ten low cost houses on ten sites in partnership with ten international architects, for ten families.

Luyanda Mpahlwa's firm, MMA architects, were asked to create a house for the Jonkers family in Freedom Park, Mitchell's Plain. Luyanda showed us some images of squatter camps in Caracas, Venezuela, which are shocking even by South African standards:

He reminded us of the fundamental problem facing us: that our cities must accommodate more people than they were designed for. And by "accommodate", Luyanda means more than people simply fitting in or surviving. Children need spaces to play in. People need gardens and
privacy. In designing this house, Luyanda Mpahlwa was striving to create more than a unit for living in. He was creating a dignified house.

To achieve this, Luyanda's team used an old method of building that has been in use all over the world - that of using sand bags in a timber frame. Sand is packed into bags, which are in turn stacked inside a timber frame. The frame is covered with wire mesh, and then plastered over. This technique has a number of advantages. It does not require skilled labour, and unemployed women from the surrounding community could help build the house. Sand is plentiful and easy to gather. The resulting structure is solid and well insulated against heat and cold.

Luyanda and his team succeeded not only in designing and building this house, but in having all their techniques officially approved by the relevant authorities. The house was slightly over budget, having cost R74 230 to build so far, funded by Design Indaba.

Here is an image of the first completed house:

What I appreciated was the architect's consideration for the needs of the house's occupants. A double story house like this meant that there was space for a private area for the children to play in, for a garden.

Luyanda Mpahlwa won the Curry Stone Design Prize for this project. This is an initiative of the University of Kentucky College of Design, to recognise design that improves the lives of people and the state of the world. In an ironic twist, Luyanda could not attend the prize giving ceremony as he was refused a visa to enter America. Why? Because he had spent 5 years on Robben Island under our previous regime.

Like many other speakers at the Indaba, Luyanda Mpahlwa reminded us of the potential and power of working collaboratively.

"Assemble good people," was his advice, as well as:
"If you believe, give it time, passion and curiosity."

500 trees for Freedom Park

As part of the carbon offset for Design Indaba 2007, we purchased 500 trees for the whole community of Freedom Park from Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA). The trees are to be planted there over the next few days!

FTFA is an NGO that promotes greening and food security, espousing the view that “a house is not a home without a tree”, and aims to improve the quality of life of the poor by providing plant material, environmental awareness and education for those living in low-cost housing developments. Growing trees and other plants in the townships brightens the environment, prevents soil erosion, and provides wind breaks, as well as food, income and activities for many unemployed people. FTFA spreads awareness about the importance of greening, and trains volunteers to become community-based educators on greening the environment themselves. They share their knowledge with neighbours, and soon the entire community is involved in the business of gardening.

FTFA programme manager, Joanne Rolt, and community forester, Lucky Xaba, have been responsible for organising roll-out. Lucky has been holding workshops with 12 members of the Freedom Park community, training them in planting and caring for trees - knowledge that they in turn will pass on to their neighbours. The trees will be delivered from Tulbagh Nursery tomorrow, and planting will happen this weekend. We're very excited that the barren, sandy landscape is about to be transformed!

The following indigenous species, all suitable for the climate and soil conditions in the area, and notable for their hardiness and capacity to provide shade, will be planted at Freedom Park:

60 x Ilex mitis (African Holly/Without)

60 x Harpephyllum caffrum (Wild Plum)

15 x Podacarpus falcatus (Outeniqua Yellowwood)

60 x Sideroxylon inerme (White Milkwood)

60 x Ficus natalensis (Natal Fig)

20 x Rapanea melanphloeos (Cape Beech/Boekenhout)

80 x Trichilia dregeana (Cape Mahogany/Rooi Essenhout)

50 x Rhus pendulina/Searsia pendulina (White Karee)

60 x Combretum erythrophyllum (River Bushwillow)

15 x Ekebergia capensis (Cape Ash)

Progress at Freedom Park

A view down the street today. Roofs are being put on the houses as well as the first primer coat of paint... Exciting stuff!

The house that is furthest from completion, due to frustrating issues with the supply of the necessary Ecobeams, is now almost at roof height.

Builder Schalk van der Walt of Tech Homes discusses progress with the team.

During our weekly project team meetings on site with (L-R) quantity surveyor Brian Mahachi (BTKM), structural engineer Grant Fredericks (AKI) and MMA's site supervisor, Westley van Wyk, we evaluate how construction is going and iron out any issues that may arise.

(Photos: Rosemary Lombard)

Progress at Freedom Park

(Photos: MMA Architects)