PROGRAMME:ABOUT 140 dwellings (one- and two-person households and families) capable of accommodating commercial functions; an informal market square with community centre and taxi rank; parkland; a square with a hall suitable for religious purposes; a recreation area by the lake with an agricultural function and future high density one-person housing.
COMMITTEE TO achieve these aims a Housing Generator Committee will be set up to manage the individual subsidies provided by the government. Residents will use the 'rent-to-buy' system to meet the cost of services, paying the money to the HGC. One advantage of this approach is that financial institutions will prefer to make loans to a collective than to individuals. Once the HGC has been set up the first phase will involve the provision of housing for families. A number of unemployed residents will be taught the basic techniques that will be sufficient for the building of the first phase. THE proposed development is based on the use of simple, labour intensive building techniques, so as to maximise the community's involvement in the building process. After the first phase has been completed new financing will be sought for the second, more comprehensive, phase. Once again use will be made of the labour force that has already been trained. Although the emphasis is on realizing single family dwellings, a significant portion of the second phase consists of high density one- and two-person accommodation and a number of commercial functions.
OUTLINE THE design of the dwellings is based on the 'shell construction' concept. This means that residents are provided with a flexible basic structure where they can set up their own dividing walls and frontages. This helps to satisfy the wish for individuality and extensibility. The buildings are quite simple to adjust or extend. Dwellings are interconnected in such a way as to create street edge courtyards. Pedestrians can easily wander through the buildings, so strengthening the relationship between the different neighbourhoods and encouraging interaction between residents and passers-by. THREE main models have been prepared for the development of the courtyards. In the private cluster the dwellings form a courtyard that is shut off from the street. In the 'extravert' model the ground floor is allocated a commercial function. Small businesses can use the courtyards and pavement to extend their space. In the 'utilitarian' model a part of the courtyard can be used by the surrounding residents for parking their cars. The back yards can be used to accommodate extended families or for rented accommodation, or as kitchen gardens or workplaces. THE town planning side of the design proposes a number of specific public areas. The stormwater drainage area is a piece of parkland, used and maintained by the adjoining school and clubhouse. A community centre and taxi rank are located close to the informal market place in Mamkele Street. The taxi rank is the central point of the pedestrian area. Commercial activities will be developed round the points at which pedestrian and motorised traffic intersect. The religious square beside the existing graveyard is intended for public ceremonies. The proposed hall can be given an open or more restricted character. Lake Leeupan recreational junction forms a link between what were once separate communities. The site will hold high density one-person households but also small holdings and allotment gardens. The proposed pedestrian routes are interwoven with existing routes and create interconnections between new neighbourhoods and those already existing.
