Housing and the Informal City

Vertical Yard
(www.housinginformalcity.co.za)

Housing Possibilities

"Can we imagine a move away from the ‘shrunken mansion’ syndrome satisfying a perceived aspiration towards a dynamic flexibility which can deliver subsidised housing in which the unit becomes an asset leading to income generation?

[...] The settlement upgrade would be planned for the increased occupation density from the start in terms of infrastructure and social amenities.

The design of the proposed housing types also attempts to incorporate and enable income generation through accommodating rental rooms, retail and small business enterprise. Houses are located close to the street boundary to create a sense of urbanity, surveillance, ease of trading and to limit the amount of unusable space between units. Micro-loans, in addition to a basic starter unit (funded by means of the subsidy), can assist owners to construct quality rental rooms as per various pre-defined options. Part of the resultant rental income would go towards repaying the loan. Both the Vertical Yard and the 14x7m Row House offer two different approaches to achieve growth over time and a mix of uses and economies."

Read full article.

Research project 2008-2010.

26'10 south Architects & Prof. Lone Poulsen (Wits University) in partnership with the Goethe-Institut, South Africa.

26'10 team: Thorsten Deckler & Anne Graupner (26'10 principals), Tahira Toffa, Guy Trangos, Shammemah Davids, Claire Lubell, Lara Wilson, Nzinga Mboup.