Green living: Take it with you when you go

Imagine a designer home with interchangeable decorating templates, one that you can add to, reduce and rearrange as you see fit without the headache of conventional building. Add to this the fact that it is environmentally friendly and surprisingly energy efficient and you have the home of the future. To top it all off, it's portable.

In the up-market Pretoria suburb of Erasmusrand sits a prototype home designed by the city's Strey Architects. It is made-up of a collection of pre-fabricated modules.  Essentially the structure was built in a factory and shipped to the premises.

If you are thinking traditional prefab housing, think again. The construction is state-of-the art and combines magnesium fibreboard, isoboard and other advanced materials with plywood to create a structure which is not only insect, fire and water resistant, but also has superior insulation qualities, reducing heating and cooling costs.

Interchangeable inside and outside panels for colour and different textures gives the Erasmusrand prototype a designer look-and-feel. This property is quite small, but it is intended as a show house.

Due to the modular nature of these designs there are an infinite number of combinations to choose from and one can opt for a cottage or a mansion and even commercial office space.  It reduces the need to clear large areas of vegetation on stands, because the only on-site construction is the laying of the foundations. This significantly reduces the impact on the environment.

Another benefit of opting for a pre-fabricated home is that there are no escalating building costs and delays due to inclement weather and all the other gremlins which can turn building projects into protracted ordeals.

Once you and the architect are satisfied with the design, the order for the modules is placed and the quote you receive is what you pay. Building time is drastically reduced, which also saves you from having to pay rates and taxes on an erf while the construction process is underway. With a little planning your property could be constructed to coincide with bond registration.

Adding to the structure is a breeze, like a Lego-block, you just slot in another module. We particularly love the fact that you can take it with you when you go. The structure is completely portable so if you wanted to move your entire property you could.

What will it set you back? Since each design is made to architectural specification it is not a cheap alternative, but it is less costly than conventional building. Currently these Modul8 homes are undergoing  NHBRC approval. Once that happens they will be fully insurable and could be financed through traditional mortgage loans. Write to news@realestateweb.co.za

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responses to this article

Modul8 I was veri impressed the first time i saw this concept on the De Kat TV show. I then went to their fabric in Centurion, only to find nothing. Can someone tell whether they have moved and whereto? by Marinus on November 04 2009, 14:35 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Contact details Interesting... any contact details available ? Did a search but got nothing relevant to this article by Gem on November 04 2009, 15:33 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Great, I can take it wiff me when I go Does it fit on a 747? by Ivan the ex-terrible on November 04 2009, 16:03 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Re: Contact www.modul8.co.za The factory is still in Centurion. by Leoni on November 04 2009, 16:38 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

In UK that call them mobile homes And there is a thriving ndustry in renovating them. Buy to let for holidaymaklers is a noisy and seasonal use. Nothing beats the sandstone houses of Malta. People reuse the berinks because they are good for centuries. Kinds beats the the RDP . .more creations. . .less by Free the Rest on November 04 2009, 18:48 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@Leoni Thanks . Sounds interesting , made contact with the architects mentioned above.... by Gem on November 05 2009, 12:44 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Article It looks and sounds great, but just be careful. I part own a company that is also involved alternative building methods. We won the ABSA Housing Innovation Competition of the Year award a few years ago, but the product has been in ongoing development . .more since 2002. After NHBRC approval, you still have to apply with each bank to have the method approved. This in itself took us 18 months to get all 4 big banks on board. Then people in SA also have a preconceived notion of what is a "house" and don't like anything that is not bricks and mortar. This could affect your resale value substantially. We have had to redesign our method to include more "solid" materials(which pushed costs up about 30%) just to get public acceptance. I believe we will all eventually resort to alternative methods as commodities gets too expensive, but in SA we are far behind the rest of the world ito acceptence. . .less by Bearded Bandit on November 06 2009, 13:13 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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