Several for me pure artistic architectural design Lego blocks have now been removed from my design toolbox and replaced with calculations and scientific formula's. All to my mind designed to impose and penalize with additional tax costs to the project. Thats if one deviates from the structure of the calculation templates calculative design. Im a calcutect designing calcutecture ideals right now. Thats how i feel.
The architectural artistic emotional design process i have become familiar with - is now replaced by an accountant like, militant, scientific calculation heavy butchering of the architectural design. All this is fine if it really means im saving the planet. Or is it perhaps another form of daylight robbery tax imposition? Im just asking, dont attack the question guy please.
Yes, regulations are very, very important - However to micro regulate one area of South Africa's domestic built environment - The domestic formal sector, incidentally were alot of the money is. Whilst turning a complete blind eye to regulating another very important sector - The informal domestic built environment settlement sector. To my mind is very hypocriticle at best. What is the council of the built environment and the architectural regulatory bodies doing to bring South Africa's informal domestic settlements in line with these new very important imposed XA regulations?
The architectural artistic emotional design process i have become familiar with - is now replaced by an accountant like, militant, scientific calculation heavy butchering of the architectural design. All this is fine if it really means im saving the planet. Or is it perhaps another form of daylight robbery tax imposition? Im just asking, dont attack the question guy please.
Now that this process has been fully written into our countries constitution. And all municipalities are zealotly enforcing it - My other questions are - How did this process get so entrenched into our law, before 99% of architectural professionals even heard about it? And more worrying is what's ahead for us designing in the domestic built environment? Only building products used on site stamped with a certain private entities stamp of XA approval. A control stamp being used on South African building sites? Does this immediately put thousands of small SA building business's out of work? - Window manufacturers , carpenters, aluminium specialists etc etc? Will this regulation heavy process favour just a certain few professionals. Are billions of rands at stake for a very clever privately XA aligned few operators?
I dont worry about industry being over regulated. Industry has the money to pay for factories, office blocks, light industrial estates etc to be heavily XA regulated. Infact they need to be policed due to chemicals and issues in the work environment. Im really concerned about the domestic living envirenments. By that i mean the formal and informal sectors.
Im simply just asking these questions? I have no answers! Im not accusing, im just simply interested as i worry about R and U values. Because im interested in the health of the built environment across SA's formal and informal domestic living spectrums.
Yes, regulations are very, very important - However to micro regulate one area of South Africa's domestic built environment - The domestic formal sector, incidentally were alot of the money is. Whilst turning a complete blind eye to regulating another very important sector - The informal domestic built environment settlement sector. To my mind is very hypocriticle at best. What is the council of the built environment and the architectural regulatory bodies doing to bring South Africa's informal domestic settlements in line with these new very important imposed XA regulations?
Informal settlements where inferno fires are rife and TB and air born communicable diseases are a very real problem due to a complete lack of ventilation and proper built environment regulations?
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS DOMINATED BY HUGE OVERLORD GANGS AND UNREGULATED INDIVIDUAL LANDLORDS CONTROLLING MULTIPLE LIVING UNITS IN MULTIPLE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY? CHARGING PREMIUM RENTS TO VERY POOR PEOPLE LIVING THERE. A MULTI BILLION RAND INDUSTRY WORKING INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE ENTITIES ACTUALLY PROVIDING ALL THE SERVICES TO THESE VERY SADLY DESPERATLY POOR COMMUNITIES. INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS THAT REGULARLY EXPLODE IN OUT OF CONTROL FIRES, KILLING, MAIMING AND DESTROYING MANY LIVES.
Im very sure the answers are being all meticulously studied very diligently by the crowd who pushed for the XA calculations in the formal domestic sector. The exact same crowd who carefully worried about the exact amount of daylight that overshadows my designed living room dining room table in the october months by the sea nogal. That very same crowd im sure who is putting stringent measures in place for an informal settlement home dweller not to be fleeced by an unregulated landlord process working outside of any possible control.
My current perception at present is and i might be wrong. Artistic creative design architecture is dead in the formal domestic sector - behold the rise of the calcutects calcutecture!! However anything goes re building techniques in the not regulated informal sector. Perhaps in this built environment your an unregutect unregutecture?
Im definetly all for imposed taxes in the formal built environment, if they help the informal settlement communities who need the finance the most to live safely. However im also for making sure all peoples built living environments are harmoniously regulated for the right reasons across the informal and formal domestic sector living environments.
Ive helped people build structures in informal settlements. Ive dug foundation holes in open plots used as latrines for years. To put adhoc, tin shanty cheak by jowel structures next to each other, what choices do i have, but to try help within a system i have no control over? Ive heard my friends who live in informal settlements complain about the exhorbitant rents charged by unscrupulous landlord gang operators. Lets just say the double glazed window ive just stipulated in my plans for the formal domestic sector is a spec compared to the XA regulations that are urgently needed in the informal settlement built environments. Where fires, TB and socio economic challenges are all very, very real. As these communities swell and rapidly grow horizontally and not vertically, there is no sight to ever being properly regulated and monitored. Regulated and controlled to even vaguely livable conditions. Informal settlements used to be just for working adults, while children where looked after in rural open areas by grandparents. Now its full families suffering under the lack of any regulations in these frightening environments. I certainly would be very, very insecure to sleep in a cape town informal settlement during a winter north wind or a summer south easter. Fires are a very serious threat ripping through these communities. With absolutely no regulations in sight and more and more people being housed under unregulated deplorable conditions.
I feel very, very sorry for a huge mass of people not being adaquetly housed. However at least the U values on the roof ive just designed in the formal sector, 5km from an informal settlement is to exact regulation spec. Weph thats so very fortunate.
A wise engineer once put things into perspective for me. In cape town if you leave a window open for fresh air in the winter and you get cold, you just go put a jersey on. However the parts of the world where the XA calculations have come from, they are definetly vitaly important. If you leave a window open in winter there you will definetly freeze to death.
In informal settlents in SA the likelihood of being burnt alive by fires is very high, The threat of communicable diseases are immense and with absolutely no regulations in place its absolutely scandalous really how they are allowed to continue to grow unregulated.
Surely we can all do so much better to make these informal settlement built environments safe, regulated and simply fit for human habitation? My very last question.
The reality is millions of people currently are living in these increasing informal settlements. They are not being helpfully guided by architectural regulations. Its a complete parrallel built environment to the SA formal sector. It doesnt look like the 2 SA built environments, formal and informal will ever regulation wise intersect in the future. If you love architecture, the informal built environment is where your expertise is most needed. Not another Clifton, Llandudno mansion with a telescope to the beach.
