WATCH | Is this the R300,000 future eco-home of SA?

03 March 2021 - 06:00 By anthony molyneaux
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The City of Cape Town, in partnership with the Green Building Council of South Africa, launched the My Clean Green home pop-up exhibit on Monday, March 1 2021 in Green Point park in Cape Town. The neat structure has a net zero carbon footprint and is made out of recycled palette wood, solar panels and two shipping containers. The home features a lounge, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, food garden and a spacious courtyard.

“We were inspired by using the principles of a tree,” Shawn Alimohammadi, a member of Team Mahali, said from inside the net zero carbon footprint structure.

“The wooden palettes all round and on the roof provide shade for the building just as a tree has a shade footprint. We produce energy from the solar panels which power the entire house. We are completely off-grid and net zero energy dependent.”

The City of Cape Town, in partnership with the Green Building Council of SA, launched the My Clean Green home pop-up exhibit on March 1 2021 in Green Point park in Cape Town. 

The neat structure has a net zero carbon footprint and is made out of recycled palette wood, solar panels and two shipping containers. The home features a lounge, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, edible food garden and spacious courtyard.

Four SA cities - eThekwini, Tshwane, Johannesburg and Cape Town - recently joined the C40 cities net zero carbon by 2050 initiative. The aim is to reach net zero carbon for all new buildings by 2030 and all buildings by 2050.

Team Mahali won first prize in the City of Cape Town and Green Building Council of SA’s design competition for sustainable buildings. The structure costs approximately R300,000 to construct.

“We are hoping we will get more projects from this one, more community-orientated projects, and catalyse sustainable industrialisation in SA and support the movement of jobs into the green economy,” said Alimohammadi. 


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