Published in Engineering News, 22 May 2009

Although there is no Green Star SA-rated and -certified property development in South Africa as yet, all the signs point to a built-environment industry that is beginning to take up the challenge of environmentally sound development, and one that is increasingly willing to transform.

“We have a new generation of buildings coming up, where sustainability is thought of from the start,” explains WSP Green by Design director Eric Noir.

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In a recent US survey, 98% of homebuyers chose Genuine Fired Clay Brick made in the US over both imported brick from Mexico and “crick”, which is merely concrete shaped like brick. (information sourced from Builder Homesite, Inc)

Proven to be one of the longest-lasting building materials in the world, clay brick provides builders and homeowners with sustainability, energy efficiency, fire resistance, improved air quality and lower maintenance costs. So, as the survey participants have identified, Genuine Fired Clay Brick is the homeowner’s choice in exterior siding materials.

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It is not common industry knowledge (apart from BMI Strategic Forum subscribers) that some 52,291 million m2 of Residential and Non Residential Buildings were constructed in 2008.

The Industry (led by the popular Press as their main source of information) is accustomed and generally satisfied to look only at Buildings Completed (BC) (with a pre-occupation for Building Plans Passed because it is currently in steep decline and therefore a nice source of sensational news). It is ironic that BC in total represented only 15,291 million m2 in 2008 (less than a third of total Building Activity!).

• download full Sensemaking Report (June 09)
  

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