PROJECT
to South Africa. A formerly derelict site, it now boasts 40
to 50 tenants. Artists, artisans, sculptors, metal workers,
carpenters, distillers and brewers are all part of the fabric of
Victoria Yards, simultaneously supporting marginalised youth
and women. structure. BOXA is a consequently a developer of holistic
rapid-build solutions for essential community infrastructure
(classrooms, toilet blocks, clinics, housing) through the
integration of innovative and sustainable building materials,
systems and off-grid technologies.
BOXA identified Victoria Yards as the ideal location to exhibit
prototypes of an entirely off-grid toilet block together with a
multifunctional learning environment that would be suitable
for a range of functions for the local community including
early childhood development, adult education and training.
By aligning closely with Victoria Yards’ mission of sustainable
community development, and contrasting the regeneration
of old structures with the new building materials and
technologies that are now available, BOXA aims to
showcase the possibilities of building in the 21st century
and shift mindsets from more traditional ‘brick and mortar’
construction methods that are becoming environmentally
and logistically unsustainable, particularly in African markets. “At BOXA we are committed to viable, high performance
alternatives to using cement, water and river sand in
construction, packaged with convenient and cost-effective
‘operating systems’ for power, water and sanitation in order
to minimise the environmental footprint. Cement production
accounts for over 8% of our global CO 2 emissions, and in
many African contexts, it is a huge logistical and project
management challenge getting bricks, cement and water
to site and keeping projects on time and on budget. In fact,
it is our view that Africa’s essential development needs
could be much more effectively and sustainably addressed
by adopting these new environmentally friendly building
technologies that are now becoming available and accepted
for the first time. Globally, a ‘Sustainability Revolution’ is
taking place, and much like the digital revolution we will
Lewis explains that he is developing an off-grid sustainable
ablution facility and chose this location as his first project
because it was already high profile and being off-grid itself
matched the values of BOXA. He explains that its business
model is to produce sustainable, high performance ‘buildings
in a box’, in this case an ablution block in a box, but with
an ‘envelope’ capable of multiple uses. “We integrate and
aggregate technologies to provide rapid-build solutions,” in
this instance the rapid build is only one component of the
toilet solution – the others being an entirely off-grid facility
which harvests its own rainwater and generates its own
electricity to work the water pump. Our objective was to
demonstrate that such a structure can be installed within five
days, using no cement or water in its construction, “and we
more-or-less accomplished that, given it’s a prototype”.
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The walls comprise a lego-type polycrete dry-stacking block
system, the roof and floor slabs are Cross Laminated Timber
(CLT), suspended off the ground on a steel pile foundation
system. The four composting toilets are supplied by Enviro-
Loo, a South African company and global leader in dry
sanitation systems. Rainwater is harvested off the roof and
stored beneath the floor slab in a ‘Damsak’ – a large bladder
that can store enough water for over 20 000 handwashes
from the water saving taps. The lights and on-demand water
pump are powered by a simple 12V DC solar system. The
classroom will be built in April 2020, again in five days, and
will showcase this world-first integration of new materials
and systems on a larger scale.
The blocks for these prototypes were imported from Namibia
where they are manufactured using desert sand, and Lewis
is in discussion with PolyCare Research Technologies GmbH,
the German company that developed the walling system,
to establish manufacturing plants in South Africa, using the
plentiful mine dump sand, “because it’s a waste stream”.
“But while looking at this product we realised we would in
effect be presenting our customers with the problem of what
cladding, flooring and other components to use, too many
choices. We realised we would have to engineer the entire
March 2020 Volume 26 I Number 01
The 12v pressurised motor, powered by two 360W PV solar panels on the roof.
It’s like Lego
This means it can be placed anywhere – in an open field,
in the bush and in a rural school. The waste from the toilet,
due to the dry sanitation system, several months later simply
becomes compost – which at Makers’ Valley with its urban
farming can be used immediately.
Anthony Lewis, founder of BOXA, holding the Rainwatch filter.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za