Archdaily Building of the Year

Dear friends,
The last two days of Nominations for the Archdaily Building of the Year is upon us. Please follow the link to add your vote to ours. You can log in using your facebook profile.

The Cohen Residence by KUBE architecture

VOTE for the Cohen Residence!

New Kartell Flagship Store in Cape Town

What would a World Design Capital be without its own mono-branded Kartell store?

Kartell, Italian furniture manufacturer, famous for their unique plastic creations opened their first mono-branded store in Cape Town this week. The store which covers 146m2 spread over two levels on the corner of Hudson and Strand streets in the De Waterkant area will showcase designs by Ron Arad, Philippe Starck, Patrick Jouin and other famous designers. 

Coffee vs. Water footprint: What is your habit costing?

“it can take an average of 140 litres of water to produce each cup of coffee”     

                                                                             Ruth Matthews, Executive director of the water footprint Network, [source].

The fact that KUBE architecture is run on a constant supply of good strong coffee coupled with an increased passion for sustainable development means that we found this statement rather alarming. Adding to our discomfort was the indication that the upcoming dry months will place severe strain on the City’s water resources. Luckily Cape Town is famous for the amount of coffee consumed rather than produced but the coffee scenario did highlight an uncomfortable truth.

Creative Week Cape Town

The Cape Town Creative week kicked off yesterday which means that until the 18^th of September you get to rub shoulders with the who’s who of the local design industry. The event started as part of Cape Town’s World Design Capital Bid and culminates in the 33^rd Annual Loerie Awards. The program includes a line-up of events aimed at boosting the local design industry such as VISI’s Meet the Makers series when local talent such as Recreate(14th) and Olive Green Cat(15th)  open up their doors to the public. For those of you interested in getting rid of those volatile creative urges please proceed to the Dig the Disc Competition and let’s put that energy to good use! Also worth checking out is the 2010 Loerie Award Winners Showreel @ the Labia(16th,17th,18th) and Parking Day(16th).

You can find out more about these events at the Creative Week Cape Town Website.

Roseberry Avenue Update: Latest Images

Darren and Larissa's house is really coming together beautifully. We have added some 
new images of the design.

   New! North Elevation

Fynbloem Update: Cracking the Social Code of Sustainability

So why are we writing about people when this is blog is about architecture? People who aren't even celebrities...It all started back in 1987 when a couple of really smart people gathered at an event known as the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations. Sustainable development was defined as development which meets the needs of the current generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability as a term is commonly used to collect all the trendy carelessly tossed about terminology such as environmentally friendly, green, organic etc. etc., but it doesn't end there, in 2005 at the UN World Summit, it was noted that sustainability required satisfying environmental, social and economic criteria.

“Sustainability, as it’s commonly expressed, IS a fad", Sherin Wing

d love to           You can read the article here.

KUBE architecture featured on Arch Daily:

The Hofmeyr-Cohen residence was featured on Arch Daily, "The world's most visited architecture website" this week. Click here to see more.

Some new pictures of the Herlig Residence

Hi Everybody, we just received some new pictures of the Herlig Residence. Click here to take a look.

Kitchen Shots: 2 Rugby Road

Inside living were kind enough to provide us with some of their pictures taken up at Rolf and Janice’s house in Rugby road. We thought you might enjoy them. The kitchen cupboards form part of the Hacker range, imported and installed by Inside Living.  The cupboards are components of a modular system manufactured in Germany which means that they arrived neatly packaged in a box and ready to be installed. The advantages of this apart from a silly fascination with the minor details are reasonable costs and a quick and tidy installation process. Well done!

The island counter top material, Grigio Beola granite was sourced from a small quarry on the border between Switzerland and Italy and brought in by Jetstone. The counter tops and splash back to the rest of the cupboards are snow white Caesar stone. The installation was handled by Marble Gallery. 

Gorgeous!

Click on the pics for larger images!

    

    

On the Cover: House & Leisure

Peter and Genevieve’s house featured in 
the December issue of House & Leisure!

The Hofmeyr-Cohen residence as featured on the cover of the December 2010 issue 
of House & Leisure. Congratulations to Peter and Genevieve. We could not have 
done it without you! 

The Value of an Architectural Appointment

As property owners you will know that as we are approaching the end of a major recession wherein a number of  financial service providers went to ground, the safest place for your money during the last two years was in your property. While other investments plummeted, property value merely halted for a brief moment before increasing once more. For most people a house is the single biggest and most valuable investment you will make in your lifetime. The value of that property is measured by either its resale potential or ability to generate income. The question which you have to ask yourself is whether this is the right place to be cutting costs.

So...why should you approach an architect?

Saving on Architectural Fees?

Remember the old adage?
"If you think education is expensive, you should see how much it costs you to go without it.” The same applies to architecture: You may think you’re saving, but does it pay in the long run to build without an architect?

The Value of a Good Architect: What the top estate agents know about selling that the others don’t!

Having an architect on your side will often give you the edge which is required to make the sale. Below I've listed just a couple of ways in which we have helped agents in the past:

1. Good design is easier to sell. There are few things worse than a salesman making excuses on behalf of the architect or designer. What a prospective buyer immediately thinks: How much will it cost to rectify and what is the level of discomfort?

2. Good design sells quicker. For most buyers the first impression is the one that lasts, and bad ones don’t lead to sales. From an agent’s perspective: Time equals money, and 5 appointments to show prospective buyers a property will cost you a lot more than 1.

3. Good architecture will reach a higher price. As with all things people are willing to pay extra if they can appreciate the added value. For an agent this generally means a better profit.

4. Architects can help potential buyers visualize the possibilities inherent in a property. So many times we have had a client say to us after a presentation: “We would never have thought of that”.

5. Architects can point out existing danger signs ex. Cracks, waterproofing or damp problems. Chances are that you know at least one person who has in the past had a negative experience when buying a property. Use your appointments to actually build trust. Sometimes it’s OK if you tip the scale a little bit toward a particular property, but be as objective as possible and tell people what their options really are. 

6. Architects can also point out potential development issues. Some examples of these include heritage, traffic and zoning concerns. As I mentioned before, clients who are convinced that you are acting in their best interest and not just trying to sell them something are much more likely to invest through you. Try focusing on the war, not the battle.


If you would like a second a second opinion give us a call. No strings attached.

NERSA sets out Energy Saving Measures in Paper

The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has published a consultation paper with measures to encourage rapid and large scale implementation of energy savings, in line with government policy on energy efficiency. This is one of the short-term measures to address SA’s power supply constraints through reduction of electricity demand, instead of commissioning new capacity.

Nersa said the introduction of the government’s energy efficiency and demand-side management policy had necessitated the review of its energy efficiency and demand-side management rules.

The review follows a December Government Gazette notice in which Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said Nersa should develop rules for the implementation of energy efficiency and reduction of electricity demand through a financial incentive scheme and the installation of 1- million solar water heaters. The government wants to distribute these by 2014. 

You can read the rest of the article by SISEKO NJOBENI,  as published in Business Day,  2010/06/25, here

Department of Trade and Industry: Energy Compliant Buildings Now the Rule!

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has published amendments to energy efficiency regulations which make it compulsory for all new buildings to be designed to a standard that minimises energy use along stipulated lines. The regulations are applicable to all new "residential and commercial buildings, places of learning and worship, certain medical clinics and other categories of buildings", the department of trade and industry (DTI) said in a statement. The DTI said that the regulations would form “part of the deliverables of the National Energy Strategy that were identified in the Industrial Policy Action Plan to strengthen South African standards and regulations for energy efficiency, and would be finalised by the end of 2010.”

The new rules will make it compulsory for all new buildings to be designed and constructed to a standard that will make it possible for the user to minimise the energy required to meet the functional requirements," the statement said. DTI stated that different elements of the building "envelope", such as roofs and ceilings, walls and windows, would have to meet minimum requirements for preventing heat loss in winter, or heat gain in summer, to meet energy efficient targets.

The regulation* reads:

1. Buildings shall be designed and constructed so that buildings:

a. are capable of using energy efficiently while fulfilling the user needs in relation to vertical transport, if any, thermal comfort, lighting and hot water; or

b. have features and services which facilitate the efficient use of energy appropriate to their function and use, internal environment and geographical location

2. At least 50% by volume of the annual average hot water heating requirement shall be provided by means other than electrical resistance heating including but not limited to solar heating, pumps, heat recovery from other systems or processes and renewable combustible fuel.

3. The requirements of sub-regulation 1 shall be deemed to be satisfied when such building is designed and constructed in accordance with the following requirements:

a. Has an orientation, shading, services and building envelope in accordance with SANS 10400 Part XA; or

b. Is the subject of a rational design by a competent person, which demonstrates that the energy usage of such building is equivalent to or better than which would have been achieved by compliance with the requirements of SANS10400 XA, or

c. Has a theoretical energy usage performance determined using certified thermal calculation software, less than or equal to that of a reference building in accordance with SANS 10400 XA.

You can request a copy of the SANS 10400 XA draft here

*Government Gazette no. 33265 as published on 11 June 2010

Architectural Fees: How much is too much?

Whether haggling with a vendor in a third world country or sitting in an architect’s office the question remains the same, How much? The simpler the product or service on offer, the easier the question is to answer. For a street vendor selling soft drinks the price is determined by cost + overheads + profit. For a taxi driver offering a ride the price will either be based on previous trips along the same route or the meter reading. Consulting an architect regarding fees is unfortunately not as simple.

Architecture is an intricate process and most projects are unique meaning that reference to previous work is only useful to a certain extent. This is why prior to providing a fee proposal an architect will conduct a significant amount of research in an attempt to determine the amount of hours which will be necessary to complete a job successfully. That being said, there is a general guideline which is published by The South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP) which most architects will at least refer to. The tariff which is published in the Government Gazette is updated annually and is a recommendation and some architecture firms might choose to lower while others choose to inflate their fees. To view the tariff click here.

Municipal Electricity Hike

Municipal Users face a 60% higher increase than those faced by Eskom Users

Today,3 June 2010, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will host a public hearing into applications by those municipalities applying for tariff increases above the recommended guideline. These increases could be implemented from July 1 and the stakes for municipal consumers are high. NUS Consulting South Africa, an energy cost management consulting firm, which operates in 13 countries and serves over 10 000 clients, has warned that many South African municipal clients could end up paying substantially higher tariffs than Eskom clients.

Municipal users face an increase of 13,5c/ kWh, or more, which translates to a 60% higher increase in rand terms than those faced by Eskom's customers. GM Stephan Dolk has warned that, unless municipal increases are kept to below 20%, the disparity between an Eskom client and a municipal client could grow substantially.

"If municipalities increase their tariffs at the same rate as Eskom over the next five years, an Eskom client will be paying R1,34/kWh, while a municipal client will pay R2,06/kWh. On the other side of the playing field, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka, argues that Nersa is exceeding its mandate by ordering municipalities to cap electricity charges. Nersa maintains that its mandate and authority is premised on the Electricity Regulation Act of 2006, and has pointed in particular to section 4a (ii), which stipulates: "The Regulator must regulate prices and tariffs". 

According to Dolk the increasing brazenness of some municipalities towards Nersa's authority is of concern.

To read the full article by Terence Creamer, click here

To learn more about how we used solar technology at the Hofmeyr- Cohen residence, click here.

2 Rugby road, Oranjezicht

We recently helped Rolf and Janice make some alterations

to their home in Oranjezicht. They moved in last week.

Here's some shots that we thought you might like. We will

be posting some interior shots soon...

Click on the images for a larger view.

MALU Estate, Greyton

Mark Ridgeway recently approached us regarding a new development

on the farm Wittekop which is located in the mountains just outside

Greyton. The beautiful fynbos landscape gets its water from an under-

ground stream...the very same which is available under the Caledon label.

The brief: 7 Modern houses using sustainable methods of construction...

It almost seems too good to be true.

Click on the image for a larger view