Construction World December 2022

ARCHITECTS

THABA ECOVILLAGE RESIDENTIAL, LIFESTYLE CENTRE ANDMONTESSORI SCHOOL

B a lwi n Proper t i es has l ong been recogni sed as a l eader i n the res i dent i a l green bu i l d i ng space , and now i t s C l as s i c co l l ect i on deve l opment s are tak i ng the green bu i l d i ng to new he i ght s . A l l target i ng EDGE advanced apar tment s and GBCSA 6 Star Green Star New Bu i l d and Net Zero Carbon rat i ngs for the i r l i fest yl e cent res and Montes sor i ’s . Ba lwi n a ims to be the l ead i ng deve l oper i n the res i dent i a l market . Thaba -Eco v i l l age recent l y won the I nternat i ona l Proper t i es Award for best Apar tment and Archi tecture Mu l t i p l e Res i dence for South Af r i ca . Thaba -Eco V i l l age i s nest l ed at the foot o f the K l i p R i v i er s nature reser ve o f fer i ng the home -owner s and l i fest yl e cent re v i s i tor s to ut i l i se the 300 hectares nature reser ve for hi k i ng , runni ng and cyc l i ng . The res i dent i a l b l ocks , cons i st i ng o f a mi x o f 1 , 2 , and 3 bedrooms are care f u l l y des i gned to mi nimi se i t s carbon footpr i nt and opt imi se the human sca l e o f each b l ock . The l i fest yl e cent re and Montes sor i are s i tuated on a separate secured prec i nct a l l owi ng the pub l i c to v i s i t the ameni t i es o f fered . Ba lwi n Proper t i es CEO, Steve Brooks , says that

the C l as s i c Co l l ect i on deve l opment s are c l ose to hi s hear t as he sees them pav i ng the way to the South Af r i can dream o f a home for ever yone . “We be l i eve they are the obv i ous cho i ce for home -buyer s who want to manage the i r carbon footpr i nt and reduce energy consumpt i on . They are a f fordab l y pr i ced and meet the expectat i ons o f a growi ng number o f buyer s who st r i ve to be env i ronmenta l l y consc i ous .” By expos i ng ever y green i nter vent i on and mak i ng i t par t o f the aesthet i c , as opposed to submerg i ng i t i n the fabr i c o f the bu i l d i ng and sur round i ng l andscape , i t s va l ue and impor tance are shared wi thi n the communi t y. The concept fore f ront s green des i gn as a l i v i ng pr i nc i p l e that wi l l i n f l uence greater awarenes s and u l t imate l y change behav i our. T i ed i nto the concept i s the urban des i gn o f the deve l opment , whi ch p l aces impor tance on wa l kab i l i t y wi thi n purpose -p l anned green be l t s , pocket parks , and nature reser ve i n and around the estate to encourage outdoor act i v i t y wi thi n the communi t y. Up to 30% o f the overa l l proj ect i s used for the deve l opment o f pocket parks and wa l kways

STRIP H: ALLIED CRANE

86 21 st Best Project Awards 2022