DURBAN - The look and feel of South Africa’s future housing and neighbourhoods will take centre stage at the Off-the-Wall Human Settlements Showcase.
The event in Pretoria on February8 and 9, a first for the country, is part of a process to develop and adopt the Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Human Settlement (STI 4 SHS) road map due for completion in September this year.
The road map sets out a 10-year plan for co-ordinated investment and collaboration between key partners, recognising the demand for alternative and innovative technologies in the built environment to help achieve citizens’ rights to adequate housing and improved quality of life.
The Off-the-Wall Human Settlements Showcase will be hosted by the Department of Science and Technology’s entity, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and other partners such as the Department of Human Settlements, that are involved in the development of the road map.
The department said global risks such as climate change, environmental degradation and resource depletion required governments to rethink how resources are managed, and STI 4 SHS is aimed at using science, technology and innovation to respond to these risks.
The event will feature exhibitions and pitching sessions. Entrepreneurs, innovators and industry will use the opportunity to showcase new ideas for future houses and neighbourhoods.
Selected projects will be featured in a book, while all exhibited innovations will be documented in a register, which forms part of the broader road- mapping initiative.
CSIR project leader and senior researcher Peta de Jager said the event would feature a two-day open-air fair environment at which technologies could be demonstrated and discussed with human settlement stakeholders from the public and the private sectors.
There would also be public lectures on innovative building technologies and the protection of intellectual property, among other topics, she said.
“The event also aims to initiate discussions with potential investors and collaborators for the STI 4 SHS road-map project,” said De Jager.