Going up to solve big housing challenge

BLUE sky thinking has led to Port Elizabeth property developer Johann Dreyer and his team at Direct Group Africa identifying the space above suburban homes as prime real estate.

“We know that most municipalities are faced with the challenge of providing services, schools, clinics, libraries and other facilities to communities whose homes are stretching further and further into the veld. Residents also suffer because they are being housed far away from centres of employment, hospitals and established schools,” he says.

One solution is to use modern building materials to build “flyover” homes – which effectively add a second storey to an existing house, but are separate.

The technology is a modular building system consisting of steelframed expanded polystyrene panels that has been developed over the past 10 years by the Direct Group for the African market.

“Our materials and system have passed all the required tests and have been accepted by the major banks,” he says.

The concept of the “fly over” homes came when the Direct Group was looking for suitable land on which to build in the townships around Port Elizabeth. “We found that much of the land is tied up in red tape, so we looked upwards – to the space above the existing houses.

“With “fly-over” homes being built using proven and accredited technology the main challenges have been regulatory and legal. Most of the legalities around ownership have been sorted out, and we have the support of municipalities.”

The housing package is aimed at families wanting to provide safe and comfortable homes to grown children, parents or grandparents. This allows the return to the traditional family structure where generations supported each other, says Dreyer.

Artist’s impression of fly-over housing.