EMPOWER SHACK

MOHAMED ABUTHALIB | MEASI ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE

INTTRODUCTION

EMPOWER SHACK BY URBAN

THINK TANK

EMPOWER SHACK
Cape Town, South Africa
FIRM -Urban-Think Tank
TYPE -Residential › Multi Unit Housing
STATUS -Built YEAR 2016
Urban-Think Tank has completed the next phase of its Empower Shack project, bringing safe low-cost housing to residents of
South Africa's informal settlements.

The design strategy collective first started studying Khayelitsha, Cape Town's second largest township, in 2012 and designed and
built the first four prototypes alternative slum housing two years later.
This year Urban-Think Tank added another 16 units as part of their larger goal to demonstrate an adaptable method of
designing safe and accessible housing units within urban plans

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PROJECT AIM

Through the Reconstruction and
Development Program (RDP), first
announced in 1994, the South African
government has subsidised home-building
for citizens. Although it has built over four
million units, there are still huge shortages.
The city of Cape Town recently estimated
there to be a housing backlog of 350,000 in
the city. However, in October 2017, critics
suggested that at the current growth rate
in Khayelitsha, a township on the Cape
Flats, residents will have to wait 60 years
for a house.
Brillembourg's idea is to transform the
slum shacks themselves into durable
houses. If successful, it could be replicated
across the country, helping to alleviate its
housing crisis.
The Empower Shack aims to solve these problems.
The low cost buildings occupy a smaller portion of
the usual slum dwelling footprint, leaving fire break
spaces that give emergency services easy access.
The dwellings are arranged around a sanitation
core, providing water and toilets on site. A second
storey or even a third can be added if required, to
accommodate different family sizes.
The denser accommodation means land is used
more efficiently and guarantees residents can
remain at the same site, keeping community ties
intact. Community members who live in the
Empower Shack's become long-term stakeholders in
the project

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 SITE PLAN 3D VISUALIZATION

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PLANING

With this original shack serving as a demonstration of

the concept's viability, U-TT has now built 24
buildings, called “Empower Shacks”, with plans to
eventually complete 72. The two-storey structures
have permanent footprints and are built back-to-back
and side-to-side in dense, terrace-like rows. They are
built in eight different sizes, with core sanitation and
kitchen facilities which can then be upgraded over
time according to residents' preference and financial
capability.
The units are available in six sizes ranging between 38-
square-metres and 84-square-metres, and are priced
accordingly, with a mean construction price of ZAR
160,000 (£9,494). This price corresponds with a subsidy
offered by the government in a lump sum to households
that qualify.
Residents currently pay a net average of 14 per cent of
the construction cost through a micro-finance
programme, based on the footprint of the shack and
household affordability assessments.
In the long term, Urban-Think Tank hopes it influence
government housing policy and provide access to diverse
housing for South Africa's gap market

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 DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNITS

The concept
Initially intended simply as a double-storey shack upgrade with galvanised zinc sheeting and a timber frame, the
concept has since evolved into a far more permanent structure, explains Bolnick. “Following engagements with the
City of Cape Town, the design typology was amended to include concrete block walls as fire breaks as well as a
concrete floor to divide the vertical structure instead of a wooden one to increase its fire resistance properties,” she
states.

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SECTIONAL VIEW

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EXTERIOR VIEWS

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INNER VIEWS

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 FINAL BRIEF OF THE PROJECT

Product description
The Empower Shack is a dwelling designed by Urban Think Tank in collaboration with Ikhayalami. It is made out of materials such as wood and iron
sheeting, and can be self-built. It has two storeys, but it could be expanded to three. The vertical building has a smaller footprint than typical
informal houses.
The project aims to be scalable and applicable to answer South Africa’s housing shortage. It is on its pilot phase focusing within BT Section of
Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
The project also focuses on developing the neighborhoods, and planning for infrastructure such as public spaces, roads and courtyards. It aims to
be comprehensive, covering participatory spatial planning, ecological landscape management and integrated livelihoods programming.
*Please note that building designs are being included as “products” in the Habitat Sector of the Solutions Library to allow readers to learn from how
projects were designed and constructed and how they are serving the occupants, whether effective or ineffective.
Target region(s)
Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa
Distributors/implementing organizations
Urban Think Tank (UTT) in partnership with Ikhayalami
Market suggested retail price
The approximated cost of a unit is 11,600 USD (11,557.20 USD) Converted on August 2018. The units are subsidized at 60% of the construction
cost. Some residents have Land Release Credit, which means they will pay between 0 and 30% of the construction cost if they relinquish land for
the project. The percentage depends on the household choice and the previous shack house.
Competitive landscape
Primary competitors in the area of the project include one storey buildings made of iron sheeting and wood frame.
SDG targeted
Goal 1: No poverty
Goal 1: Sustainable cities and communities
Target user(s)
People living in informal settlements or slums in South African cities

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 REFRENCE

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/12/28/empower-shack-urban-think-tank-low-cost-housing-khayelitsha-
south-africa/

https://architizer.com/projects/empower-shack/

https://dac.dk/en/knowledgebase/architecture/empower-shack/

https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/family-business-empower-shack-in-khayelitsha-near-
cape-town-south-africa-by-urban-think-tank-and-eth-zurich

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/120963939975786162/

https://apolitical.co/en/solution_article/slums-in-south-africa-are-beating-the-housing-crisis-b
building-extra-storeys

MEASI ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTURE