EVENTS
BLOCH presented at the 2017 Wood Conference has travelled around South Africa and returned to Cape Town, before departing for Israel.
Continued from page 12
generally lack qualifications, skill and experience, they
have no networks or there is no work available. The result
is that many people find themselves without work within
the settlements without sight of the life they inspire
to have.
Looking at ancient villages and what they offered, they
offered all the things that people living there needed and
only the essential parts were included – simple living
places built to cook and prepare food and social activities
with space for domestic animals and space to look after
children and care for the elderly.
Conditions were built around families and growing food.
Some places in Africa today still use this model as well as
many parts around the world. There is access to natural
resources such as timber to build and to burn for heat and
cooking. “Looking at a `green society`, this model ticks all
of the boxes because there is low energy consumption and
low waste. As cities grew the design remained consistent,
there were crops, natural resources, better collection
points and people lived more socially than just existing,”
Rabie said.
So, was it just a coincidence that from the early stages of
history that this model was used all around the world
almost as though it is an imprinted instinct within us?
“This perhaps is just a concept but getting a pilot project
going to evaluate its potential success is possible and
achievable,” Rabie ended.
CLOSING
Ending off with some questions and answers with the
speakers, Garny closed off the conference thanking all
attendees and wished them well for the future, he invited
everyone back for the 2019 wood conference next year.
14 APRIL / MAY 2018 //
Roger Kuratle saying a few words at the private function held
after the conference.
A WORD FROM THE ORGANISER
Organiser Zaida Davids comments, ”I was pleased to see
that there have been many newcomers to this event. The
general feedback from delegates has been great with the
exception from a few but we cannot please everyone.
Many delegates found that this conference is in line
with what is currently trending in the timber
construction industry.”
COMMENT FROM ATTENDEES
A quick thank you note to you Zaida and her team for
organising such a successful event.
It was most informative as well as very enjoyable and I
appreciated your attention to detail in all aspects. It also
opened my eyes to the use and application of wood in the
design and construction industry – JG Kemp Architects CC.
Please note this is a shortened version of the conference day.
To view the full conference article, please visit:
www.buildingafrica.co.za where you will find a summary
of all the speaker's presentations.