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Lower costs than is possible with traditional building techniques have resulted in the
Hydraform building system frequently being used for social housing projects.
a fishing village
Rebuilding
A
typical example of this sort of project began in the
Angolan fishing village Equimina in 2012. The village was
selected by the government of Benguela Province as a
pilot programme to establish if it is possible to build low-
cost housing on a small budget without compromising
quality.
The Equimina development consists of 66 units intended
to replace the shacks that people of the area had
occupied until then. Each home was built to a design
template specifying three bedrooms, a bathroom,
kitchen and living area over an area of 104m
2
.
The initial project time was specified as six months.
However, alterations to the project plan along with the
time needed to recruit and train a local work force
extended this by around six weeks. At its productive
peak, the site employed almost 100 people, 70% of
whom were from the local community.
The local government has declared itself satisfied with
the result of the pilot programme and intends to use
Hydraform technology for most of the 1 240 houses it
needs to build in the province.
Case Study: Africa
Angola