INNOVATIVE DESIGN MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CONTROL CASE STUDY: NELSON MANDELA BAY METROPOLE – SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Intensive end-user research in the “Affordable Housing Sector” in R.S A. became necessary to find ways to counter ever increasing delivery costs and still satisfy preferences, quality and affordability. Research has to be followed up by innovative designs and lower cost and faster construction methods without forfeiting quality and aesthetics. Land cost and density design balanced with environmental quality became of utmost importance in any sustainable development. The same accounts for locality to achieve neighbourhood revitalization. A typical example is the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole in South Africa where 100,000 dwellings need to be constructed in3-5 years to wipe out the back-log. The amount of data relating to a single dwelling is vast and with a large development even more significant. Traditionally the data is stored in diverse locations, for example, with government authorities, architects or other professionals, a developer, sub-contractor, conveyancer, financial institution or owner. Substantial delays and inefficiency result if existing data cannot be accessed rapidly, or at all. An electronic spatial process and data control system that is uniquely and physically associated with a particular house was successfully developed to address most of the problems we experienced.