With rolling blackouts nationwide, Johannesburg residents having no water for days on end, and COP26 in the background highlighting the climate crisis the world is in, it’s no wonder green buildings are having a moment.
When we discussed green buildings years ago, they were seen as fringe and they certainly weren’t going to be on the cover of a property magazine.
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Yet, today, they are front-page news as the world grapples with not only how to live sustainably, but also more gently, on this planet. Crisis after crisis is highlighting why we should look at going off the grid and having water-wise homes.
We’ve also seen kitchen gardens become popular during the Covid pandemic, with people realising they can’t always rely on food systems, and many calling on that “weird” cousin or friend living in the sticks to ask how they actually live so well without electricity and a shopping centre close by.
The term “climate refugee” is also being bandied about, making people observe more closely where they are buying homes and how safe they will be from the inevitable rising sea levels and other climate change issues.
Developers are also cottoning on and green buildings are all the rage, meaning homes built today will certainly be better proofed against the elements and badly-run entities in the future.