Season of Hope

With global belt-tightening, and the fact that SA is most certainly suffering the effects, the outlook for 2009 is not auspicious. One could say that the future is not what it used to be; and yet? Most imagined that 2008 was going to be a good year but it began with the Eskom debacle, progressed through the political machinations within the ruling party and ended with the global melt-down. Can 2009 be worse?

Likely it could be, and – yet again? High-end properties are still selling at high-end prices; architects, designers and decorators are signing up new projects and it’s so far so good with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s all a matter of perception: positivity vs. negativity. Am I trying to paint a rosy picture? Of course I am; it’s that time of year and in any event I am a confirmed optimist.

Certainly 2009 will be a year in which to spend carefully, consider all options and generally take stock. May it turn out to be better than we imagine.

Crowded Planet

ARCHITECTURE ‘09 – the focus of this issue – concentrates particularly on the sustainability of our globe and how best to place built structure upon its already crowded surface. Key comment here was sourced from several South African architects, some of whom attended the World Architectural Forum in Barcelona last October.

What is very apparent at this stage is that the eco / greening of architecture, and the systems that maintain optimum conditions within the residential environment, come at a price. Up to 7% on a large project and likely 10% on a single residence is no small factor in a recessive environment; however, such costs should reduce as sustainability becomes more a necessity than de rigueur.

Top Rated

Congratulations to Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Real Estate who entered the CNBC awards again in 2007 and garnered two Five Star Awards – one for Best Real Estate Agency and the other for Best Property Marketing in SA (we hope Habitat assisted in this regard). Further, LGSIR has been invited to represent Africa in the World Championships to be held in the USA; the first ever SA estate agency to do so.

Errata:

We incorrectly credited Shaun Lockyer for the photography in ‘Hamilton Harbour House’ in issue 208 (Nov / Dec); the images are in fact those of Scott Burrows.

Colin Ainsworth Sharp
November 2008

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