Urbanite Construction 

 

Background: 

• Just like stone construction, except one uses chunks of old waste concrete  

• Local urbanite is collected and sourced from demolition and dump sites. The urbanite can be broken up and sorted using locally sourced unskilled labour. 

• This building technique supports skills transfers and entrepreneur initiatives. 

 

Benefits: 

• Minimizes the use of new concrete. 

• Is a very low maintenance material. 

• Aesthetically pleasing and ages very well, looking like stone of first appearance. 

• Can be used to clean up the environment, by harvesting urbanite from illegal dumps. 

• Reduces the amount of waste going into landfill sites and reduces and can help to clean up illegal dumping in the environment 

• Turns waste into a resource. 

• Similarly to stone, it will have a high thermal mass, which can be used to buffer the extremes of temperature. 

• Can be used to create extra jobs at a local level. 

 

 

Technical Information: 

• Properly built urbanite is an extremely durable material. 

• Urbanite has a high thermal mass, which can be used to buffer the extremes of temperature. 

 

 

Company Track record/examples of work: 

• Alterations & Additions to House Bezuidenhout - Pinelands, Cape Town, 2012– 2013 

• OR Tambo Narrative & Enviro Centre – consulting, Leeupan, Johannesburg, 2011 - 2012