voa标准英语2008-South Africa Experiments With Houses Made of San

Builders in South Africa have begun construction on a new type of housing for low-income families. The buildings look like conventional homes, but the walls are made with sandbags. Architects say their experimental design is quicker and easier to build. For VOA, Terry FitzPatrick reports from Cape¹ Town.

South Africa builds about 250,000 houses for the poor, every year. But 10 homes going up in Freedom Park are a radical² departure from standard construction practices.
　

Construction of a sandbag home in South Africa

"This is a drawing plan which we use for construction," said Luyanda Mpahlwa of MMA Architects, who was commissioned by a Cape Town foundation, called the Design Indaba, to develop new ideas for low-cost homes.

"We had to be creative, in terms of finding a different way of building. Because we're all comfortable to say this is how you build today and we don't challenge ourselves to find alternative methods," added Mpahlwa.

The design team's first innovation was to move beyond the standard floor plan of a single-story home. The new layout has two floors. A living room, kitchen and bath are downstairs. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a balcony. Mpahlwa says the 581 square feet of living space is bigger and better than the low-income homes South Africa has been building.

"We are trying to introduce the element of dignity in low-cost housing. Now, as architects we've got the challenge to apply our trade to improve the lives of people. But, at the same time, we should provide good quality for the people, so that they have a decent house," said Mpahlwa.

The building's most unusual innovation comes from a small factory, a few miles away. Frameworks for the homes are pre-fabricated at a company called Eco Beam and then shipped to the construction site. Mike Tremeer developed the wood-and metal framework design.

"I think it makes it easy to build. It's extremely fast. It's ideal for situations where you have no infrastructure," said Tremeer.

Once the frame goes up on site, the walls are filled-in with 3,500 sandbags. Tremeer says sandbags are strong and durable³. And, to keep costs down, community members fill the bags, themselves, at the building location.

"It adds so much value to someone's property, if they've actually had an input⁴ in actually being able to help to build that house. And, this is an opportunity for people to actually do that. We can use extremely unskilled labor," said Tremeer. "Once the framework is up, it's just a matter of filling in the gaps."

The 10 experimental sandbag homes will be occupied by families who have been living in shacks⁵. Construction is being financed by private donors⁶. The project recently won the prestigious⁷ Curry⁸ Stone architectural award from the University of Kentucky, in the United States. But it is not clear if South African officials will adopt the sandbag concept for other housing developments. The architects estimate each home will cost about $10,000 to build. That is more than expected and is twice the price of a conventional low-income house in South Africa.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

4 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

5 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

6 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

8 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。