 Good evening and welcome to episode 375 of The Private Property Podcast. I'm your host, Ozanan Dunwan. It's the Tuesday edition of The Private Property Podcast and I do hope that if you join us for the first time, you are going to have a great time. You make sure that you go back to all the other incredible episodes that we've already had on the show to catch up on all the great content that you've already missed out on. And all our regular viewers on Facebook, on Instagram, as well as on YouTube, welcome to it. You know how we do every single weekday. You and I have an appointment at 7 p.m., where I'm always in conversation with the property expert who helps us make better property decisions. And it doesn't matter where you are at the property stage, we certainly are here to help you along the way. It's a Tuesday and certainly a Tuesday after a long weekend. But as I said last week, it's not a normal kind of long weekend. It wasn't one where you was supposed to have big days or go away. We were voting yesterday in the local general elections. I do hope that you had a smooth vote. And of course we are experiencing a post-election day outside trauma. And trauma because low trading is back on, fuel is going up. So just after the show, I literally have to go full up because I'm like, you know what, that's actually a huge difference. And so even if I save up just a little bit at this one time, I want to make sure that I can get that in. So there's quite a lot happening to us. I want to find out from you. Given that there's just so many things that are happening, so many things I'm having to deal with, and so many things that are affecting our pockets, what are some cost-saving things that you are starting to do, especially as we lead up to the festive season? And we know that post-festive season is January. And you know, the reality of having to pay school fees and uniform and all kinds of things. So what are you at home doing to be as many conscious as possible, save as much as possible? And even just be a conscious penny pincher. Because I think this is now that time when we need to save, we need to certainly be sharing any tips and tricks that we are using at home. Do show it to us down here, but I want to hear all about it. It doesn't have to be something that you do with property. So you want to get a sense of what you are doing at home. And of course, what you also know that we're doing here on private property is running an incredible competition where you stand a chance of walking away with 500 rands in cash every single weekday. And all you have to do to walk away with that cash is, of course, share with us some of the great advice that you've picked up on the show. This is, of course, on the post that is pinned on our Facebook page. So do share some love on a file from you, some of the great advice that you've picked up, and you stand a chance of walking away with that cash. And talking about walking away with stuff in different ways that you can interact with us. You know that you can, of course, go to our Facebook page, and every single weekday at 8 p.m., you can catch other incredible shows. It's a Tuesday in Bali Naga will be bringing you the form in podcast later on at 8. And she's also on your screens every Thursdays at the same time. Tonight she's going to be looking at growing potatoes from a bag. I'm actually looking forward to that because I'm trying to grow. I want to grow potatoes. I find that the soil I have here, too many rocks. So sometimes it doesn't work too great. So that's a show you can look forward to. And every Wednesdays, Isti Klassen brings you the first time home buyers show. And Mondays and Fridays, you can catch Chad on the Home Shoppers show. Those are the great shows that we have here on private property across our social media pages every single weekday at 8 p.m. And then, of course, it's very simple. Some of them are common on your screens every single weekday at 7 p.m. And this evening, we're looking at container home developments in South Africa. We're going to look at the stage of these container home developments in different ways that they're also being used. Because I've seen really incredible and innovative ways that they're being used, supplementing bricks and water that we're used to using other elements and looking also some of the advantages of going this route versus the conventional method that we are used to. And to always get a good sense of this, I'm joined by Ayla Davidson, owner, professional, senior architectural technologist at Port Architectural Design. Ayla, good evening, and thank you so much for joining us on the show. Hi, thanks. Thanks for having me on the show today. It's only a pleasure, Ayla. I think a great starting point would be your insight on, I'll say where the state of container home developments in South Africa is. Because I think it's one of those things that is certainly on the rise right now. And we've seen more and more of it. And some people are still not quite sure what is happening. What is not happening? Is this actually something that also structurally will be sound? And I can put my money and I know that it will be in good use. So perhaps first to start with the overall context of where we are when it comes to container home developments rather in South Africa. Yeah, so unfortunately, South Africa is a bit behind. The trend is definitely gaining traction though. I think there is, as you said, a lot of misconception about container homes. So there's a lot of myths out there. A lot of, as you said, people don't understand how this type of building structure works. So they sort of shy away from it. So it is gaining momentum, as I say, but if we are still a bit behind. So my company, we've actually been around for a few years and we're trying to show people what container homes are all about and what you can do with container homes. And I think when we look at the uptake from consumers, what have been some of their concerns? I mean, as you pointed out that we are a bit on the slower side when it comes to the uptake. I know that different parts of the world, this is already sort of the status quo in many ways to the point where some of them aren't even considering sort of bricks and mortar. What would you say is part of our hesitancy to explore this even better when you look at container homes? Well, I think the biggest question we always get asked is, and there's never a silly question. So I love it when people ask me about the container homes. So what we always get asked is, well, it's essentially a metal box. What about hot and cold temperatures? But I think people need to remember that we still have to apply building code in South Africa. So whatever we do, no matter what construction method, we will then apply that building code to it. So the containers are insulated. So you don't have to worry about having a super hot box in summer and then it being freezing in winter. So I think that's one of our biggest questions that we get asked. And then after that, we get asked about the price mainly, because I think that's one of the biggest concerns for people is affordability here. And we'll get to pricing later, because I think you really want to first get a sense of how this works. What are some of the advantages of using this instead of just normal bricks and mortar that we're used to? And of course, there are various ways that it gets incorporated, because I've also seen incredible mentions on privateproperty.co.today that when you look at it, there's a nice combination of, we'll say, the container component and still elements of great use of steel, great use of bricks and certain components. So it's also not a every single component of the house has to necessarily be a container home. We have home taking, your comments, your questions. As we explore the container home developments in South Africa, and of course wanting to see who is watching, who's marking the register, and of course, what you are doing at home to save as much as possible. What are your penny-pinching tips and tricks? Because we are all collectively going through a lot financially. Petrol is going up literally just after the trying to go full up. I think I'm sitting on about 120 kilometers, and I was like, let's actually get it to a full tank, and it will make that little bit difference. Because we know that even if it can be a little, you want to feel as though you've certainly saved up as much as possible. So that's certainly what I am up to at home. I want to find out more from USC, Obalesa, Solana, watching, sending those green hearts, Cindy Stimmett also watching. But we see we're simply at too much as also dropping ourselves in love. If it is Mansooni, Victoria, absolutely loving that. Keep the love, keep those green hearts coming. We really, really do love to see it. Now, I think one of the other big things that I want us to explore then is around the different ways that container homes ultimately can kind of not even look like in terms of the output, but the various ways that it gets used. So as I was saying earlier, we know it doesn't always have to be like the whole home as a container home. You know, what it means in some creative ways, and especially from an architectural perspective, that gets used to incorporate that in the house that you would want in the house that you are building. Yeah, so like you said, it's actually great with the containers is that you can use that as your starting points and then incorporate steel or timber or even brick and mortar in elements of that. And then you kind of create this contrasting house or building and structure. So what we mainly do is we use the containers for smaller sections of the build or more private sections of the build. And then we start to look at your more open plan spaces with alternative methods like timber or steel work just to expand on the containers. So as you say, it's a nice starting point that we then build out from. And I think when we look at that, then the question, you know, can easily be why even go the container because in as much as you may use that for, as you're saying, for the more private parts of the, you know, of the whole, you could easily just, you know, have it be bricks and mortar in those, you know, those areas as well. So what is the appeal with having this as part of the home? And sometimes even being a very big part of the home because with some properties, they make it quite a huge part of how they build that particular house. Yeah, that's actually such a good question because so with the container homes, I think the biggest appeal is that people do want something different. And we've been fortunate enough to have clients that have built a section or most of their house with containers. And then you'll be sitting in the lounge and there will be this beautiful corrugated cheating in the living room. So they want to express the containers. And then the biggest aspect of it is that you do save a lot of time and the sustainability of building with the container. So I think that's probably the biggest drive is people want to build with something different. And then that sustainable aspect of it, you know, South Africans are very aware of the environment and what building methods have a low impact going forward. And when we then look at container homes, is there any sort of special approval that is needed? Or are you building it sort of the same way as you typically would a normal home and going through the exact same approvals with council and making sure that plans are approved? Or is there a different step that has to be taken? You know, you were saying earlier that in South Africa, you obviously build for code. So is there anything that is special that has to be done sort of over and above what typically gets done when you build a different kind of house? Yeah, so it's the same approval process in essence, but there is a lot more involved in it because especially when we start dealing with municipalities that maybe haven't had any container homes in the area, we have to, as a professional team, which would include an engineer as well, we have to show council that these buildings will work and they are in the long run, they will work as a home and a habitable dwelling. So there is more involved in it from your professional team, but the essential process of getting approval stays the same, like adhering to building code at the end of the day. I am this evening in conversation with Eilidh Demirzon, a professional senior architectural technologist at Porsche Architectural Design. We're talking about container home developments in South Africa. When I find out from you, if you add this part of, we'll say type of building your home, so have a component that uses container homes, then we've seen exquisite pictures and I absolutely love seeing them on private property.co.z. That makes use of containers when building a mansion. Sometimes it's one aspect of it and sometimes it could be, for instance, where the bedrooms are going to be and they really are interesting ways that it gets used. The colors that you also tend to find because there's a steel component, there's a timber component, certainly a brick component. It's always really fascinating and of course looks absolutely incredible. And I find out from your home, would this also be a read that you would consider? And if there is perhaps even drop some pictures down here, look some really great houses that use this that you've seen on our website that you think, look, this actually looks absolutely amazing. I want to see what you come up with because we see it quite a lot. I think this is one of those trends that's certainly picking up.