Preface

Due to the success of the first issue of South African House Plans, it was decided to publish a second book with a new range of house plans by the inhouseplans.com architects.

We have always maintained that only a few people in South Africa can afford the services of a suitably qualified architect to design a once-off dream house for their specific spatial and aesthetic requirements. Uninformed people are often amazed at the cost of employing an architect. The fact is that it is a time-consuming, complicated process, performed by a highly trained professional, often with many years of experience.

According to The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture, there were only 8.9 registered architects per 100 000 people in South Africa in 2008. In comparison, a country such as Australia has 57.14 architects per 100 000 people, Argentina 108.4, Brazil 43.8, Egypt 26.7 and Singapore 34.0.

Due to a growing South African economy, as well as an increasing demand for housing, especially in light of the huge and positive impact of Black Economic Empowerment, there are simply not enough architects in South Africa to meet the demand in the residential market.

In 2002, the company inhouseplans (Pty) Ltd launched the first e-commerce website in South Africa to sell building plans and it is based at www.inhouseplans.com. The website displays standard house plans in different floor areas and styles. The building plans of a house can be ordered at a huge discount and delivered by courier within five days. Various architects, all of whom are registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (SACAP), have designed the plans, which comply with National Building Regulations and are ready for approval at a local authority. Since 1 July 2006, all persons practising architecture or submitting building plans to local authorities within South Africa are obliged to register with the SACAP and certify the plans.

The inhouseplans.com philosophy is that there are a large number of people who want to build a house, but do not have the resources to employ an architect. They often end up with a poorly designed house by someone who is not properly qualified. The result is a bad investment, which has a negative impact on their quality of life due to poor planning.

The inhouseplans.com website has proved to be tremendously popular. The concept, which has been common practice for many years in the USA, has quickly caught on in South Africa. The sale of standard building plans is growing fast and is also becoming popular in neighbouring states such as Zambia and Botswana.

South African House Plans 2 includes a collection of traditional styles and themed styles, as well as contemporary architecture. For ease of reference, the plans in this book have been arranged according to size, beginning with the smallest house plan.

We trust that this book will be widely used by people planning to build a house or who just wish to browse for ideas. The full set of building plans for the majority of designs in this book may be ordered from inhouseplans.com. Please find an order form and full instructions on the last page of the book. Alternatively, visit www.inhouseplans.com to order plans online.