Travel and Trade: A Blog for Design Lovers and Adventurers in South Africa and Beyond.
Explore the beauty and diversity of South Africa and its surroundings, and meet the local entrepreneurs and artisans who create amazing products and stories. Travel and trade is a concept that blends tourism and culture, giving you a rich and unforgettable experience in this stunning continent. From architecture to art, from vintage cars to African decor, our blog will inspire you with every post.
TWO PASSIONATE BROTHERS ARCHITECTURE ARE PROTECTIVE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Strey Architects, an award winning architectural firm, conceived by Friedrich and Johann Strey. The two brothers strive to create comfortable, and balanced spaces; all the while never losing sight of earth’s fragile environment and its limited resources. The Strey brother’s creative endeavours are not limited to environment friendly architecture; their impressive portfolios also include green Interiors and Furniture Designs. The Strey brothers are based in South Africa, and boast an impressive international portfolio that includes: America, Australia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana and Angola.
Years ago whilst still living in California, I mentioned to a developer friend of mine, that someone should fill the void and construct twin homes side by side, for the ultra trendy “LAT dwellers” (living together alone) of the word, and call it a He/She home. So when I saw this “Twin Home” design by Strey Architects, I felt somewhat vindicated that my idea was not so “out there”, after all. I totally love this design, and it is ideal for those “living together alone” advocates.
Friedrich Strey earned a Bachelors of Architecture at the University of Pretoria in 1997, where he was often the top student of his class, and recipient of many prizes and awards.
A Merit Award for Architecture from the South African Institute for Architects.
An Honorary Mention for Architecture from the South African Institute for Architects.
An Award of Merit from the Pretoria Institute of Architecture.
Friedrich spends a lot of his time researching, lecturing and writing articles on the subjects of sustainability in architecture and passive design. He attends most conferences and exhibitions and has lectured on pre-manufactured building systems and sustainability at Decorex 2008, with Nosizo Sebake (a researcher) at the CSIR https://www.csir.co.za
Johann earned a B.Sc of Architecture in 2004 and a Masters of Architecture at the University of Pretoria in 2006. Johann shared his passion of sailing yachts & architecture with his brother Friedrich, and spent 5 years working on motor yachts in The States, before pursuing his studies in architecture. Johann and Friedrich have become a formidable team of architects, often taking architectural students under their wing, exposing them to good design principals and detailing.
“The earth’s resources are limited, but the amount of people increase day-by-day. We believe in leaving the resources we enjoy on earth today for the generations after us to enjoy, as well. We, therefore, always take cognisance of what we do when we conceive new projects. We achieve this through implementing Passive Design and Sustainable Design principals by default in all our projects. Through research, experimentation and implementation, we have become a valuable source of information as ‘Green’ architects, which we incorporate into all our projects. We can also act as consultants on various ‘Green’ aspects.”
“For architects to grow and be able to, always improve their services, they have to push the boundaries of design sometimes. We have embarked on the development, and collaboration with companies which research, develop, build and erect pre-manufactured and hybrid building, made form ‘alternative’ materials ranging from timber, Light Gauge Steel (LGS), Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), pre-cast concrete and other new technologies. We believe that there is no, ONE solution for different climatic zones, building types and cultures and, therefore, believe that an off-site hybrid Manufacturing process is the solution. We also cross use materials and ideas from other industries, also appropriate in the making of a building, lending strongly from the yachting industry.”
“Finally we believe that good design should be accessible to everyone and not only a privilege for the rich. We believe in the upliftment of the poor, uneducated, uninformed & under privileged through good architecture and design. We believe that pre-manufactured construction methods and it’s proven cost saving, quality and means of delivery, is a means to provide the under privileged and inaccessible with good solid buildings of a high standard.”
