I was first made aware of the unique building typologies in the Blue Downs area in the early 2020s. Central Blue eState and eHousing units certainly didn’t look like a conventional affordable housing project or subscribe to many of the unit design concepts I’m familiar with. I’ve been intrigued by the thinking behind the units and the design ever since.

When I met the Managing Director and Co-founder of Citra South Africa, Joel Bauer on site a couple of months ago and he confessed to being a listener to the podcast, I invited him and members of the team to reflect on the Citra journey and development philosophy.   What exactly was different and how does their thinking challenge the convention and principles of many affordable housing projects? How can those approaches translate into efficiencies and savings in costs to keep costs low and the selling price within reach of their target markets? This detailed conversation covers all of that and more, including an inspirational genesis story and reflections on the numerous challenges faced by a fledgling construction company that has a specific identity and construction process that didn’t quite fit the mould.

Recorded 1st December 2023