First-of-its-kind community centre constructed out of invasive alien plant material
A beautiful, first-of-its-kind community centre has been unveiled in Elandskloof near Citrusdal in the Western Cape on a community-owned farm. The Elandskloof community, who were dispossessed in 1962, had their land restored to them in […]
nonCrete featured on CNN International – in 7-minutes documentary entitled “Innovations that will shape our world””
Watch the full documentary here
Read our latest academic paper: Biomass concrete for low carbon buildings – A circular economy case study in South Africa – November 2025
For the full published paper, click here This paper presents a case study of a low carbon affordable building in South Africa, utilizing innovative biomass concrete for bricks, funicular floor and roof modules that are […]
Strength through Geometry and Material Effectiveness – the nonCrete Vaulted Indlovu Roof System
Indlovu /íⁿɮʱoːvu/ (noun, meaning Mighty Elephant in Xhosa; honorific title for Zulu kings) The Indlovu Floor is a rib-stiffened discrete funicular shell prefabricated with an unreinforced lightweight biomass concrete mix containing wood fibres from invasive […]
Curved-crease un-foldable formwork for sustainable vaulted floors in Cape Town
Unfold Form is a lightweight, compact, reusable formwork system that rapidly deploys a fan-like, corrugated, self-supporting formwork through curved-crease un-folding. It enables the construction of thin vaulted floors in unreinforced concrete. Introduction Unfold Form is […]
Cape Town-based nonCrete, partners offer fire-resistant building solutions
The Los Angeles fire disaster and the many devastating fires we regularly experience in South Africa are a powerful reminder of the need for fire-resistant building materials and methods across the housing and building spectrum, […]
Alien Invasive Biomass to Housing through Co-Design in South Africa
Millions of people are still awaiting their government-funded homes, and developing affordable, sustainable, dignified housing in South Africa remains an unrelenting need. Addressing this is a highly innovative collaboration between the Cape Town-based company nonCrete; […]
Trading Awareness – supporting informal trading within the community of Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town
A collaboration with residents of Imizamo Yethu, the Milano Politecnico (Italy) and nonCrete Download the full thesis “Trading Awareness” here South Africa is the nation with the highest social and economic inequality in the world […]