eThekweni Municipality is synonymous with its Marianhill Landfill waste to energy programme. But the City of Durban should also be credited for its sustainable development, and is particularly proud of its Water and Sanitation Customer Service centre – a state-of-the-art green building developed by the City Architects. Corobirk also played a big role in the construction of this building, with the use of special low embodied energy clay bricks. “Clay brick is extremely versatile and compatible with complementary green building methods and design fundamentals. Importantly, clay brick has mineral properties recognised for meeting all necessary requirements for healthy living, providing noise insulation and no release of toxic gases,” explains Dirk Meyer, Managing Director: Corobrik. Other green components of the building include a urine diversion system – using phosphates derived from urine from waterless urinals for processing into fertilizer, tanks that collect groundwater and rainwater, and non-lead bearing brickwork.