Breathing new life into a historic building

ICON’s scope of works included a 15 m deep excavation to accommodate a five-storey basement

In October 2020, ICON was brought on board to execute the bulk earthworks and demolition phases ahead of the contruction of the new 12-storey Title Deeds Office in Johannesburg’s central business district.

Centred around a 120-yearold heritage building, the 85 Anderson Street site belongs to the Department of

Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and has been standing derelict for years. In its long history, the building has burned down twice. Despite this, however, the facade has remained largely intact.

The wider project, which is a partnership between the City of Johannesburg and the

DPWI, was awarded to GVK-Siya Zama

Building Contractors. ICON was appointed as the subcontractor for the demolition of various structures, and the establishment of a 15 m deep excavation.

Hand demolition

“The historic building’s walls were structurally unsound, and the brickwork had seriously deteriorated. In a most extraordinary process, these walls all had to be demolished by hand so that approximately 25 000 of the original bricks could be preserved. These then all had to be cleaned for reuse in the building’s reconstruction and refurbishment,” comments Wayne Neary, MD, ICON Group, adding that unusable bricks were crushed on-site and used as aggregate.

“It was also a major challenge to dig a 15 m basement right next to the heritage building. Although the building was stabilised, the ground conditions were somewhat unknown and we had to improvise and think on our feet,” Neary continues.

Several cherry pickers were brought to the site so that the workers could dismantle the walls from the top of the structure down. This mitigated against the walls potentially collapsing and enabled safe hand demolition. Using traditional heavy demolition machinery, three old derelict houses at the back of the site also had to be demolished to make way for the excavation of the five-storey basement.

“We are exceptionally proud to have worked on this development for the DPWI, and to have been provided with the opportunity to breathe new life into this historic building,” Neary concludes.

The project is expected to be completed in its entirety in about three years’ time. Demolition of three old derelict houses on the site using mechanical demolition techniques

Retaining the 120-year-old facade of the original building was a top priority