To Build - Issue 21 - July - October 2017

To Build Handbook

Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

Cover Story: Reynaers Aluminium Africa Architecture Awards

issue 21 | July – October 2017

Climate Control – Smart Homes Coming full circle

Issue 21 • July – October 2017

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foreword In any environment, the drivers for change are constantly changing, as the conversations change. This is true for the drivers in the energy efficiency space.

When South Africa first felt the effects of the energy crisis – with the cost of energy increasing 100% over three years - the driver for change was embraced by a wider audience. Although South Africa no longer experiences regular load shedding, the awareness must remain. Government has expressed their new conversations in their latest strategy and policy documents.

In response, the Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency (SAEE) has become the SAEE Confederation. The conversation has changed from one of energy efficiency to energy management, from energy crisis to carbon reduction.

What does this mean?

Lisa Reynolds President SAEEC

The SAEE Confederation is the umbrella body under which associations with similar goals and outlooks is housed. The fundamentals of the original SAEE have been merged with those of the new division associations. Currently, the divisions forming part of the SAEE Confederation are: • MVCSA – Measurement and Verification • SAFEE – Females in Energy Efficiency • ESCO – Energy Services Companies • TIPSASA -Thermal Insulation Products and Services Association, and • Which other association/s in the energy management space?

Who is the SAEE Confederation?

The SAEE Confederation advocates collaboration in the continuous improvement and implementation of energy management, in support of sustainable development among its divisions, affiliates, members and energy consumers.

It works with government, the private sector, research institutions, other organisations and energy professionals through information sharing, networking, sharing of best practice, recognition awards and an annual conference and exhibition to support the Energy Efficiency Strategy, Climate Change Mitigation and socioeconomic development in South Africa.

SAEE Conference

Every year SAEE holds a Conference at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg, hosting presentations from experts who cover subjects such as: climate change, environment, co-generation, tri-generation and regeneration, energy management and energy management standards, energy efficiency in buildings, ESCO’s, financing and incentives, government, municipal, industrial, commercial and mining energy efficiency, international perspectives, measurement and verification, renewable and alternative energy and green transport.

SAEEC extends an invitation to all who are interested in presenting, attending or exhibiting at this year’s conference to be held at Emperors Palace from 14 - 15 November. Please join us.

However, you don’t have to wait until then to learn more about the SAEE Confederation. Please contact SAEEC to enquire about programmes, membership and potential association partnerships.

Warm regards Lisa Reynolds President SAEEC www.tobuild.co.za

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Publisher

Media XPOSE excellence in exposure Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

/tobuildpublication

Tel: +27 21 424 3625 | Fax: +27 86 516 7277 PO Box 15165, Vlaeberg, 8018

www.tobuild.co.za Publishing Director Elroy van Heerden elroy@tobuild.co.za Editor Gareth Griffiths editor@tobuild.co.za SUB EDITOR Tessa O’Hara tessa.ohara@gmail.com

To Build Handbook

Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

Editorial Contributors Neil Cameron Tony Chappel David L. Chandler - MIT News Office Dirk de Vos Natasha Fletcher Gareth Griffiths Imaging (Photos) Johnny Lamprecht Cobus Lourens Nadia Minnaar DESIGN & LAYOUT CDC Design carla@cdcdesign.co.za

Cover Story: Reynaers Aluminium Africa Architecture Awards

issue 21 | July – October 2017

Climate Control – Smart Homes Coming full circle

Issue 21 • July – October 2017

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ADVERTISING SALES Rene van Heerden rene@tobuild.co.za Marketing & Online Advertising Maurisha Niewenhuys marketing@mediaxpose.co.za Content manager Melanie Taylor artwork@mediaxpose.co.za

Cover Art: Reynaers Aluminium Project Private House Hi-Finity Architect: Crahay & Jamaigne Photo: Samuel Defourny

Financial director Shaun Mays shaun@mediaxpose.co.za Distribution and subscriptions Janine Mays distribution@mediaxpose.co.za

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its agents. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information published, the publisher does not accept responsibility for any error or omission contained herein. Consequently, no person connected with the publication of this journal will be liable for any loss or damage sustained by any reader as a result of action following statements or opinions expressed herein.

The publisher will give consideration to all material submitted, but does not take responsibility for damage or its safe return.

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contents issue21 July-October 2017

Foreword 2 Editor’s Note 10 Cover Story: Reynaers Aluminium 12, 13, 14 Lead Story 16, 17 News & Views 19, 20, 21, 24, 25 Editor’s Choice 28, 29 182, 183 Out & About Students 186, 187, 188 189 Notes Page Advertisers’ Index 191

Divisions PROFESSIONS

Architecture 34 44 Construction & Contractors Interior Design 54 Developers 63 Engineering 73 Landscape Architects & 79 Landscaping Legal 84 Quantity Surveying 88

BUILDING SYSTEMS Automation 92 Bathrooms 96 Doors & Windows 102 Electrical 107 Kitchens 111 Lighting 115 Roofing 116 Safety & Security 126

MATERIALS Adhesives 128 Bricks & Paving 133 Cement & Concrete 135 Insulation 144 146 Timber & Decking

SERVICES Air Conditioning 154 Furniture 160 164 Reticulation & Plumbing

GREENBUILDING HVAC 170 Global Warming 172 Fairtrade 176 Water 178

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146 111

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contents issue21 July-October 2017

Cover Story – Reynaers Aluminium............12

The bottom-up energy revolution............107

Lines of confusion..........................................16

High-end compact surfaces....................111

SAOTA – International reach.......................34

Metallics are hot..........................................115

Africa Architecture Awards.........................38

Roof longevity and climatic effects........116

PPC Imaginarium Awards 2017...................42

Hardworking roofs.......................................118

3D Printing: MIT shows the way...................44

Secrets of success.......................................121

Specialised contracting...............................48

Ultra-Span (LGS) roof truss market............124

Geosynthetics – QA vs QC..........................51

Public safety ambassadors.......................126

Putting the ‘barn’ back...............................54

Sealant and filler for wood........................129

Coming full circle..........................................58

Paving the way...........................................133

Reimagining a French icon.........................60

New era for readymix concrete in SA.............................................................135

Top honours for giant mall...........................63 Property growth in ‘Chelsea’ village.........66 Transforming space to let............................70 Springs Mall has sprung................................72 Creating employment.................................73 Transforming the engineering sector.........78 Water-wise landscaping..............................79 Limited voetstoots protection.....................84 Contractors beware.....................................87 New property measurement std................88 Culture of compelling innovation..............93 Small bathrooms – big ideas.......................96 Design meets function...............................100 Sustainable window treatments for green building......................................102 Making the right choice............................104

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Hazelmere Dam upgrade ‘a first’............137 Dealing with returns in a green way........140 Formalising the trade..................................144 Quality assurance initiative.......................146 Climate control - smart homes.................156 Furniture in the home.................................160 The living office............................................162 Beware the trap .........................................165 Economical water heating ......................170 Built environment – climate change mitigation...................................................172 Iconic green hotel embraces fair trade.....................................................176 Poor community shows the way..............178 Editor’s Walkabout......................................182 Student Designs...........................................186

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ed’s letter At the time of this issue of To Build being compiled, South Africa was going through various storms, some of which were serious enough to merit a national election being called in other countries.

At the same time, across the ocean we have the most influential country denying the reality of global warming by its president renouncing the United States’ assent to the Paris Climate Accord. By all accounts, a shocking example to the rest of the world and a severe setback to the global mission to lower carbon emissions.

In South Africa, we have had severe droughts in at least two provinces, with provincial states of emergency being declared and a rush to conserve water resources. It seems typical of politicians that it was a case of too little too late.

However, the devastating fires along the Cape’s South coast have highlighted a natural and built environment vulnerable in the face of a natural disaster. Residents of Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and other holiday towns have not even had time to count the financial impact of this disaster, let alone the loss of human life, livestock and economic productivity. Somewhere along the way the various civic authorities will have to take stock of their readiness for this kind of event, but so will each and every property owner. Is this also a manifestation of climate change? With abnormally strong winds, no rain and a very dry surface, it certainly seems so.

To Build is 21 editions old. We have grown, along with our loyal readers, advertisers and editorial contributors. Thank you for all you support and enjoy our 21st edition.

Regards Gareth Griffiths editor@tobuild.co.za www.tobuild.co.za

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COVER STORY REYNAERS ALUMINIUM

Hi-finity sliding doors guarantee an infinite view with ultimate performances The Hi-finity patio door is the epitome of modern design, combining the ultimate in contemporary aesthetics with outstanding performance. This state-of-the-art structurally glazed door offers the possibility of floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall glass, an ergonomically designed handle and a concealed locking system. For the discerning homeowner or architect who wants the very latest in contemporary design and ultimate performance, the Hi-finity door sets a new benchmark of excellence for homes and offices in South Africa.

Large fixed glass panes The ultra-slim design of the Hi-finity sliding door creates large transparent surfaces, with a light, sleek and elegant appearance. This fully transparent and accessible sliding door, extending from floor to ceiling and reaching across the entire length of the façade, seamlessly connects the house’s interior with the outside.

The opening corner solution of Hi-finity creates an even greater sense of openness and transparency. Despite the minimal visual side-lines, the system’s high strength allows Hi-finity to carry the weight of a large fixed glass pane up to 1200kg, a manual vent up to 300kg and motorized vents up to 750kg. This in combination with the high energy performance and the minimalistic look makes this product the best solution for low-energy contemporary architecture!

Reynaers Hi-finity Project / Architect: Hartmann & Schüpbach Architekten / Photo: Anna-Tina Eberhard

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REYNAERS ALUMINIUM COVER STORY Designed not to be seen Beautiful as it is, the Hi-finity door is designed to be looked through, not to be looked at. The outer frame can be built into the structure of the building, making the dream of floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall glass a reality. The interlock between door panels is incredibly narrow, measuring only 35mm wide, and the frame and spacer bars between the panes of glass are both black, helping the door to frame your view in a most unobtrusive way.

Security

Full comfort

The concept of the locking mechanism gives the door a high level of security. In combination with layered glass, Hi-finity is burglary resistant, class RC2. The electric locking and unlocking is realised by a robust bolt and hook, operated by a simple push on the button or the remote control.

A dedicated and fully concealed motor ensures that the Hi-finity sliding door opens and closes automatically, using a switch or by connecting the motor to your home automation system. This high-performance motor, with a capacity up to 750kg, guarantees optimum convenience during use and is a safe and reliable solution.

Minimalistic design

High energy performance

By integrating the aluminium profiles into the walls, the glass surfaces are extended from floor to ceiling, creating the ultimate minimalistic appearance, merging indoor and outdoor into one. An extra design aspect is given by the design handle that has a slim, elegant and streamlined appearance.

The large glass surfaces of Hi-finity give a great feeling of comfort by offering the thermal efficient solutions of double and triple glazing. With Uf values of less than 1.0 W/m²K, these glass panels are perfectly suited for low energy houses. Consequently, Hi-finity has been awarded the energy-saving Minergie quality label.

Open corner solution

Reynaers Hi-finity Project / Architect: Jo Van Laere / Photo: Christophe Van Couteren

A creative corner solution makes it possible to open up spaces without any fixed corner element. When the sliding door is open, the corner is entirely free, offering a unique solution for application in residential and public places where access to the exterior adds value, e.g. restaurants and club houses.

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COVER STORY REYNAERS ALUMINIUM

Reynaers develops other innovative and sustainable aluminium solutions CS-59Pa (Ideal for warm climates) Concept System® 59Pa offers an extensive range of non-insulated profiles for the construction of elegant and moderately priced aluminium flush doors. CS 59Pa is the ideal system for applications in warm climates, but it can also be used for the partitioning of indoor office spaces.

For winter gardens, special combinations are possible with the Reynaers conservatory systems.

CS 77 (Fire and bullet proof solution) This system meets the most severe standards in terms of acoustics, water and air tightness, as well as bullet- and fire-resistance. CS 77 is also available in a burglar resistant solution, making it an extremely secure system. It offers ultimate combination possibilities, also with CS 77 doors, CP 130 sliding systems and Ventalis ventilation units.

SL 38 (Ideal for renovations) Slim Line 38 is an insulated system with inward and outward opening windows and doors, combining elegance and comfort with a unique design. This special slender, steel look is the perfect solution for modern architecture and renovation of steel-framed windows, respecting the original design but offering a thermally improved solution. In combination with its superior insulation capabilities, the system provides the perfect harmony between durable material, clean design and demanding architectural challenges.

CW-50 (Concept Wall, unlimited design) Concept Wall® 50 is a façade and roof system that offers unlimited design freedom and allows maximum transparency. CW 50 is available in several design and glazing variants, but also includes different technical variants to comply with specified levels of fire-resistance and thermal insulation. The design variants offer solutions for both the exterior and the interior of the building. The glazing variants range from using standard pressure plates, to structurally glazed and structurally clamped solutions.

Reynaers Aluminium Reynaers is the European leading specialist in the development of innovative and sustainable aluminium solutions. In addition to offering a wide range of standard solutions, Reynaers develops customised solutions to meet the specific needs of each project. Reynaers is dedicated to sharing know-how where architects, builders, installers and other partners come together and contribute to Reynaers’ mission: TOGETHER FOR BETTER. Reynaers Aluminium is the market leader in Belgium and has acquired a strong market position in 37 countries where it has its own sites. Reynaers South Africa’s headquarters was established in Johannesburg in 2014. Our goal is to provide an excellent service increasing the value of buildings and enhancing the living and working environment of people in South Africa.

Reynaers Aluminium – South Africa T +27 (0)11 570 1800 M +27 (0)71 165 2935 E info@reynaers.co.za W www.reynaers.co.za

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LEAD STORY UTILITIES

Lines of confusion South Africa seems to be caught in a web of spiralling costs, systemic abuse and a ‘pass-the-buck’ attitude among role players in the electricity supply value chain. This results in the Rands and cents buck landing squarely in the lap of the beleaguered consumer – be they commercial, industrial or residential.

Now it seems even domestic electricity users who legitimately want to get off the grid must bear additional charges that have the effect of subsidising heavy users. Therefore lower middle-class to middleclass ratepayers must bear the brunt of ill-conceived government policy.

Early in 2017, it became apparent that the City of Cape Town’s proposed budget 2017/2018 included a new charge to be levied on every property valued at over R 1-million. The proposal was contained in the sub-text of the City’s overall budget and has attracted several objections.

According to City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee (Mayco) Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Cllr Xanthea Limberg, the proposed ‘service charge’ is a daily charge amounting to R246.30 over a typical 30-day month.

‘A portion of all revenue from electricity tariffs goes towards maintaining the service connections of residents. This cost remains the same no matter

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how much electricity is used on the property,’ explains Limberg.

‘Currently this cost is recouped via electricity sales (as a cent per kWh), however, under the current tariff formula only those who use 600 units or more are fully covering the costs associated with servicing their homes. This means that customers on the Domestic Tariff who use less than 600 units in a month are being subsidised by other users. It is not sustainable to provide subsidy to residents who are not considered financially vulnerable,’’, she tells To Build via the City’s very helpful media office.

Limberg explains that the City has sought to correct this by proposing the activation of the Home User Tariff, that allows the City to fully recoup the cost of providing services to Domestic Tariff customers who buy less than 600 units per month. Under the current proposal all customers with a property value over R1-million will be moved onto the Home User Tariff from 1 July 2017.

Rather than recouping the cost of maintaining the

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UTILITIES LEAD STORY service connection via the unit price of electricity (i.e. a portion of the price of each unit services this requirement), customers on the Home User Tariff will pay this cost via a R8,21 daily service charge that will reflect as a separate item on their rates bill. While customers on the Home User Tariff would pay this fee irrespective of how much electricity they use, the unit cost for the first 600 units will be lower for them than for customers on the Domestic Tariff, which will compensate for this to varying degrees depending on how much electricity is purchased for the property each month.

To Build asked whether this new charge is a result of consumers going off the grid and creating a reduced revenue stream for the City.

‘This impact is minimal, as the number of customers going off the grid is increasing, it is still relatively small,’ says Limberg. Meanwhile, sources close to the City, who did not want to be named, are concerned that consumers going off the grid will affect future revenues, and this is one of the reasons the City is implementing an independent service charge.

However, there are two major flaws in this approach, in the view of this editor. These are: • The City has been incentivising off the grid, mainly rooftop generation – a carrot approach towards rooftop solar and feed-in tariffs and the like.

Communications in recent years have been directed at saving electricity and being more efficient. It has been a torch that the Mayor of Cape Town has borne herself on numerous public platforms. Now we see the stick. After incurring the expense of implementing energy saving measures and even going off the grid, these consumers must pay more – because of their efficient usage of the resource?

• Then there is the assumption that households valued at under R 1-million will take care of the poor. That is also a very questionable assumption.

To Build is aware of numerous households where elderly occupants who draw state pensions live in properties valued at well over R 1-million. Their usage of electricity is very low – 200kWh in some cases per month - often a single person in the home. Now they must pay an additional R246 a month to fund a grid they hardly use? Limberg admits that households using under 300kWh per month will suffer a 24.4% increase on their monthly accounts.

According to Limberg, the costs being covered by

the new charge relate to ‘the cost of maintaining the infrastructure from which residents draw their supply’.

Regulated, or not?

Once might well ask, why a separate line item for such a charge? Why not just hike property rates, creating a fairer dispensation for the recovery of grid maintenance and upgrade costs?

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), has astounded To Build with its refusal to be drawn on the issue. Despite a document on their website which clearly states that Cost of Supply needs to be motivated and approved by NERSA in a municipality’s annual tariff review process (ref.

Clauses 4 and 7, in source document Determination of the Municipal Tariff Guideline for the Financial Year 2017/18 and the Revision of Municipal Tariff Benchmarks) NERSA spokesperson, Charles Hlebela, offers only this response: ‘Please note that NERSA does not regulate surcharges and levies. Please refer to the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act of 2007’. Are these not just ways of subsidising the Cost of Supply, which is regulated by NERSA? Despite being sent detailed questions and six weeks to ponder a response to how far a municipality may go, he neglected to comment.

However, there is precedent on the matter of a daily service fee. The Municipality of Johannesburg spokesperson informs To Build that both a service charge (R112.02) and a capacity charge (R330.00) are levied on domestic single-phase users per month on their accounts. There is no separate charge for pre-paid users, although cents per kWh rates are higher than account holders. Businesses pay higher service and capacity charges.

It disturbs To Build that although the Municipality of Tswane’s media department was contacted on several occasions over six weeks, using the designated channels, no comment was received at the time of going to press.

Given the above and the recent bad publicity at Eskom, one might well ask whether the country’s electricity users are being sent to hell in a handbasket?

Gareth Griffiths Editor, To Build issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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FROM THE MARKETPLACE NEWS & VIEWS

Growing in the shade Shade Port systems is an award-winning shade net converting company that started manufacturing shade net carports 25 years ago. It aims to provide the best quality product, backed with professional service, in the greater Gauteng area.

‘Each Shade Port is designed according to the specific design and layout of the individual site, using space in a practical way’, says the company’s Tinus McPherson.

The customer is kept informed with a workman’s drawing of the ground plan and the layout of the shade net coverings.

‘What makes us unique is our customer service and values – providing the best quality at all times.

Our brand is established in the market place with large and small customers,’ says McPherson.

For over 25 years blue chip companies like BMW, Nissan SA, Sasol, Momentum, M&T developers, as well as schools, hospitals, filling stations, garages, car parks and many more covered with Shade Port designed shade net car ports.

‘A long-term relationship with our clients, accompanied by trust, reliability and credibility is not gained overnight,’ McPherson adds.

The company began earning excellence awards after 1997, winning the Old Mutual/AHI award for best service provider. In 2016, they received the Knittex SA award for the best installation for a project at Nissan, covering approximately 130 000m2 with shade net.

‘Under difficult financial circumstances our company has doubled turnover in the last five years.

This reflects our customer’s satisfaction, as most of our contracts come from previous costumers,’ McPherson says.

‘Our staff and team embody our company ethos - they all are willing to go the extra mile to ensure projects are finished on schedule,’ he adds.

Shade Port Systems T +27 (0)12-250 3200/1 E shadeport@telkomsa.net W www.shadeportsystems.co.za

BIM awareness platform launched The BIM Institute announced its intention this year to host a company listing page on their website for companies that are internationally certified, or BIM accredited – at no cost.

‘We want to give companies in South Africa public awareness and create a platform for public and private companies to start engaging with BIMcompliant organisations,’ explains Vaughan Harris, Executive Director of the BIM Institute.

The end of 2016 left many of us feeling overwhelmed and a little ‘BIMboozled’, but we need to take a step back and remind ourselves why we need to transform and adopt processes like BIM in the first place.

have, or are in the process of, upskilling their internal resources around BIM best practice.

The long-term vision for this strategy is to create public awareness of the companies who are not only optimising the technical operation side of their business, but are also creating a platform for private and public companies to start engaging with BIMcompliant organisations.

Listing BIM-accredited companies

BIM Institute T +27 (0)21 557 4061 W www.biministitute.org.za

Recently there have been discussions among various private and public sectors to list companies that

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NEWS & VIEWS FROM THE MARKETPLACE

Eskom on track

detailed planning to ensure that nuclear safety is not compromised and that the unit starts generating power again as soon as possible.

‘With Koeberg being a base load power station, which runs continuously unless it is taken out of service for an outage, the nuclear professionals working at the power station are fully aware of the need for the power station to have both units running at full capacity,’ explains Ntuli.

‘In this outage, they safely executed approximately 15 300 activities, following strict protocols, to ensure that the unit runs reliably until its next refuelling outage,’ Ntuli adds.

During Unit 2’s outage, Unit 1 was operating at 100% power, powering up the City of Cape Town.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

Unit 2 of the Koeberg nuclear power station resumed sending power onto the national electricity grid on 25 May after a planned outage that lasted for 36 days. Eskom said that outage 222 – the twentysecond outage on Unit 2 – was the second shortest outage performed in the station’s history. The shortest outage was a 32-day outage on Unit 1 in 1999.

Outage 222 was a maintenance and refuelling outage, requiring the reactor to be shut down as not all work can be done while the unit is in operation.

During this outage, about one-third of the fuel in the reactor core is replaced with new fuel.

Koeberg power station manager, Velaphi Ntuli, said an outage at a nuclear installation requires

Photo by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Unit 2 of the Koeberg nuclear power station has resumed sending power to the national electricity grid.

New masterplan for water and sanitation South Africa recently held its first National Water and Sanitation Dialogue.

It gathered stakeholders from the agriculture, manufacturing, energy and mining sectors amongst others.

The aim of the dialogue was to provide input into the conceptualisation of the country’s new masterplan on water and sanitation. This plan is expected to be finalised as early as the end of the year. The private sector is encouraged to assist.

Speaking at the dialogue, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pamela Tshwete, challenged stakeholders - in particular, big business - to assist with the development and implementation of the masterplan.

In response, Eskom’s water management lead, Nandha Govender, presented private sector initiatives the public utility is implementing together with corporate partners, the Department of Water and

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Sanitation and civil society through the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN).

SWPN is a multi-stakeholder partnership aimed at helping close South Africa’s 17% demandsupply water deficit gap by 2030. For example, the partnership has worked to address some of the water resource management challenges affecting South Africa’s mining industry.

To learn more about how the SWPN is catalysing public-private-civil society partnership, or to become involved, contact the SWPN.

The Strategic Water Partners Network E secretariat.swpn@thenbf.co.za

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FROM THE MARKETPLACE NEWS & VIEWS

Greenovate 2017 Engineering students can now achieve green glory too! Inspiring and encouraging university students to discover, explore and invent ways to live more sustainably, the hotly-contested Greenovate Awards Programme is taking environmental innovation even further this year by introducing a new category for engineering students.

The Greenovate Awards Programme, founded by Growthpoint Properties with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), sets students of the built environment on a quest to find more sustainable ways of living. It stimulates green building thinking and rewards excellence in its application.

A first-of-its-kind in South Africa, the University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and University of Pretoria piloted the flourishing programme for the built environment in 2015, in the property studies and construction faculties of these universities. Last year, students of these faculties at the University of Free State and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University joined the pursuit to find new ways to support more sustainable living.

Now in its third year, the Greenovate Awards programme has been extended to create a new category to include students from another high-impact stream – engineering. The competition is now open to students of the electric, electronic, mechanical and civil engineering fields.

Eight leading South Africa universities are contending the Greenovate Awards this year to show

their ground-breaking environmental achievements.

Two more innovation-leading universities have joined the programme: Stellenbosch University and the University of the North West at its Potchefstroom Campus, both from the engineering faculties.

Embracing the challenge on both fronts, the University of Cape Town, winner of the Greenovate Award property and construction studies faculty category for two years running, will now also compete in the engineering category, effectively competing in both categories this year.

‘We are thrilled to introduce the Greenovate Awards for engineers to the programme. It widens its reach to more universities and students with a passion for our environment who want to find more sustainable ways to live. It gives an outlet to innovation that will make our world a better place,’ says Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties’ Office Division Director and Chair of the GBCSA.

Growthpoint Properties W www.growthpoint.co.za

Gratings, handrails and stair treads for Africa Vital Engineering has successfully completed the two largest gratings, handrail and stair tread supply contracts so far in Africa.

The contracts in question were to supply 100 000m2 of grating panels per power station, as well as some 70km of hand railing and over 8 000 stair treads to Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power station projects. To date, feedback from the client has been uniformly positive.

Vital Engineering strived to work proactively with the principal contractor, MHPSA (Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa) to meet and surpass specified quality and safety goals.

‘I would ascribe the success of these seamless supply contracts to Vital Engineering’s 75 years’ history

and experience supplying to power generation projects, both locally and internationally,’ explains Dodds Pringle, Managing Director of Vital Engineering.

Vital Engineering’s products used in these projects included GRP or FRP fibreglass gratings and accessories, as well as stainless steel and aluminium gratings, stair treads and expanded metals.

Vital Engineering C +27 (0)82 823 6533 (Kendal Hunt) E kendal@kendalhunt.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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NEWS & VIEWS FROM THE MARKETPLACE

Interior upgrade ‘first for Namibia’ Maerua Mall, established in 1990, is Windhoek’s original shopping centre.

Located close to the heart of Namibia’s capital city and bordering the eastern suburbs, it welcomes over nine million shoppers every year. Carel Fourie, newly appointed CEO of Oryx Properties, tells us that the mall will shortly offer everything from convenient shopping to a fun, family dining experience.

The mall is named after the Ringwoods (Maerua schinzii) trees that surround it, a protected species in Namibia.

‘The tree is symbolic of sustainability and vitality and this resonates with our ethos,” says Fourie.

The mall’s commitment to sustainability is evident in its N$17-million 1MWp rooftop solar-power plant which generates about 20% of the centre’s electricity.

The 1 407MWh generated by the plant during the 2016 financial year reduced the mall’s CO2 emissions by 1 128 tons.

This year, the mall will undergo a complete facelift, bringing both its look and its offerings up to date.

New and exciting tenants are joining this much-loved mall with the first John Dory’s in Namibia set to open its doors, as well as Queenspark, Cappellos and Checkers Liquor. The phased upgrade offers everything under one roof, from entertainment and dining, to leisure and shopping. Public areas and walkways will be upgraded

in keeping with the new, contemporary look, while a timber-slatted ceiling suspended with liquid-crystal light hoops will also be installed.

The food court will be redesigned over two levels, making space for great new restaurants. An outside eating area will offer proximity to the family entertainment centre.

The mall’s four entrances and ample parking, including dedicated parking for the disabled and elderly, as well as moms and tots, makes for easy access.

Maerua Mall has 60 631m2 of lettable area, of which 50 402m2 is retail space and 10 229m2 office space, supported by 2 230 parking bays.

Oryx Properties Limited T +26 (0)4 614 23201 W www.oryxprop.com

Photo by Oryx Properties

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FROM THE MARKETPLACE NEWS & VIEWS

Photo by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

2017 Cape Homemakers Expo

The 2017 Cape Homemakers Expo will celebrate this year’s theme, ‘A Tribute to Your Home’, with an impressive range of products and professional services under one roof.

To be held from 31 August to 3 September at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), the expo will be packed with inspirational ideas and features, including highlights such as the ‘tuis | home theatre’, live

by DESIGN, take it OUTSIDE, the MARKET and Interior Design Challenge.

The expo will offer never-to-be-repeated competitions, deals and specials – the perfect opportunity to explore, consider and purchase all the things you need for your home and garden projects.

2017 Cape Homemakers Expo W www.homemakersonline.co.za/exhibitions

SAVA welcomes Plastichem as new member The Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) has welcomed Plastichem (Pty) Ltd as the latest PVC role player to join the association.

Gauteng-based Plastichem acts as agent, distributor and specialist value-added service provider of raw materials in the plastic and rubber industries. It was acquired by Brenntag, global leaders in chemical distribution, in December 2015.

‘Our product portfolio has expanded and now includes product offerings into the PVC market. To this end, we felt it was important to become a member of SAVA to gain more insight into this market and contribute to the objectives outlined by its Product Stewardship Commitment,’ says Dean Delaporte, Business Unit Manager for Plastichem.

Delaporte says that they became acquainted with SAVA and the work the association does during their active involvement in the plastics and rubber industry over the past 16 years.

‘Belonging to SAVA offers us valuable networking Dean Delaporte opportunities with fellow leaders and role players in the local PVC industry. It also provides us with a platform for sharing ideas and gaining access to information that will enable us to stay on top of developments impacting our industry. I believe SAVA provides us with the opportunity to become an even more active player within the market,’ Delaporte adds.

Southern African Vinyls Association (SAVA) W www.savinyls.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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EDITOR’S CHOICE

PROMISING PRODUCTS

Green Tag Comfort

Ergotherapy Solutions are the designers and sole manufacturers of the patented GetOne® and NetOne® ergonomic office chairs and exclusive South African distributors of the VARIDESK range of sit-stand work solutions.

Every Ergotherapy product is designed to ensure greater comfort and heath in the workplace through supporting the body’s natural state and providing customisable support where it is needed most.

Global GreenTag is a trusted independent product rating system and renowned Type 1 ISO compliant

Photo by Ergotherapy Solutions

A local producer of office products, Ergotherapy Solutions, endorsed by the South African Society of Physiotherapy, The Chiropractic Association of South Africa and the Osteopathic Association of South Africa, has achieved an industryfirst Global GreenTag GBCSA Level C certification for their GetOne® chair and NetOne® chair products. ecolabel. Global GreenTag certification has been recognised by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) as a product certification standard for the Materials Fit Out Calculator in Green Star SA Interiors Rating Tool.

Ergotherapy Solutions W www.globalgreentag.co.za/products/getone-chair www.globalgreentag.co.za/products/netone-chair

Photo by Jeanine Pomario, Revelstone

Cast stone fire pit Revelstone, leading manufacturer of cast stone products, has added the eyecatching Jura Fire Pit to their expanding engineering range.

The company’s new Jura Fire Pit is easy to install and is sold as a kit. The kit includes Revelstone’s Jura circle paver, Jura Fire Pit blocks and Jura circle capping. DIY made easy!

The Jura Fire Pit is the ideal outdoor feature for any garden or patio area. Gather friends and family

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around for a real bushveld fire in your own yard while enjoying an outdoor dinner party, or simply to keep you warm during the colder season.

Revelstone W www.revelstone.co.za

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PROMISING PRODUCTS EDITOR’S CHOICE

Sikaflex Crystal Clear Swiss global manufacturer, Sika, has launched Sikaflex Crystal Clear, the optimum transparent sealant that can be used for all DIY and contractor projects.

on vertical and horizontal joints and connection joints, as well as for caulking between partitions, sealing of metal and wood constructions, ventilations and soundproofing of pipes. This versatile product can be used whenever a transparent bond line is needed.

Photos by Sika

Sikaflex Crystal Clear is a 1-component, transparent adhesive and sealant. Solvent-free, this multipurpose product complements the industry-renowned basket of Sikaflex -11 FC, Sikaflex Pro-3i and Sikaflex AT Façade.

Sikaflex Crystal Clear is suitable for use on most surfaces, including metal, glass, concrete, plaster, plasterboard, wood, painted enamel, polyester and plastics.

It is ideal for use on transparent surfaces such as glass, plastic or acrylic, due to its crystal-clear application, but will also invisibly blend into any coloured surfaces. As a joint sealant, it offers excellent workability

Sika W www.sika.co.za

Instant seated comfort Global design manufacturer Herman Miller Inc, has partnered with Londonbased design company for people to create the Keyn Chair Group, a range of meeting and side chairs that offer responsive movement and immediate comfort for collaborative spaces.

Stephen Perkins, Herman Miller’s Vice President, International Research, Design and Development explains: ‘The Keyn Chair Group is designed to

respond to a user’s movement, supporting their body as they move in their seat.’

Keyn provides instant seated comfort through its sculpted one-piece shell design. Included in the design of the chair is Herman Miller’s unique CradleFlex system which responds to shifts in posture. The back reclines smoothly up to 10 degrees, while simultaneously moving the seat forward.

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Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior DĂŠcor

PROFESSIONS Architecture.........................................34 Construction & Contractors..... 44 Interior Design..................................... 54 Developers.............................................63 Engineering........................................... 73 Landscape Architects & Landscaping....................................... 79 Legal.........................................................84 Quantity Surveying............................. 88

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PROFESSIONS ARCHITECTURE

Architectural renderings by: SAOTA

roject case history: GH Airport Hills – Accra, Ghana - Courtyard

SAOTA – International reach Greg Truen is a director of Cape Town-based architectural firm, SAOTA. Among other things, he recently served on a discussion panel at the launch of the Africa Architectural Awards, and the announcement of the master jury for the Awards 2017. To Build chatted briefly to him at the event, leading to his practice being featured as our Edition 21 architectural practice.

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Photo by Gareth Griffiths

Greg is a graduate of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, 1991. He spent his first years in a relatively small practice in Durban, where he worked with a friend. However, in 1995, he joined with Stefan Antoni in Cape Town, shortly to become SAOTA. Since then, SAOTA has become an established practice on both the South African and African architectural landscape. According to Greg: ‘SAOTA was partly a response to our combined names in the partnership, creating a very unwieldly name and an attempt to create a brand that would move the company away from individual names. We’ve been able to grow it into a global firm which has been very exciting. We’ve grown into a group of 240 people with architecture, interior architecture and design as well as a furniture studio. Most recently we’ve started a virtual reality software development company called Tenebris.’

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ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONS To Build asked Greg a few questions about his career, interests and aspirations for architecture in Africa.

What turns you on about architecture in general and the work you do in particular?

Our architecture is very concerned with the relationship between building, site and context.

Seeing projects that create exciting powerful spatial connections is always a thrill. Most architecture today is mundane and disappointing, so any attempt to create something special needs to be applauded.

SAOTA has become an international brand. How do you position yourself globally as a company?

We’ve leveraged our residential work to design villas for clients in more than 50 cities around the world. Often these relationships result in commercial projects.

At the launch of the African Architecture Awards you disagreed that there is a uniform African vernacular, but that it was rather a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood phenomenon.

Can you expand on that?

Africa is so diverse; 54 countries, almost 2000 languages with every kind of landscape imaginable.

It’s not homogenous and I think trying to consolidate it into a single idea doesn’t make sense. Architecture should be particular to the place it comes from. If you look at historic architecture across the continent it’s not homogenous. Dogon buildings in Mali are different to Zulu buildings in KZN, which are different to Swahili buildings on the east coast.

Any advice for young and emerging architects?

You must integrate 3D modelling and virtual reality technology into the way you design and communicate.

Good architecture is valuable, don’t give up too early, it’s a difficult profession.

Project case history: GH Airport Hills – Accra, Ghana According to Greg, this project in Accra needed to respond to a tropical climate reducing direct sun and maximising cross ventilation.

‘The design says something about how we handle public and private space. At its core is a strong social space for the family which is an important cultural response. We were also concerned with buildability and are using local materials, albeit in very new ambitious ways,’ he explains.

The sculptural residential project, set within the Teshi suburb of Accra, encompasses and emphasises the difference between the client’s private and public life and its union. The design is set by two main walls that frame a double volume space where the main characteristic of the project lies. More pics on page 36

SAOTA T +27 (0)21 468 4400 E info@saota.com W www.saota.com/contact/

Terrace

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PROFESSIONS ARCHITECTURE

Entrance

Courtyard

Pool terrace

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PROFESSIONS ARCHITECTURE

Africa Architecture Awards To Build recently attended the launch of the Africa Architecture Awards in Cape Town. By all impressions, the profession and the adjudicating panel have some tough work ahead of them.

Founded and launched by Saint-Gobain, the awards aim to recognise and reward worthy projects from across the African continent, with one overall winner garnering a $10 000 prize.

The 2017 Africa Architecture Awards seek to acknowledge standout architectural projects that have been conceived of and/or built on the African continent, and invite entries and nominations from the industry. Anyone in the world meeting the entry criteria can enter, or be entered into the awards, as long as the project pertains to Africa.

‘Saint-Gobain, very simply, wants to be the catalyst that brings African architecture and its diaspora into

the global conversation in response to the clear need for such dialogue,’ explains Evan Lockhart-Barker, the Managing Director of the Saint-Gobain Retail Business Development Initiative.

‘The Africa Architecture Awards have been established to highlight the continent’s innovative and collaborative style of solving problems - architectural or otherwise. Saint-Gobain has engaged with some of the best minds in the field to establish this programme so that the awards are relevant, contextual and progressive. We look forward to seeing the future stars and collaborative efforts this initiative will reveal!’ he adds.

Photos by Gareth Griffiths

At the AAA Launch and panel discussion. From left to right: Evan Lockhart-Barker, MD Saint- Gobain WEBER Retail Business; Professor Edgar Pieterse, Director of the African Centre for Cities, (UCT); Prof. Lesley Lokko, Head of the Graduate School of Architecture (UJ); Zahira Asmal, MD, The City; Greg Truen, Director SAOTA; Rashiq Fataar, Director of Our Future Cities, Dr. Luyanda Mpahlwa, Director of Luyanda Mpahlwa DesignSpaceAfrica and Lauren Kruger, Ecophon South Africa

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“Architecture has immense potential to shape, solve and innovate in Africa, in the 21st Century. With 54 countries all varied in culture, geography, climate and societal structure, this diversity enables prospects that can and will shape Africa’s built environments - and in so doing, will provide points of inspiration for the rest of the globe. The aim of the first ever Africa Architecture Awards is to identify and honour projects that are doing precisely that.”

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ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONS Prof Lesley Lokko, Chair of the steering committee

Master jury of award-winning practitioners To this end, the awards programme has key collaborators like global heavyweight Sir David Adjaye, OBE of Adjaye Associates, as the official patron, a stellar steering panel and advisory team comprising noteworthy academics and architects, as well as a formidable master jury of award-winning practitioners drawn from across Africa and the diaspora.

There is no cost to enter the awards and entries close on 30 June for all categories except the People’s Choice Award, which closes on 18 August.

The master jury will identify a shortlist of 20 projects, four trophy winners and one Grand Prix winner. The official awards ceremony is set to take place on 28 September at Cape Town’s much-anticipated Zeitz MOCAA, designed by significant British architect, Thomas Heatherwick, which opens to the public that very same week.

Recognition and prestige for Grand Prix winner The Grand Prix winner will receive a $10 000 cash prize at the awards ceremony – that’s in addition to the recognition and prestige of being named as the overall winner from across the continent. A Lifetime Achiever’s Award is given at the discretion of the master jury. It is awarded to an architect or architects who have made a significant contribution to the professions of architecture and/or urban design over a substantial period.

The seven members of the Master Jury are: Anna Abengowe (Nigeria), Patti Anahory (Cape Verde), Guillaume Koffi (Cote d’Ivoire), Phill Mashabane (South Africa), Professor Mark Olweny (Uganda), Professor Edgar Pieterse (South Africa) and Tanzeem Razak (South Africa).

Categories based on a values-based system Rather than adopt the more conventional categories of other global awards programmes, the master jury will approach the Africa Architecture Awards through a values-based system around the following three criteria: • Innovation – of design, materials, approach, practice, new forms of public space • Identity – projects that deal sensitively and innovatively with heritage and tradition; that embody cultural sensitivity and contextual interpretation; that consider appropriation and repurposing of use and that attempt to translate traditional ways of building/occupying space into modern and contemporary contexts • Implementation – the energy and inventiveness required in Africa to create and implement projects in markets with varying levels and scales of economic government support and infrastructure.

Awards will create broader awareness of issues and opportunities in the built environment ‘The intention of the awards is to create a broader awareness of the issues and opportunities inherent in the built environment. They will celebrate design excellence and promote an increased awareness of the role and importance of sound architectural theory and practice across the diaspora. We intend to honour established architects and encourage emerging and future voices,’ says Lockhart-Barker.

According to Professor Lesley Lokko, who chairs the Africa Architecture Awards steering panel and is head of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg: ‘These awards present an opportunity to be an integral part of building an architectural culture that is Pan-African in its scope and ambition, but one that looks firmly towards the future.

‘Finding new means to tell an innovative, responsive and responsible narrative about what it means to be African, modern, forward-looking, inventive but also proud of our past, of our multiple heritages, cultures and contexts, and how these things coming together, are shaping a new Africa!’

Africa Architecture Awards E admin@africaarchitectureawards.com W www.africaarchitectureawards.com issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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company profile ShadePort Systems

Shade net car ports for all instances Shadeport Systems is an awardwinning shade net converting company that started manufacturing shade net carports 25 years ago.

Our aim is to provide the best quality product, backed up with professional service, in the greater Gauteng area.

Our branding is consistent and we believe in growing and transforming our product according to the needs of our customers. Each Shadeport is designed according to the specific design and layout of the individual site.

In our plans, we make practical use of space. The customer is given the opportunity to see a workman’s drawing of the ground plan and the layout of the shade net coverings. What makes us unique is our customer service and values – providing the best quality always.

Our brand is established in the market and we enthusiastically serve both the residential housing market, as well as the bigger commercial and industrial market.

For years blue chip companies like BMW, Nissan SA, Sasol, Momentum, M&T developers, TSA, schools, hospitals, filling stations, garages, carparks and many more have been covered with our brand designed shade net car ports. A long-term relationship with our clients, accompanied by trust, reliability and credibility is not gained overnight!

Over the years we are proud to have been awarded the Old Mutual /AHI award for best service provided in 1997. In 2016, we won the Knittex SA award for the best installation for a project at Nissan, covering approximately 130 000m2 under shade net.

Our turnover has doubled over the past five years, a sure sign of customer satisfaction. Our staff and installation team are willing to walk the extra mile to make sure that all our projects are finished on time to the complete satisfaction of the customer.

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“What makes us unique is our customer service and values – providing the best quality always.”

Our factory and office is situated in Pretoria adjacent to a low-cost housing scheme in which we have built a school to serve the community.

Our motto is: We strive for excellence in the manufacture and erection of Shadeports.

Shadeport Systems T +27 (0)12 250 3200/1 Toll free 0800 11 7737 E shadeport@telkomsa.net W www.shadeportsystems.co.za

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Our structures are used at • Office blocks • Residential homes • Airports • Schools, day care facilities • Play grounds • Carwash facilities • Sports fields

Shade Port Systems is a leader in commercial custom outdoor design and fabrication. Our core business is the manufacture, supply and erection of shade net carports used to protect motor vehicles against sun and hail.

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We offer a full design, supply and installation service

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Our standard shade ports are constructed from a tubular mild steel framework. The structure is covered with knitted polyethylene net which is sewn together in accordance with SABS standards.

The net is fixed to the frame using a galvanised steel cable or pipe surround. All steelwork is primed and painted with industrial enamel in a colour of your choice.

The shade net is available in variety of colours for you to choose from

Our shade ports require little or no maintenance In the event of damage from extreme weather conditions, the shade net can be replaced cost effectively.

Toll free number : 0800 11 7737 Tel – office : 012 250 3200 Cell : 082 652 2065 Email : shadeport@telkomsa.net

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PROFESSIONS ARCHITECTURE

PPC Imaginarium Awards 2017 South Africa’s most supportive art and design competition, the PPC Imaginarium Awards, announced its Overall Winner, Category Winners and Runners-up at a gala event hosted during May at the UJ Art Gallery in Johannesburg.

Overall winner and category winners This year, emerging artist Mziwoxolo Makalima, impressed the judges with his thought-provoking sculpture submission titled ‘Doubt-Queuing’, securing him the prestigious titles of 2017 PPC Imaginarium Overall Winner and Sculpture Category Winner, as well as a total cash prize of R150 000.

The 2017 PPC Imaginarium Awards’ Category Winners and Runners-up, are as follows:

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Industrial Design Category Winner: Handre de la Rey for ‘CS Project’ Runner-up: Deon de Lange for ‘Kilroy’

Photos by PPC

The winners were selected from the competition’s 55 finalists who submitted their concrete art and design works across the categories of Sculpture, Industrial Design, Fashion, Jewellery and Film. This year, no architecture submissions made it to the finalist round, a challenge to architects for 2018.

The 2017 winners were selected by a formidable panel of industry heavyweights, including architect and director of the awards, Daniel van der Merwe, fashion and design consultant Allana Finley and wellknown curators Stephen Hobbs and Zanele Mashumi.

An initiative of the innovation department of PPC Ltd, the PPC Imaginarium Awards encourages the ingenious use of Portland-based cement across the competition’s various categories. It serves as a platform for highlighting exceptional South African creative talent and assisting emerging artists and designers to launch their careers. A winner of several BASA Awards, the PPC Imaginarium Awards has cemented PPC Ltd as a benevolent supporter of art and design in South Africa.

Fashion Category Winner: Cara Jade Bezuidenhout for ‘Concrete Journey’ Runner-up: Tshepo Sizwe Phokojoe for ‘Dawn of a new epoch’

Jewellery Category Winner: Zanele Vilakazi for ‘Alphga’ Runner-up: Aleks Ashton for ‘Cyberglyph’

Film Category Winner: Stefanus Nel for ‘Ben’s Ladder’

Nationwide tour of winning works

Sculpture

The works are on view at the UJ Art Gallery as part of the first stop of a nationwide travelling exhibition that includes a variety of auspicious galleries and events across the country, including 100% Design South Africa and the KZNSA Gallery in Durban.

Candidates for the 2018 Awards will stand a chance of winning a share of R500 000 in cash prizes and kick-starting a career. The competition’s six categories will include Sculpture, Industrial Design, Fashion, Jewellery, Film and Architecture. Entries officially opened on 18 May.

Overall Winner and Category Winner: Mziwoxolo Makalima for ‘Doubt-Queuing’ Runner-up: Sonwabiso Ngcai for ‘Emweka’

PPC Imaginarium Awards W www.ppcimaginarium.co.za

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PROFESSIONS CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS

3D Printing: MIT shows the way

By David L. Chandler, MIT News Office

Technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) could enable faster, cheaper, more adaptable building construction.

MIT researchers have designed a system that can 3D print the basic structure of an entire building. The system consists of a tracked vehicle that carries a large industrial robotic arm, which has a smaller, precisionmotion robotic arm at its end.

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group at the MIT Media Lab; Julian Leland and Levi Cai, both research assistants in the Mediated Matter group and Neri Oxman, Group Director and Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.

The free-moving system can construct an object of any size The system consists of a tracked vehicle that carries a large, industrial robotic arm, which has a smaller, precision-motion robotic arm at its end. This highly controllable arm can then be used to direct any conventional (or unconventional) construction nozzle, such as those used for pouring concrete or spraying insulation material, as well as additional digital fabrication end effectors, such as a milling head.

Unlike typical 3D printing systems, most of which use an enclosed, fixed structure to support their nozzles and are limited to building objects that can fit within their overall enclosure, this free-moving system can construct an object of any size. As a proof of concept, the researchers used a prototype to build the basic structure of the walls of a 15.24-metrediameter, 3.65-metre-high dome — a project that was completed in less than 14 hours of ‘printing’ time.

Photo by Steven Keating, Julian Leland, Levi Cai, and Neri Oxman/Mediated Matter Group

The list of materials that can be produced by 3D printing has grown to include not just plastics, but also metal, glass and even food. Now, MIT researchers are expanding the list further, with the design of a system that can 3D print the basic structure of an entire building.

Structures built with this system could be produced faster and less expensively than traditional construction methods allow, the researchers say. A building could also be completely customised to the needs of a site and the desires of its maker. Even the internal structure could be modified in new ways; different materials could be incorporated as the process goes along and material density could be varied to provide optimum combinations of strength, insulation, or other properties.

Ultimately, the researchers say, this approach could enable the design and construction of new kinds of buildings that would not be feasible with traditional building methods.

The robotic system is described this week in the journal Science Robotics, in a paper by Steven Keating PhD ’16, a mechanical engineering graduate and former research affiliate in the Mediated Matter

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CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS PROFESSIONS For these initial tests, the system fabricated the foam-insulation framework used to form a finished concrete structure. This construction method, in which polyurethane foam moulds are filled with concrete, is similar to traditional commercial insulated-concrete formwork techniques.

Following this approach for their initial work, the researchers showed that the system can be easily adapted to existing building sites and equipment and that it will fit existing building codes without requiring whole new evaluations, Keating explains.

The system is intended to be self-sufficient Ultimately, the system is intended to be self-sufficient.

It is equipped with a scoop that could be used to both prepare the building surface and acquire local materials, such as dirt for a rammed-earth building, for the construction itself.

The whole system could be operated electrically, even powered by solar panels. The idea is that such systems could be deployed to remote regions, for example in the developing world, or to areas for disaster relief after a major storm or earthquake, to provide durable shelter rapidly.

The ultimate vision is ‘in the future, to have something totally autonomous, that you could send to the moon or Mars or Antarctica, and it would just go out and make these buildings for years,’ says Keating, who led the development of the system as his doctoral thesis work.

But in the meantime, he says, ‘we also wanted to show that we could build something tomorrow that could be used right away’. That’s what the team did with its initial mobile platform.

‘With this process, we can replace one of the key parts of making a building, right now. It could be integrated into a building site tomorrow,’ Keating explains.

‘The construction industry is still mostly doing things the way it has for hundreds of years. The buildings are rectilinear, mostly built from single materials, put together with saws and nails and mostly built from standardised plans,’ he adds.

What if every building could be designed using on-site environmental data?

But, Keating wondered, what if every building could be individualised and designed using on-site environmental data? In the future, the supporting pillars of such a building could be placed in optimal locations based on ground-penetrating radar analysis of the site, and walls could have varying thickness depending on

their orientation. For example, a building could have thicker, more insulated walls on its north side in cold climates, or walls that taper from bottom to top as their load-bearing requirements decrease, or curves that help the structure withstand winds.

The creation of this system, which the researchers call a Digital Construction Platform (DCP), was motivated by the Mediated Matter group’s overall vision of designing buildings without parts.

Such a vision includes, for example, combining ‘structure and skin’ and beams and windows, in a single production process and adapting multiple design and construction processes on the fly, as the structure is being built.

From an architectural perspective, Oxman says, the project ‘challenges traditional building typologies such as walls, floors or windows and proposes that a single system could be fabricated using the DCP that can vary its properties continuously to create wall-like elements that continuously fuse into windows’.

To this end, the nozzles of the new 3D printing system can be adapted to vary the density of the material being poured, and even to mix different materials as it goes along. In the version used in the initial tests, the device created an insulating foam shell that would be left in place after the concrete is poured; interior and exterior finish materials could be applied directly to that foam surface.

Complex shapes and overhangs are no problem The system can even create complex shapes and overhangs, which the team demonstrated by including a wide, built-in bench in their prototype dome. Any wiring and plumbing needed can be inserted into the mould before the concrete is poured, providing a finished wall structure all at once. It can also incorporate data about the site collected during the process, using built-in sensors for temperature, light, and other parameters to adjust the structure as it is built.

Keating says the team’s analysis shows that such construction methods could produce a structure faster and less expensively than present methods can and would also be much safer. The construction industry is one of the most dangerous occupations, and this system requires less hands-on work.

In addition, because shapes and thicknesses can be optimised for what is needed structurally, rather than having to match what’s available in premade lumber and other materials, the total amount of material needed could be reduced.

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PROFESSIONS CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS While the platform represents an engineering advance, Oxman notes: ‘Making it faster, better and cheaper is one thing. But the ability to design and digitally fabricate multifunctional structures in a single build embodies a shift from the machine age to the biological age — from considering the building as a machine to live in, made of standardised parts, to the building as an organism, which is computationally grown, additively manufactured and possibly biologically augmented.’

‘So, to me it’s not merely a printer,’ says Oxman, ‘but an entirely new way of thinking about making that facilitates a paradigm shift in digital fabrication, but also for architectural design. Our system points to a future vision of digital construction that enables new possibilities on our planet and beyond.’

FILLER PLEASE Photo source: www.archdaily.com Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP Project: U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Reprinted with permission of MIT News W www.news.mit.edu

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PROFESSIONS CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS

Specialised contracting A certified asbestos removal and contracting company offers an innovative style of service delivery.

R&D Contracting, a BBBEE and certified asbestos removal company, adds a fresh approach to the industrial and commercial maintenance industry with a track record in providing roof refurbishments, removal and installations, including a vast number of production, manufacturing and commercial facilities.

Health and safety a top priority Onerous legislation has been placed on asbestos removal and its disposal because prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious illnesses, including mesothelioma and asbestosis.

It is for this predominant reason that it has been declared a hazardous material and can only be removed by a certified asbestos contracting company that complies with the current legislation. Asbestoscontaining materials like cladding, sheeting and lagging have been used commercially in the past for their desirable physical properties, however, as the material degenerates over time the risks of contamination from the fibres increases. ‘R&D Contracting prides itself on bringing innovation to all their projects, ensuring that health and safety is at the top of their priority list at inception and during any project. Our contracting company subcontracts very little of our work and employs between 100 and 200 people, depending on the

workload and scope of projects,’ says a company spokesperson.

Case study R&D Contracting is known for its expertise in roof installation and sheeting and have been commissioned to safely remove the current sawtooth asbestos roof at the PMI Leonard Dingler tobacco factory in Boksburg. What makes this project unique, is that they used a first-of-its-kind method in the region to remove the existing asbestos roof and replace it with a unique pitched-roof structure.

This means that there will no longer be gutters at the factory, one of the largest failings of saw-tooth roofs.

The roof structure modification will only allow for gutters on the perimeter of the manufacturing facility.

R&D will also install a rain harvesting system once the project is completed so that rain water is filtered and used in the production processes at the factory. The project consists of four phases and is scheduled for completion in February 2018.

Other services The company offers a range of dedicated services in addition to its asbestos removal specialisation. These include: • Roof refurbishment and sheeting installation

Photos by R&D Contracting

A proven track record in providing asbestos roof refurbishments, removal and installations includes a vast number of production, manufacturing and commercial facilities.

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CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS PROFESSIONS • Proof Engineering – Asbestos sheeting removal and a new roof installed.

• Coca-Cola Fortune – removal of existing failed roof sheeting, installation of new purlins, painting of existing purlins, installation of Saflok roofing material, as well as building a new forklift ramp.

• Nissan South Africa - implementing a new 54 000m2 roof requiring a pioneering approach.

• PFG Glass – installing silo spalling and buffer.

Safety first Core-Drilling-at-Heights

• Industrial coatings • Concrete spalling repairs • Specialised access and netting systems R&D Contracting boasts an impressive range of completed projects for various high-profile clients, including: • AfriSam – infrastructure refurbishment project that tackled corrosion issues.

• ABI Devland – where a new roofing system that improved in-plant lighting and ergonomics was installed.

When it comes to the removal of asbestos, R&D Contracting ensures that their staff members are medically monitored to ensure they have not been exposed to any harmful materials. A portable decontamination unit, with two separate change rooms and a shower, is established on-site and a water and electricity supply is fed to the geyser for hot water and lighting. Bidim traps capture any asbestos fibres during decontamination and are disposed of as indicated by legislation.

R&D Contracting T +27 (0)11 021 5387 E remo@r-d.co.za W www.r-d.co.za

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Multi Construction Chemicals

Construction Products Admixtures

Concrete Repair Products

Concrete Curing Compounds

Industrial Floor Products

Epoxy Products

Joint Sealant Products

Shutter Release Agents

Waterproofing Products

PIGMENTED FLOORING

INDUSTRIAL FLOORING

Uses:

Uses:

• Offices • Domestic

• Retail • Hospitality

www.mccsa.co.za 021 9340373 MULTI CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS_fcp.indd 1

• Bakeries • Abattoirs • Breweries

• Pharmaceutical • Wineries • Manufacturing

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CONSTRUCTION HSEQ PROFESSIONS

Geosynthetics – QA vs QC

By Nadia Minnaar of NGQ Consulting

Photo by NGQ Consulting

Owners of facilities should be more involved in the quality control and quality assurance of geosynthetic installations.

It is a known fact that when a leak occurs in the geosynthetic liner system it is usually due to external factors and rarely because of poor workmanship of the installer. Therefore it is critical to have an independent person on site to Nadia Minnaar on site prevent material damage, report if damage has occurred, and to resolve the problem and take preventive actions to ensure damage is limited.

The best possible solution usually lies in employing a reliable independent third-party company who can be the eyes and ears during the installation process.

The differences between quality control and quality assurance is vast. Quality Assurance (QA) is a process-oriented exercise that ensures the installation of geosynthetic material is in line with the SANS 10409 national standard, manufacturers installation instructions, industry best practice and project specifications.

Quality Control (QC) by comparison is a product oriented exercise and includes all the testing that must be carried out by the installer to ensure the quality of the seaming installation is correct.

Testing, is a product orientated process and thus falls in the QC domain. Testing for quality therefore is not assuring quality, it is controlling quality. In short:

• Quality Assurance makes sure you are doing the right things, the right way.

• Quality Control makes sure the results of what you’ve done are what you expected.

Independent third-party company should become the norm An independent third-party company could be responsible for the quality assurance of the geosynthetic installation, also playing a vital role in different stages of a project. They can be involved when the project specification is compiled prior to tender, during the tender stage to assess the QA and QC processes and to be a communication channel between all the parties during construction; including owner, engineer, earthworks contractor and installer.

It is common practice in other industries to make use of an independent third-party company, but it is a new concept in the geosynthetic installation industry in South Africa and should become the norm for new installations to provide peace of mind to owners of facilities.

NGQ Consulting is an independent third-party company specialising in quality assurance. The company offers vast experience in the geosynthetic installation process and a state-of-the-art software programme to co-capture QC information, providing the owner with a detailed project pack after completion.

NGQ Consulting T +27 (0)79 875 5691 E nadia@ngqconsult.com W www.ngqconsult.com

About the writer

The writer recently completed a Liner Integrity Survey Assessment (LISA), Construction QA/QC for Geosynthetic Installation, Construction QA/QC for Compaction Clay Liners and Geosynthetic Certification Institute Inspector Certification Programme course presented by the Texas Research Institute and is now certified by the Geosynthetic Institute as a Quality Assurance Inspector for Geosynthetic Material and compacted clay liners.

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PROFESSIONS ADVERTORIAL

Fans for every occasion Fans play an important role in regulating room temperature, cooling the air and increasing ventilation. However, with so many options available, finding the right fan for your needs can be a daunting task.

This doesn’t have to be the case though! To help you make the correct choice, here we discuss three types of fans that are most popular and what they are most suited for.

Wall, pedestal and ceiling fans are inexpensive, eco-friendly and are available in various styles and colours.

The wall fan Wall fans have blades which circulate the air in the room at high speed to create a cooling effect. This helps a great deal in keeping an area cool during hot summers and places less pressure on air conditioning systems. Wall fans are perfect for churches, schools, factories, halls or any large room.

The pedestal fan Pedestal fans are great at cooling down smaller areas or personal spaces. By using a pedestal fan in a small and stuffy area, you can transform it into an airy

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environment. Although small in size, pedestals fans are highly effective. Solent now offers pedestal fans with unique eco-friendly ‘green’ blades, housed by either a black or white grill. These not only look stylish and trendy, they’re practical too.

The ceiling fan Ceiling fans are available in a variety of sizes, styles and finishes. Using ceiling fans throughout the home greatly reduces energy costs and enhances a home’s character. Solent ceiling fans are fully customizable, available with a remote control and the option of adding a light kit.

Solent ceiling fans are more than just functional; they also serve as a statement piece or the focal point of a room.

Whether you’re looking for a ceiling fan for your home, a wall fan for your warehouse, or a pedestal fan for your office or study, you can be certain that you will find just the right fan for your needs at Solent.

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PROFESSIONS INTERIOR DESIGN

Putting the ‘barn’ back into the Foodbarn

By Gareth Griffiths

The Foodbarn, located in Cape Town ‘village’ suburb of Noordhoek, has become an icon in South Africa’s casual dining circles.

‘We’re not in the game of being a top-end restaurant, but we are serious about great food and good service – casual fine dining in the heart of the village’, says Franck Dangereux, chef and co-owner. Indeed, as founding chef of one of the country’s top restaurants La Colombe, Franck should know what he is talking about.

Ten years ago, after Franck left La Colombe, he and business partner Pete de Bruin, conceived a project that would give them the much-needed family time that their respective careers as leading chef and business consultant would allow.

‘The Foodbarn is somewhat edgy, but the village development defines who we are and what we can be. In the end we are inside a barn – but an elegant one’, he says.

Their restaurant is located within the precincts of the Noordhoek Farm Village, a tourist and family recreational hotspot of note. ‘The Village’, as it is affectionately known, was developed by Jeremy Wiley and the De Goede Hoop Trust, later sold to a consortium of local investors which include Franck and Pete themselves. It’s a child- and pet-friendly tourism destination during the holiday season; a

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Robin Sprong, Nina van Reenen, Franck Dangereux and Michelle van Reenen inside the Foodbarn.

tranquil lunch breakaway on a busy day when the Village is pumping with visitors at the more casual venues.

Under Franck’s hand, the barn has recently been given an interior makeover. Franck, as an undisputed creative, tells us: ‘I’ve got a strong sense of what I like’. Significantly, he and Pete chose not to use a design professional but to extend their creative vision and skills beyond the kitchen.

Admittedly, not the first time that they, together with Franck’s wife Sam, have jointly undertaken interior design, but surely this one makes the best statement of all: simplicity.

What impresses To Build’s editor greatly is that the ‘R’ elements of refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle are all present in this redesign. Not a scrap of material wasted. This applies right down to the floor, where the copper and steel plate offcuts from the bar counter were repurposed as floor tiles to replace sections of tile from the original floor, which was reused.

‘The wood from the two mezzanine floors which were demolished was sold to be converted into blackboards and picture frames’, adds Franck.

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INTERIOR DESIGN PROFESSIONS

Photos by Gareth Griffiths

Acoustics Franck says that they believe that the ‘barn’ feeling has now been restored to the Foodbarn. In former years, the beautiful thatch roof was concealed from diners by two half mezzanine floors on either side of the elongated building. These have been removed, resulting in a radical improvement in acoustics.

‘Diners, especially intimate tables for two, have commented how noisy it was when the restaurant was busy. Pete, Sam and I took some professional advice here and on suggestion we removed these half floors,’ Franck explains.

Not only are the acoustics remarkably better, but a bonus is the unencumbered view of the underside of the beautiful thatch roof. Soft sunlight streams through the gable windows and provides the room with ambience.

The main entrance has been moved from the centre of the building to the northern face.

Lamps, heating and bar centrepiece Aurora lighting supplied imported Italian lampshades

that hang over the bar counter and make a strong statement. The bar counter surface, with its edging, were fashioned from raw slate and copper.

A free-standing gas fireplace, reused from the previous makeover, can be moved throughout the restaurant and adds considerable ambience for diners.

Pièce de résistance – ‘Ambrosia’ debuts at the Foodbarn Undoubtedly this honour goes to the Robin Sprong wallpaper which was custom-designed for the Foodbarn by Room 13, a boutique design studio based in Cape Town. The concept was strategised by sisters Nina and Michelle van Reenen, Franck, Sam and Pete over lunch at the Foodbarn and is simply stunning.

‘Room 13 Collection’s latest design, Ambrosia, means ‘food of the gods’. We could not ask for it to be installed in a more fitting place than the revamped Foodbarn in Noordhoek. We met with chef Franck Dangereux for a delicious lunch. Inspired by his love for food, we were driven to create this new design, composed of edible botanicals such as artichokes,

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PROFESSIONS INTERIOR DESIGN Robin Sprong wallpaper. ‘Ambrosia’ designed

by Room 13 debuts at the Foodbarn.

pomegranates, star anise, string beans and a variety of herbs. The design is now commercially available as wallpapers and textiles,’ says Michelle.

To highlight the wallpaper, the walls of the barn, formerly blue, have been painted plain white and the effect is brilliant – especially when sunlight filters through the north-facing gable window at lunchtime.

Patrons also have the benefit of fully refurbished cloakrooms.

The renovated Foodbarn is an excellent example of how a passion for creating good food can lead to a simple, cost effective, yet well-conceived redesign of a great restaurant interior by its owner.

The Foodbarn W www.thefoodbarn.co.za Room 13 W www.room13collection.co.za

Franck Dangereux was born in Cannes in the Provençal region of France – arguably the global home of good food (Parisians may disagree!). He started his career path in food when he was still at school, where a supportive and enabling high school system allowed him to begin studies in that craft from age 14.

‘I always wanted to become chef’, he told To Build. ‘I was an eager student and the Riviera was my oyster so I was able to get work at a number of different establishments and work my way up in the kitchen after qualifying from high school,’ he says.

Franck runs his renowned food demos from this Noordhoek restaurant, where he has shared his skills and passion with many of attendees.

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PROFESSIONS INTERIOR DESIGN

Coming full circle

Imiso Ceramics at ‘We are Cape Town’ held at Decorex Cape Town

With big hitters such as Gregor Jenkin, Dokter and Misses, David Krynauw, James Mudge and Source IBA on the bill, alongside major design brands such as Crema Design, MONN and ErgoForm, ensure it will be a show without equal. Since its fledgling beginning in 2014, the show has come full circle.

There will be extensive displays stretching across the many mediums and styles that encompass the wide world of interiors, textiles, architecture, furniture and product design. Large-scale exhibition areas include a dedicated office zone and a significant pavilion of winning works by the PPC Imaginarium.

Talents across the spectrum of local and international design are all to be given time in the limelight, hallmarking exceptional quality, innovation and ingenuity.

‘Visitors to this year’s 100% Design South Africa can expect no less than wall-to-wall proof of the artistic and aesthetic genius of their fellow South Africans – the sort of genius that’s helped make our country as gorgeous as it is,’ says Programme Director of 100% Design South Africa, Cathy O’Clery.

In addition to an exciting line-up of exhibitors, the show once again offers key feature exhibitions that are curated by Platform Creative Agency and which distinguish the show from any other. Much fêted by the media and acclaimed by the industry, the feature stands are undeniable highlights of the annual show.

‘We Are Joburg’ is heir to frontrunner ‘We Are Cape Town’ which showcased design collectives, collaborators and enablers as part of the 100% Design South Africa pavilion at Decorex Cape Town in April this year.

For the Gauteng iteration, works from creative minds across Jozi will reveal just how the ‘City of Gold’s’ designers have given this remarkable

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Photo by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

100% Design South Africa is set to rock Gallagher Convention Centre in Gauteng, happening alongside Decorex Joburg from 9-13 August.

city its singular Afro-urban aesthetic. The aim of the exhibition is to explore how all their individual styles are unified by a confidence that is strikingly contemporary and unashamedly bold.

Feature Designer 2017 is Gregor Jenkin 100% Design South Africa is proud to announce that its Feature Designer for 2017 is none other than Gregor Jenkin. Every year 100% Design South Africa invites a highly acclaimed designer or design studio to participate in the exhibition as Feature Designer of the Year.

This much-coveted honour is bestowed on a designer or design studio in recognition of their consistent quality creative output, originality and sustained success. Jenkin is a regular collaborator of artist William Kentridge and a top-seller at the Conran Shop in London. With his work sought-after by highend design collectors, his presentation of new works will be a must-see!

Award-winning furniture designer David Krynauw will reveal his restaurant interior design talents as this year’s force behind the 100% Design Café - a meeting, greeting, eating spot at the centre of the exhibition floor. At 100% Hotel, Source Interior Brand Architects will be putting together their vision of a contemporary African hotel - a unique concept they call ‘Afrotel’.

100% Design South Africa 2017 boasts two dedicated trade-focused days, taking place on 10 and 11 August.

100% Design South Africa 2017 W www.100percentdesign.co.za

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PROFESSIONS INTERIOR DESIGN

Reimagining a French icon Glenelly Estate, situated in South Africa’s idyllic Cape Winelands, has launched The Vine Bistro and reimagined its tasting room and glass museum. The new interiors display a sophisticated aesthetic inspired by Glenelly’s French heritage and charm.

Created in 2003 by May de Lencquesaing, former owner of iconic Bordeaux Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, the project was initiated with her two grandchildren, Arthur de Lencquesaing and Nicolas Bureau, continuing the family involvement in wine since 1783.

Bringing in the new For the redesign, the owners looked no further than award-winning interior design firm Inhouse Brand Architects. The Inhouse team, guided by Director, Phillip Wyatt and Senior Designer, Brenda Hart, was tasked with designing the new ground-level eatery and renovating the first floor tasting room. The brief from Glenelly was clear from the start; bring in the new, while preserving the timeless appeal that guests have come to know and love.

‘The client wanted a warm and inviting space that was slightly unconventional, with a modern French twist. They wanted it to be “very Glenelly”,’ Hart explains.

Drawing inspiration from the estate’s legacy and surrounding mountainscape, Inhouse created just that.

To carry through Glenelly’s theme of mixing the old with the new, Inhouse incorporated subtle features that hint at the estate’s rich history, such as the eyecatching replica of a 20-year-old vine, which hangs suspended in the air in the building’s reception area.

Just beyond reception is The Vine Bistro, which is headed by Christophe Dehosse, a French chef who is well established in the winelands, having worked for estates like Joostenberg and Chamonix.

The bistro’s interior is inspired by the French-style menu and incorporates classic French furnishings such as 19th century chairs and classic Parisian tables. White metro wall tiles, patterned floor tiles and classic French-style wall mouldings on the bars and counters complete the look.

Glass foldaway doors bring the outside in; offering spectacular views of the estate’s grounds. A pergola covers the terrace, where guests can spend lazy afternoons at long timber tables feasting on delicious meals and enjoying the magnificent surroundings.

Inspired by the unique collection of 340 pieces of antique and contemporary glassware and artwork housed in the estate’s museum in the underground of the winery, Inhouse decided to incorporate various glass pendant lights throughout the bistro. Suspended brass lights were also included to emphasise the French-inspired design scheme.

Proof in the tasting

Eye catching replica

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The tasting room is where the character of the estate comes to life and visitors can sample the farm’s selection of wines. The pièce de résistance in this space is the tasting bar, which is made from an impressive amalgamation of polished concrete and granite from the terroir. The corner of the bar reveals an engraved map of the farm, indicating where one can find Glenelly’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay vineyards. A selection of extraordinary hand-blown glass lights hangs suspended over the bar.

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INTERIOR DESIGN PROFESSIONS

Photos by Inhouse Brand Architects

The Bistro

The tasting room

The tasting room also features a separate and private tasting area for wine connoisseurs, which has been enclosed with glass and black steel-framed room dividers. Here, the minimalist interior reflects the pureness of the tasting process.

The overall design is a superb blend of the traditional and the contemporary, conveying beautiful aesthetics that reflect Glenelly’s French heritage and character.

In addition to Glenelly Estate, Inhouse Brand

Architects has worked on other notable Winelands projects, including Anura Vineyards, Morgenster and Wild Clover.

Glenelly Estate W www.glenellyestate.com Inhouse Brand Architects W www.inhouse.ws issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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DEVELOPERS PROFESSIONS

Photo by Atterbury

Top honours for giant mall The iconic Mall of Africa secured its place among top honourees from around the world in the highly coveted international VIVA (Vision, Innovation, Value, Achievement) Awards, announced in Las Vegas during May. Atterbury Property Development’s development, the Mall of Africa, holds the honour of being the only mall on the African continent to achieve in the awards in its category this year.

The VIVAs are an initiative of the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) and are the most recognised achievement for professional excellence in the global retail real estate industry. Each year the VIVA Best-of-the-Best Awards honours the most outstanding examples worldwide of shopping centre design and development, sustainability, retail store design and marketing. They have been claimed by the world’s best companies and shopping centre professionals.

First the finalists must go through a rigorous regional round before they can be considered for the awards. As a gold winner of the South African Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) Retail Design and Development Awards, the ICSC’s regional awards programme, Mall of Africa was automatically entered in the prestigious VIVA global awards.

Inspired by Africa’s geological features and iconic landscapes

landscapes, leading the way for its achievement in the VIVA design and development category.

Atterbury Property Development, a leading South African property investor and developer, developed the landmark mall. Cobus van Heerden of Atterbury says the Mall of Africa was inspired by leading international trends in design elements and underpinned by solid retail property fundamentals.

‘As developers of the Mall of Africa, Atterbury is thrilled it has received international recognition among the most esteemed shopping centres across the globe. From its conception to its design and development, Mall of Africa was envisioned to create a world-class mall with a unique shopping experience unlike anywhere else,’ says van Heerden.

‘Every detail of Mall of Africa caters towards understanding and delighting customers and supporting the trade of retailers and being an asset for its community.

‘To receive recognition in the VIVA Awards reaffirms our commitment to delivering exceptional developments that offer designs and experiences second to none,’ he adds.

Mall of Africa is South Africa’s largest shopping mall ever built in a single phase, with over 130 000m2 of retail space, it is home to over 300 shops, restaurants and services. The mall’s unique architectural appearance is inspired by Africa’s geological features and iconic

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PROFESSIONS DEVELOPERS

Property growth in ‘Chelsea’ village Referred to by many as ‘the ideal suburb’, the Upper Kenilworth area bordering Harfield Village lies south of the Claremont CBD with its thriving shopping malls and major amenities and is squarely set in the heartland of Cape Town’s southern suburbs.

Renderings by Rawson Developers

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After the sell-out success of the 3 Fountains complex just two blocks away on the Claremont end, Rawson Developers aim to compliment the ‘village’ atmosphere of the area via the easy lifestyle offered

by Eighty-Two on Harfield.

Originating on Main Road Claremont, Harfield Road consists of a number of early generation homes, some Victorian or Edwardian, interspersed with square and angular 3-story apartment blocks finished in face brick, typical of the 1960’s. It intersects Kenilworth Road to the south. From here, it’s an easy

Second Avenue - fun lifestyle.

Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Indeed, it is a thriving area with greenery, tall mature trees, hospitality hotspots, interesting shops and ideal access to commuter nodes. Despite this, most of its residential streets are calm and private.

As an established ‘leafy’ suburb, its history stretches back to the 1800’s where Landsdowne Road was a mere sandy track, to the left of which a cluster of homes developed, later to become Harfield Village, connected by First and Second Avenues to Kenilworth.

According to Lightstone Property, property ownerships in this suburb have long been stable, with at least half of property owners having stayed longer than 11 years. However, recent property buyers have been in the 18-35-year-old bracket, showing a growing preference in the area for young investors.

It is into this market that Newlands-based developer, Rawson Developers, has pitched a flagship offering called ‘Eighty-Two on Harfield’. With construction due to commence shortly at the site halfway along Harfield Road, the developers have created something stylish and unique for the market.

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DEVELOPERS PROFESSIONS Music, fun, arts and crafts.

‘We’ve got an impressive track record in bringing exceptional value to our investor clients, as well as to home-owners’, he says.

‘If we consider our nearby 3-Fountains development, the investors in our entry level onebedroom units saw an annual growth of 26% year-onyear from project launch to occupation date. Even the larger 2-bedroom units saw an annual growth of 18%.

No bank can better that level of return,’ he suggests.

Comfort and convenience walk to the fun and family-oriented precinct of Second Avenue. In fact, Eighty-Two on Harfield is a mere 300m-walk away from this lively area. The village holds an annual carnival along Second Avenue when the place comes alive with a series of jazz bands, entertainment, kiddie fun, music, crafts, food and art.

Gold mine According to Rawson Developer’s MD, Carl Nortje, the southern suburbs strip has been a ‘gold mine’ for investors in his company’s attractive, secure and accessible, indoor/outdoor lifestyle apartment model.

With the Lightstone property inflation index for the City of Cape Town standing at 14.3% for 2016, select areas including the southern suburbs have been the major contributors to this unparalleled growth. This, Nortje points out, is due to the increased demand for the easy lifestyle, sectional title sector where buyers want the freedom to work, play and move around without the burden of responsibility that freehold property ownership brings.

‘Our investors have been looking at the rental potential that ownership brings, plus the above average investment return from these popular areas,’ he adds.

All under one roof Eighty-Two on Harfield truly has it all. According to Nortje, a major drawcard for the new development will be its investment potential.

[

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“The southern suburbs strip has been a ‘gold mine’ for investors in his company’s attractive, secure and accessible, indoor/outdoor lifestyle apartment model.”

The 5-story Eighty-Two on Harfield development offers much more for residents. With a short 300m walk in either direction along the road, Metrorail stations can easily and safely be reached. Major institutions of learning, including UCT, are within easy reach (indeed, the UCT ‘Jammie’ shuttle is accessible from close by Claremont). Second Avenue is nearby, with its eateries, pubs and interesting shops. It’s a haven for cyclists with safe streets running through the Chelsea-like Harfield Village precinct.

Safe streets running through the Chelsea-like Harfield Village precinct.

Owners or renters have access to ample secure parking. Rawson Developers’ legendary menu of styles and finishes ensure that each owner can put his or her unique stamp onto their own unit.

‘There are even garden units that offer the benefits of outdoor living from the comfort of your own home, or duplex apartments with expansive balconies boasting a great mountain view. It’s also a dream place for retirees, with easy access to major sporting events and social clubs,’ concludes Nortje.

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PROFESSIONS ADVERTORIAL

Rawlplug – the world’s leading manufacturer of plugs, specialist anchoring and fixing systems More than a century ago in 1919, Rawlplug was the first company to invent and manufacture fixing systems. Now the world leaders in this field, the original patent holders and inventors of the Rawlplug expertly manufacture and deliver plugs, specialist anchoring and fixing systems of the highest standard.

Ahead of the pack when it comes to quality, strength and innovation, the company and their South African agents, Vermont Sales, offer a unique customer service, both in the field, onsite, or wherever it is needed. Training is also available on request for the company’s unmatched range of fixing systems.

Rawlplug anchors and fixings are manufactured in the company’s plants in Poland, and comply with European and international safety standards. They are used in major construction and engineering projects worldwide.

Rawlplug offers a comprehensive range of products for every application, across every industry, that cover all aspects of fixing, fastening and anchoring. They also offer unique solutions for out of the ordinary specifications, for instance, in large construction projects.

Rawlplug pride themselves on providing an extensive range of highest quality, industry-approved products that is constantly evolving to meet users’ demands and expectations. Their high manufacturing standards go together with outstanding customer service, comprehensive R&D, technical advice and professional engineering support.

The range of products offered by Rawlplug includes, bonded anchors, direct fastening systems, installation fixings, facades, insulation fixings, roofing fittings, lightweight fixings, mechanical anchors, power tool accessories, screws, sealants, adhesives, selfdrilling screws, stapling tacking and gluing equipment.

A complete technical support package The Vermont Sales Rawlplug Specification Team provides a complete package of technical support, from the design stage of a project to its completion.

Their Technical Advisory Service will also provide information, technical data and samples, as well as arrange for one of their engineers to visit offices, sites and retailers.

The team also visits sites to conduct Pull-Out Tests. This is particularly useful where structures are unknown or potentially weak, for example, solid or hollow, low-strength block work, which can be as thin as 100mm, and brickwork, which could show voids and poor mortar strength. The team carries out a series of tests in accordance with the engineering requirements and in compliance with BS 8539 and the Construction Fixings Association guidelines.

A recommendation is then made based on the actual results obtained to enable an accurate specification to be done and for the correct product to be selected.

For more information, on the Rawlplug products contact Vermont Sales on 011 314 7711 or visit their website: www.vermontsales.co.za.

Rawplug products are available from leading outlets countrywide for information on your nearest outlet call Vermont Sales on 011 314 7711. Trade enquiries welcome

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PROFESSIONS ADVERTORIAL

Transforming space to let

The Fieldspace Property Group is an amalgamation of property owners and managers who have merged under one brand in order to obtain growth. The company believes that the local property industry has not yet made full use of today’s technological capabilities. Therefore it is injecting innovation into the way business is done by means of three solutions.

“We constantly strive to improve our offering and give potential tenants everything they need to assist them in the decision-making process. We understand that it’s hard to visualise your perfect space when looking at an empty shell, and we want to assist with that process as much as possible” said Scott Field, CEO of Fieldspace Property Group.

‘We know that one of the most difficult tasks for a broker is taking a potential client into a space and convincing them that it will meet their unique requirements. Therefore we provide brokers the opportunity to show their clients a view of a fully refurbished space using the latest virtual reality technology. All the broker needs to do is to spark an idea in their client’s mind that will enable them to imagine the possibilities in the spaces we have to offer. We don’t just want to sell, we want to take our clients on a journey.

We demonstrated this to a stream of property brokers in Midrand today. Each broker took home their own Fieldspace Viewer to make use of at their own leisure and for future visits to our vacant buildings’ he says.

by our broker liaison Rebecca Fawcett, brokers with up to four clients will be collected from their office and driven to our relevant space to let in Fieldspace’s very own Mercedes Benz V-Class equipped with cold beverages and free wifi on board. The service will be booked through our leasing team.

Concierge service

Fieldspace Property Group T +27 (0)11 305 2347 E leasing@fieldspace.co.za W www.fieldspace.co.za

For brokers who wish to travel in comfort and style to view one of the company’s select spaces a broker concierge service has been launched. ‘Accompanied

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Photo by Fieldspace

A local property broking company believes that the local property industry has not yet made full use of today’s technological capabilities.

360 degree tours on the web For those who prefer to avoid the commute, the company offers 360 degree tours of certain on its website. This allows visitors the ability to experience a virtual tour of the premises without commuting to the actual building. According to Field, this is common practice in the residential market overseas, however the South African commercial property market has not yet capitalised on this functionality until today.

Broad portfolio The company’s portfolio comprises R2 billion in assets spanning across 235,000 square metres of commercial, industrial and retail space. The focus is primarily on A/B+ grade properties, occupying local and international blue-chip companies in Gauteng, with some representation in KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town.

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We specialize in the following: • Rock fall Protection measures • Sprayed Concrete Solutions • Lateral Support Systems

Penny-Farthing Engineering SA (Pty)Ltd • Tel: 041 3721708 • e-mail: info@pfsa.co.za

• Rock Drilling at Heights • Stabilized earth walls • Installation of soil anchors • Barring down of unstable rock

Guncrete Geotechnical (Pty) Ltd • Tel: 011 9432048 • e-mail: admin@guncrete.co.za

www.pfsa.co.za www.guncrete.co.za

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PROFESSIONS DEVELOPERS

Springs Mall has sprung The 48 000m2 regional Springs Mall opened during March and its construction came in on schedule and within budget after an intense and immensely intricate two-year-plus construction programme.

Photo by Giuricich Bros Construction

South African family-owned construction firm, Giuricich Bros Construction, successfully completed the R950 million world-class new Springs Mall in Ekurhuleni on the east of Gauteng, its largest construction project to date as main contractor.

‘With a sterling track record of 77 years, Giuricich Bros has delivered many landmark construction projects countrywide, but Springs Mall is the largest so far,’ says Nicky Giuricich, director of Giuricich Bros Construction.

Giuricich’s impressive portfolio of landmark construction projects includes: • the 6-Star Green Star SA Office Design certified WWF offices in Johannesburg • the expanding Vaal Mall in Vanderbijl Park • redeveloping the iconic Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban • McDonalds restaurants countrywide • 20 West Street Capital Hotel building in Sandton • the original BMW head office in Midrand • recent motor dealerships for Mercedes-Benz, KIA and Hyundai • switch-centres for MTN countrywide, and, • as one of the contractors in the original development of well-known shopping centres such as Hyde Park, Fourways Mall, Southgate and Rosebank Mall.

‘We are hugely proud of the all-new Springs Mall.

It is a real distinction for Giuricich Bros Construction

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as the main contractor and everyone involved in the development. As a testament to our confidence in this excellent retail asset, we are also a co-investor in the mall through Murinda Investments, which is part of the Giuricich Bros Group,’ says Giuricich.

Springs Mall is a joint venture between the Giuricich Bros Group, Blue Crane Eco Mall (Pty) Ltd, Flanagan & Gerard Property Development & Investment, and JSElisted retail REIT Vukile Property Fund.

The mall is the vision of the Springs-based D’Arrigo family.

‘Springs Mall regional shopping centre is a wellbuilt quality property and a world-class shopping mall.

We are thrilled to have been part of creating this topnotch retail real estate asset. The team at Giuricich Bros Group can proudly undertake similar large retail projects and we look forward to our ongoing association with our partners with this uniquely innovative and appealing Springs Mall,’ says financial director, Gerard Giuricich.

Environmentally innovative The Giuricich Bros Group has forged a reputation for leadership in environmentally innovative construction.

With the mall’s construction brief being to build responsible development for its environmentally sensitive site, set amid wetlands, Springs Mall highlighted Giuricich Bros specialised green knowhow.

As one of South Africa’s largest privately owned and managed construction companies, Giuricich Bros is committed to the country and passionate about driving positive impacts that support and grow the economy, society and local businesses.

For Springs Mall, this included ensuring that construction material, products and labour were sourced locally wherever possible.

Giuricich Bros Construction T +27 (0)11 802 5821 W www.giuricich.co.za

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Photos by ASPASA

ENGINEERING PROFESSIONS

Above: Nico Pienaar of Aspasa.

Left: A well-run quarry is an asset to our towns and cities.

Creating employment The value of well-run quarries in our cities and towns was recently underscored by research suggesting that every job in the quarrying industry creates a further five jobs in downstream operations, says the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (ASPASA).

Figures suggest that quarries are major contributors to regional job creation efforts; and as an industry, is a major driver of the national economy accounting for substantial revenues and the creation of many thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Aspasa director, Nico Pienaar, says these job creation figures are yet another compelling reason for communities to be excited about the proclamation of a new quarry.

‘A registered legal quarry, especially one belonging to Aspasa, should be an asset to a community by creating jobs and allowing for the construction of houses and infrastructure to be developed within the surrounding areas.

‘The research done in the USA by the Phoenix Centre for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies shows that quarries are not only beneficial to the development of physical infrastructure, but are also major contributors to the building of strong local economies. It also showed that the benefits lasted for an extended period ranging from 20 years to longer,’ Pienaar adds.

‘This effectively means that people can be employed within the supply chain of a quarry for a lifetime. That means that everyone from the quarry manager, to the machine operators, transport providers, financial services, surrounding store owners and a host of other beneficiaries can build long-term plans and rely on the quarry as a constant source of income.

‘Given today’s requirement for strict health and safety requirements, and with tight legislation guarding all environmental aspects of a quarry, perhaps the time has now come for communities to change their misconceptions about quarries and to start viewing them as enablers of strong communities with solid infrastructure that is sourced locally, with lifelong benefits for the entire community, Pienaar concludes.

Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa T +27 (0)11 791 3327 E nico@aspasa.co.za W www.aspasa.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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ADVERTORIAL AECOM The road network underpins the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s long-term goal to expand the western areas

An aerial view of the Redhouse Chelsea Interchange and Arterial Roads project

Redhouse Chelsea Interchange project scoops major award AECOM has showcased its design expertise on the Redhouse Chelsea Interchange and Arterial Roads project in Port Elizabeth for main client SANRAL and contractor Basil Read. The project clinched an award in the Roads and Stormwater category at the 2016 IMIESA/CESA Excellence Awards.

The road network underpins the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s (NMBM) long-term goal to expand the western areas to meet the burgeoning demand for residential and commercial growth in the greater Port Elizabeth area.

The Redhouse Chelsea Interchange and Arterial Roads project was fast-tracked by the development of the 92 000m2 regional Bay West Mall, completed in 2015. With the proposed interchange on the N2 offering direct access to the area, the commercial development became significantly more viable. As a result, the Bay West City special purpose vehicle was established to implement the project.

‘AECOM was appointed for the design, management and supervision of the project, which included management of an extensive environmental approval process as the site is situated in an extremely sensitive environmental biosphere with a number of plant species on the national Red List. This

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is a comprehensive assessment of all South African indigenous plants,’ says Franclyn Samuel, Associate Civil Engineer (Civil Infrastructure), Port Elizabeth Office Lead.

Solution had to have the least invasive impact on the natural habitat Hence the road network went though many design iterations before an agreement was reached with the local authorities.

‘This was the main driver behind the extended design process, as the solution had to have the least invasive impact upon the natural habitat,’ Samuel adds.

The final road layout consisted of a new interchange on the N2, with two bridges and 4km of ramps; the Cyclopia Bridge, extending over an environmentally-sensitive area; two river bridges, extending over the upper Baakens River; a threebarrel culvert servicing an existing watercourse and

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AECOM ADVERTORIAL

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AECOM showcased its design expertise on the Redhouse Chelsea Interchange and Arterial Roads project in Port Elizabeth

the outfalls from three major detention ponds; and 6 km of arterial roads, as well as intersections and services.

The project included the provision of several bulk services such as water, sewerage and telecommunications for the Bay West City precinct, as well as street lighting for all roads, including a portion of the N2.

Work on the project commenced on 6 January 2014, with Basil Read appointed as the principal contractor. The contract comprised two major milestones: • Phases 1 and 2 to complete unrestricted access and services for the Bay West Mall. • Phase 3 to complete the arterial-road link from the N2 to Cape Road.

Due to a delay in the start of construction, the contractor proposed that precast members be used for the bridges. The main beams for the N2 bridges, weighing up to 70 tons, were manufactured in Gauteng and transported to the site. The remainder of the precast members were produced on-site. Phases 1 and 2 were ultimately completed on time and Phase 3 completed ahead of schedule.

AECOM has over a century of experience managing and delivering highway and road projects for all levels of government and private industry globally. It has extensive skills in construction and construction management, transportation planning, design programme management and asset support services, in addition to specialised project-delivery methods such as public-private partnerships and joint ventures.

About AECOM AECOM is built to deliver a better world. We design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organisations in more than 150 countries. As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and experience across our global network of experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, our work is transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $18 billion during fiscal year 2015.

AECOM was appointed for the design_management and supervision of the Redhouse Chelsea Interchange and Arterial Roads project

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PROFESSIONS ENGINEERING

Transforming the engineering sector Project delivery company WorleyParsons RSA is collaborating with small- and medium-sized black-owned enterprises to jointly deliver services in the mining, water, energy and infrastructure sectors, says the company’s CEO, Denver Dreyer.

Transformation is the right thing to do for our country, but on an enterprise level, it will also secure a better future for all the people engaged in our organisation, regardless of who they are. Through our transformation partnerships, we will be able to land bigger projects alongside those partners, which will benefit everyone in our employ,’ says Dreyer.

Agreement with ISF Group

‘As part of our unwavering commitment to transformation, we are leading this agenda in engineering across all sectors in South Africa and are partnering with sustainable, empowered businesses that are capable of growing with us,’ says Dreyer.

‘We do not consider transformation a ‘numbers game’ in terms of BBE points. It is imperative for longterm success as our traditional markets are changing.

Service providers have to adjust their business models to reflect the transformation agenda or else be at risk of becoming obsolete,’ he adds.

‘The partnerships that we are creating are mutually beneficial. We will evaluate the strengths that each party brings to the table and identify where we can help each other. These enterprises will benefit from skills transfer and gain an understanding of how to successfully deliver bigger projects with our support, while we do our part to transform the engineering sector in South Africa.’

‘We are entering into agreements with suitable companies as equals for the benefit of both parties.

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Photo by WorleyParsons

Denver Dreyer

WorleyParsons has already entered into an agreement with the ISF Group, a 100% black-owned emerging EPCM company that supplies specialised services in the energy, water, ICT, transportation and construction sectors.

“ISF is proud to be associated with WorleyParsons through a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at fostering a working relationship whereby both parties will use each other’s strengths to pursue and potentially to implement projects, to bolster each party’s business potential, to complement strategic intent, especially in business marketing, promotion and development, and, importantly, for ISF to engage with an established leader in the professional services, including engineering, procurement support and construction management services to the global resources, energy sectors and complex process industries,’ says CEO of the ISF Group, Ian Sandile Funeka.

‘ISF views this collaboration as an opportunity to firmly establish a 100% South African-owned EPCM company,’ he adds.

‘ISF’s engagements with WorleyParsons in the hydrocarbons, railway, energy and general infrastructure industries have brought much needed impetus for the growth of our business. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with WP wherein ISF’s growth is able to impact positively on our business and on a social level in the communities where we operate,’ says Funeka.

WorleyParsons RSA E Denver.dreyer@worleyparsons.com

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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS & LANDSCAPING PROFESSIONS

Water-wise landscaping Living in water-scarce regions, now including the Western and Northern Cape, can be a privilege owing to their access to nature and landscapes of endless scenery. However, as the years pass, the drought gets ahead of us, giving us specific restrictions on water usage.

Mulching Mulch is a great option. Even though its colouring is brown as opposed to the greenery we so desire in the garden, it has an attractive quality to its overall look.

It needs no water, is generally associated with local forests and riparian areas where leaves, bark and twigs make up the grounding, and comes at a low cost.

Going artificial Artificial turf is becoming more and more popular as it gives our senses the impression that it’s grass, but it doesn’t need weekly maintenance and lawn mowing, or to be watered at all. It works as well indoors and outdoors.

Photos by Revelstone

Water is the source to freedom: to growth in the environment, to life and for our survival. So, when it’s scarce, we need alternative solutions. When it comes to the garden area, large areas of grass are no longer an option as they need a continuous amount of water to sustain their greenery.

Cape-based company with a national footprint, Revelstone, believes that replacing a lawn area with a water-wise option is the best option you can give yourself and the environment. Pavers, mulch, straw, cobbles, peach pits, bark chips, moss, artificial turf and water-wise plants make for a great setup when it comes to landscaping the outdoors.

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PROFESSIONS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS & LANDSCAPING Cobblestones and concrete paving is leading the way forward and allowing people options in the layout, design and aesthetic, while still leaving small spaces for succulents and grass to grow in between, all which require less water. You can create spaces that surround garden beds or stone paths that lead throughout the property, giving a creative dynamic that preserves the environment and beautifies the home.

Revelstone T +27 (0)86 117 3835 W www.revelstone.co.za www.jhbcityparks.com/index.php/tree-planting/ tree-planting-updates/1290-water-wise-gardening

Tips for water-wise gardening The Parks Department of the City of Johannesburg has released these very useful guidelines:

Growing water-wise plants There are many attractive plants which need no additional watering once established. These are plants, such as succulents, which have fleshy leaves and stems and can store water.

Grouping plants according to their water needs Plants have different water requirements. Grouping them according to their water needs avoids wasting water on plants that do not need it.

Considering the quantity and type of your lawn Lawn uses a lot of water, therefore decide how much lawn space you want and consider planting indigenous, low-water use grass.

Maintaining your garden Remove weeds and unwanted plants as they take water away from plants that you want to flourish. Consider planting fewer seasonal plants (annuals) and more plants which live longer (perennials).

Improving the soil This can be done by adding more compost. This encourages earthworm activity, aeration and water penetration.

Mulching your garden This can be done by covering the soil with a layer of bark to help cool the soil and reduce water evaporation.

Planting in the right season It is advisable to plant in spring and early summer (August to November). At these times of the year the conditions are ideal, giving plants a chance to establish good root systems before the dry season.

Watering correctly Watering depends on soil type, watering equipment, weather and plant type. In summer, it is advisable to water your plants in the early morning and early evening to avoid water evaporation, and in winter to water in the late morning.

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PROFESSIONS LEGAL

Limited voetstoots protection

By Natasha Fletcher

To Build’s regular contributor, Adv Bryan Hack, is on leave. In his absence, we are thrilled to receive this legal contribution from well-known legal firm, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

The seller, in terms of our law, is automatically held liable for latent defects, whether he knew of them at the time of the sale or not. To avoid this common law liability, a voetstoots clause included in a sale agreement protects the seller from any action which the purchaser may institute should any latent defect be discovered.

The judgment in Ellis and Another v Cilliers NO and Others 2016 (1) SA 293 (WCC) serves as a warning to sellers, however, that there are instances where the voetstoots clause is no protection.

The Ellis judgment

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Photo by Gareth Griffiths

Mr and Mrs Ellis (purchasers) bought a wooden house from Mrs Cilliers (seller), the back of which was built into a slope and the front of which was on stilts.

The sale agreement contained a voetstoots clause which stated that the seller would not be responsible for any latent or patent defects, or answerable for any warranties either express or implied and that the purchasers confirmed that they had satisfied themselves as to the condition of the property personally, or by a duly authorised person on their behalf.

After registration of transfer the purchasers started renovating the house to make the lounge, kitchen and dining area ‘open plan’. On removing the kitchen cupboards, they discovered that two sections of the kitchen floor had been cut out and later replaced to give access to the area below and that the floor had subsided at the outer edges so that the middle part was higher than the sides. Further expert investigations revealed that the house had several other defects, including: • it was no longer level because of subsidence on the northern side due to severe decay in the foundation supporting it • a cement screed had been poured over the wooden floors which were then carpeted and tiled

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LEGAL PROFESSIONS over and a false ceiling had been constructed under and suspended from the original ceiling, all to create the illusion that the house was level (levelling treatment) • the lounge floor had been raised using wooden wedges to conceal the subsidence, and • a Nutec cladding had been applied to the outside of the house, also to conceal the subsidence.

The purchasers started action to cancel the sale agreement, stating that they would not have bought the property if they had known about the defects, alternatively they claimed a reduction in the purchase price or damages.

The seller, while acknowledging that the condition of the foundation constituted a latent defect, claimed that she had been unaware of its condition and was therefore protected by the voetstoots clause. The seller did admit that the cement screed had been applied to level the floors, but denied that one or more of the alleged defects in the Levelling Treatment constituted defects.

The seller alleged that the installation of the false ceiling had been done for aesthetic purposes only and that the levelling of the ceiling did not constitute a defect. The seller also contended that the wooden wedges used to level the lounge floor were an improvement and done for aesthetic purposes and therefore did not constitute a defect.

Regarding the Nutec cladding, the seller alleged that this was done to save on painting which would otherwise have had to be done every three years.

What the court had to consider The court had to consider whether the seller was indeed protected by the voetstoots clause or whether the purchasers had proved, as set out by Cachalia JA in Odendaal v Ferraris 2009 (4) SA 313 (SCA), that the seller had known of the latent defects and had deliberately failed to disclose them with the intention to defraud, or had known about the defects and had failed to disclose them as she had not considered their significance, which could also amount to fraud.

Latent defects The courts, when considering what constitutes a latent defect, most often refer to Holmdene Brickworks (Pty) Ltd v Roberts Construction Ltd 1977 (3) SA 670 (A) where the Supreme Court of Appeal broadly defined a latent defect as ‘an abnormal quality

or attribute which destroys or substantially impairs the utility or effectiveness of the res vendita for the purpose for which it has been sold, or for which it is commonly used. Such a defect is latent when it is one which is not visible or discoverable upon an inspection of the res vendita’.

In Odendaal, the Supreme Court of Appeal extended this definition to include ‘in a broad sense, any material imperfection preventing or hindering the ordinary or common use of the res vendita’, thereby including not only physical defects but also nonphysical defects such as building plans. The court did, however, stress that each case must be decided on its own merits.

Levelling Treatment – a defect What hinders the ordinary common use of the res vendita? The court in Ellis expressed the view that an imperfection is not a static concept, but is influenced by changes in style, custom and other factors influencing modern living, the purpose for which the property was purchased and also what a reasonable man would expect of the type or nature of such a property.

The court further expressed the view that in present times it is not uncommon for young couples to purchase property with the intention of renovating it to suit their needs and that a wooden home is easily renovated at relatively little cost compared to that of a brick home.

The court held that a reasonable man purchasing a wooden house would expect to be able to renovate it and would not have expected to find false ceilings and cement screed covering the wooden floors.

The court agreed with the purchasers’ statement that if there had been no defect the seller would have had nothing to level. The court believed the unlevel wooden floors had been a concern for the seller, but because she did not testify the court was unable to ascertain whether this was for aesthetic reasons or not.

The court accordingly found that the unlevel floors were a latent defect which only the seller knew about and that the defect ‘hindered the ordinary or common use of the res vendita’.

Disclosure The court was of the view that the dictum by Cachalia AJ in Odendaal was applicable: ‘where a seller recklessly tells a half truth or knows the facts but does

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PROFESSIONS LEGAL

Conclusion - Disclose, disclose, disclose The fear of not selling a house, or achieving the desired asking price, should not deter a seller from making a full disclosure of all defects, patent or latent, whether the seller considers them significant or not, as the failure to do so could end up costing more in the long run.

About the author Natasha Fletcher is an Associate, Real Estate, with Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, as overseen by Muhammed Gattoo, Director, Real Estate, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, Johannesburg T +27 (0)11 562 1263 E natasha.fletcher@cdhlegal.com

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The author: Natasha Fletcher

Photo by CDH

not reveal them because he or she has not bothered to consider their significance. This may also amount to fraud.’

The court, in concluding that there is an obligation on the seller to disclose any unusual or abnormal qualities of the res vendita, relied on Dibley v Furter 1951 (4) SA 71 (C) in which Van Zyl J referred to Pothiers’ ‘Treatise on Contract Sale’ which states that in a contract of sale the seller is obliged in good faith to declare all that he knows about the thing sold to the purchaser, who has interest in knowing it, and that the failure to do so is against good faith.

Van Zyl J concludes that ‘it seems therefore to me that the defect, to give rise to the obligation to disclose, need not be one giving rise to aedilition relief – provided that its non-disclosure would have the effect of placing the parties on unequal terms, and that when this latter takes place it is only in cases where the buyer has been really over reached that relief must be granted’.

The court in Ellis found that the unlevel floors were such an unusual feature that the seller, even if she didn’t think them unusual, should have told the purchasers about them. The court could only conclude that she did not do so because she had been afraid that if she had, the purchasers would not have bought the house.

The court further found that the seller had not considered the significance of her non-disclosure and that by her actions had intended to defeat the provisions of the voetstoots clause.

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) is a full service law firm – one of the largest business law firms in South Africa, with more than 350 lawyers and a track record spanning over 163 years.

The company provides experienced legal support and an authentic knowledge-based and cost-effective legal service for clients looking to do business in key markets across Africa. The Africa practice brings together the resources and expertise of leading business law firms across the continent that have direct experience acting for governments, state agencies and multinational organisations. This combined experience across the continent produces an extensive African capability. CDH also partners with other professional disciplines such as audit, business consulting or corporate finance disciplines to provide a seamless and integrated solution for projects that have a multi-disciplinary dimension.

The practice focuses on a number of key sectors which are active and thriving in Africa, including mining and minerals, telecommunications, energy, oil and gas, banking and finance, projects and infrastructure, hospitality and leisure and arbitration. (Source: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr. com/en/about/)

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LEGAL PROFESSIONS

Contractors beware

By Tony Chappel, Head of Construction, Norton Rose Fulbright

A standard clause in the standard FIDIC construction contracts provides that the total liability of the contractor to the employer cannot exceed a stated sum, usually the contract value. However, there is a sting in this tail for a contractor, because the concluding sentence of the clause provides that it ‘shall not limit liability in any case of fraud, deliberate default or reckless misconduct.’

It is not usually necessary to prove negligence (or recklessness) to prove breach of contract. However, the rationale for the proviso to the limitation of liability clause in the FIDIC contracts is not hard to find – while the loss which may be suffered by an employer can be significant, the ability to prevent this loss may be within the contractor’s control. In such circumstances, a contractor ought not to be allowed to act in reckless disregard of its obligations whilst relying on a contractual limit of liability.

Our courts have battled to distinguish between negligence, gross negligence and recklessness.

However, they have recognised that gross negligence requires a departure from the standard of reasonable conduct, involving a total failure to take care. They have also held that recklessness implies gross negligence at the very least. Reckless misconduct may be regarded as acting with reckless disregard for the known or foreseeable consequences.

Photo by Norton Rose Fulbright

Problematic interpretation

Lower bar in SA The English courts, in contrast to the South African courts, appear to conflate reckless misconduct with wilful misconduct. Wilful misconduct has been found in England to mean deliberately doing something which is wrong, knowing it to be wrong, or with reckless indifference as to whether it is wrong or not.

The South African courts have, therefore, set the bar lower for reckless misconduct than the English courts have, in that in South Africa it is not necessary to prove that a deliberate risk has been taken.

Employers using FIDIC based contracts, subject to South African law will, therefore, find it easier to prove reckless misconduct than their counterparts who are bound by English law.

Tony Chappel

It is not unheard of for an increasingly desperate contractor to act with reckless disregard for the consequences. The proviso to the limitation of liability clause will assist employers in these circumstances, though it is likely that only in rare cases will recklessness be proved.

Norton Rose Fulbright T +27 (0)11 685 8500 W www.nortonrosefulbright.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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PROFESSIONS QUANTITY SURVEYING

New property measurement standard As part of their aim to professionalise the property industry more broadly, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is updating their global property measurement standard to ensure it incorporates new internationally agreed benchmarks for residential property management. The new edition will also reflect the views and opinions of professionals and their clients around the world.

‘RICS Property Measurement 2nd Edition, which is an update to the original professional statement, will ensure that RICS professionals provide consistent property measurements to their clients. It will enhance transparency and enable greater comparability across property markets,’ says TC Chetty, RICS Country Manager for South Africa.

Sharing of insights

Three-month period for feedback A three-month consultation period has been provided to seek as much feedback from professionals, stakeholders and partners across the industry. The consultation is available on the RICS i-Consult online portal until 31 July.

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Photo by RICS

RICS is inviting input from anyone undertaking, commissioning or using property measurement information to share their insights which will be invaluable in helping shape a new standard that will inform the way property measurement is undertaken.

‘The updated standard will ensure that the profession responds to the changing nature of the property market, which is increasingly international,’ says Chetty.

Alexander Aronsohn, RICS Director, Technical Standards, says: ‘The development and use of globally benchmarked standards such as RICS Property Measurement 2nd Edition is a major step in professionalising surveying practices. It ensures that our professionals are at the forefront of new measurement practices and in step with evolving professional trends that instil confidence in global markets.

‘We are working with other organisations, internationally, including SAPOA in South Africa, to develop and introduce common standards for property measurement that enhance transparency and comparability in the marketplace. In doing so we’re elevating the status of the profession in the markets in which we operate,’ Aronsohn adds.

Wafula Nabutola, RICS’s director for Sub-Saharan Africa

RICS Property Measurement 1st Edition became mandatory for RICS professionals last year. Following feedback received on that standard, RICS has updated and simplified guidance on the mandatory nature of the 2nd Edition, which is set out in the consultation draft.

The RICS Property Measurement 2nd Edition incorporates International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS), a set of internationally agreed property measurement standards created by the IPMS Coalition (IPMSC). It is a group of more than 80 professional, industry and not-for-profit organisations from around the world, working together to develop and implement international standards for measuring property.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) T +27 (0)31 764 4645 M +27 (0)83 264 3134 E tcchetty@rics.org W www.rics.org/us/tag/measurement/ www.ipmsc.org

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ADVERTORIAL RICS

Increasing confidence in South African property valuation Valuation is one of the key areas of practice for Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) qualified professionals. To ensure globally consistent valuation standards, RICS publish ‘RICS Valuation Standards’, also known as the ‘Red Book’, which are mandatory for RICS professionals and RICS regulated firms and apply the requirements of international valuation standards.

In response to the last global financial crisis, RICS developed a regulatory monitoring initiative, known as Valuer Registration (VR), to ensure the consistent application of Red Book valuation standards worldwide.

Valuer Registration now mandatory for all RICS valuers in South Africa RICS Valuer Registration was launched in June 2016 on a voluntary basis for any RICS valuer practicing in South Africa. Following consideration by the RICS governance structures and the RICS Regulatory Board, RICS Valuer Registration became mandatory for all member valuers working in South Africa on 1 February 2017.

The Valuer Registration Scheme sets out an approach to raise confidence in the delivery of valuation advice and reinforces the highest professional standards in property valuation - a key component underpinning most economic activity.

RICS main objective with this plan is to reinforce the quality and accuracy of valuations while raising consumer confidence in the profession, minimising the risk associated with property valuations with effective regulation.

In an increasingly global business environment, international property valuation standards are necessary to facilitate greater transparency. Through effective monitoring the Valuer Registration Scheme will demonstrate compliance with existing international standards.’

Careful monitoring of all Registered Valuers All RICS members are regulated, but Registered Valuers are subject to specific monitoring that begins as soon as members sign up to Valuer Registration. An automatic risk score is established for the individual member and should any risks come to light, RICS will conduct an enquiry, including checking information against Red Book requirements, processes and audit trails that the registered valuer has in place.

In line with Valuer Registration being made mandatory for South African valuation professionals, RICS South Africa will continue to provide additional information and technical workshops going forward.

All South African RICS Registered Valuers are urged to go online at https://memberschemes.rics.org/ and register for VR if they have not already done so.

Reinforces transparency and market confidence ‘Valuer Registration provide regulators, lenders, asset managers and investors in the market with a clearly identifiable designation for the best regulated and qualified valuation professionals, as RICS members welcome open scrutiny and comparison with industry best practice,’ said TC Chetty, Country Manager: RICS South Africa. ‘The introduction of VR as mandatory in South Africa from 1 February 2017 has helped reinforce transparency and market confidence.”

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Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors TC Chetty, RICS Country Manager for South Africa T +27 (0)31 764 4645 or +27 (0)83 264 3134 E tcchetty@rics.org

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Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

BUILDING SYSTEMS Automation......................................92 Bathrooms.......................................96 Doors & Windows........................102 Electrical.......................................107 Kitchens...........................................111 Lighting...........................................115 Roofing...........................................116 Safety & Security...........................126

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Automation BUILDING SYSTEMS

Culture of compelling innovation

By Charl Mijnhardt, Centurion Systems

Members of senior management of a leading automated access and security systems company were recently tasked with defining the company’s brand essence.

Photos by Centurion

Managers of the company, Centurion Systems, could distil the brand essence into a single concept: compelling innovation. This, they said, underpins their company’s output from a product design perspective.

It is an integral part of the design philosophy to create access automation systems that solve real problems.

The desire to continuously innovate is part of

Centurion Systems’ culture. In their R&D wing there exists a hallowed, scholarly silence. Here, a group consisting of mostly engineers of different specialisations, can be found studying complex 3D models or circuit board layouts. They are dedicated to the advancement of access automation for security, convenience and peace of mind. In the adjacent

Installation of D5-Evo motor

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BUILDING SYSTEMS Automation

lab, a state-of-the-art 3D printer is in the process of converting a rendering on a computer screen into a physical prototype, transforming the ethereal into the corporeal like some real-life alchemist.

‘It’s hard to know exactly where the story begins, or at least when the story hit the proverbial fork in the road, that led to such a radical shift in our direction,’ says R&D director, Rob Dickens, regarding groundbreaking new products.

‘For example, the evolution of Centurion Systems benchmark product, the D5-Evo sliding gate motor.

Reflecting on that, it wasn’t a single event, it was the sum of many disruptive technology hops that ultimately’, seemingly magically, allowed us to arrive where we are today.’

The development of the D5-Evo marked a turning point in Centurion Systems story, launching the company to worldwide access automation ‘superstardom’. The company’s finest achievement to date, the D5-Evo checks all the right boxes from a usability and functionality perspective. It boasts an intuitive LCD interface packed with high-security features, including the innovative Beam Alarms and ChronoGuard onboard timer. Both aforesaid technologies are world firsts and have played a significant role in the company’s progress, further expanding on the compelling innovation theme that has become such a mainstay of the corporate culture.

Anton Smuts, part-owner of Johannesburg-based security technology integrator, SecuCam, has been

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installing Centurion Systems’ solutions for the past three years.

‘The company goes the extra mile for their installers, yet still keeps their products simple and professional, exactly what every installer wants in their access automation products,’ says Smuts in answer to why he considers Centurion Systems’ products to be superior. He lists user- and installer-friendly interfaces, a sleek look and feel and continuous improvement as some of the reasons for his devotion and loyalty to the brand. SecuCam regularly installs access control products, including proximity and biometric systems, and Smuts lauds the fact that Centurion Systems’ products integrate seamlessly with his preferred access control solutions.

Regarding the seminal D5-Evo, Smuts identifies the built-in LCD screen as his favourite feature: ‘The display not only simplifies the installation, but also simplifies the explanation for the user. I also really like the fact that one can add remote buttons by merely pressing a button,’ he adds.

Centurion Systems W www.centsys.com SecuCam E anton@secucam.co.za

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BUILDING SYSTEMS BATHROOMS

Small bathrooms – big ideas A leading sanitary ware and tiling supplier shares their ideas with designers on making the small bathroom a highly prized space. saving floor space in a bathroom, the problem is that they do not offer any useful storage,’ explains Johnny.

‘Rather opt for wall-hung, floating cabinetry that acts as a sink vanity with added storage. Bathroom Bizarre offers a range of various modular units that can be pieced together to fit virtually any custom space. For a seamless finish, we also offer custom-size filler pieces that are manufactured from the same material as the cabinetry to fill in where the unit joins up against the wall. Homeowners can now benefit from customised cabinetry, at affordable off-the-shelf prices.’

Photos by Bathroom Bizarre

Bathroom layouts can be challenging; however, a small bathroom layout can be particularly difficult to get right. Johnny Lamprecht from leading sanitary ware and tile supplier, Bathroom Bizarre, shares his ideas with readers about making a small bathroom a more attractive, comfortable and functional space.

‘Just because your bathroom is short on space does not mean that you have to sacrifice good looks for functionality. with the right combination of materials, sanitary ware and design, your small bathroom can feel inviting, serene and stylish,’ he says.

Storage is key Most homeowners don’t have spacious bathrooms and often they have overflowing drawers, cluttered counters and shelves spilling over with beauty and hygiene products.

In small bathrooms a cluttered, disorderly space can exacerbate the problem and make the space seem claustrophobic. Storage is one of the most important design features in creating a successful layout.

‘You can’t have too much storage in a bathroom.

Although pedestal basins remain a great way of

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Using tiles ‘My number one rule is that bigger tiles are better when it comes to smaller spaces. Larger tiles help create the illusion of more space as they create less grouting lines when installed and these lines tend to break the space up visually. Also, be sure to use one uniform tile for the entire bathroom floor,’ says Johnny.

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BATHROOMS BUILDING SYSTEMS ‘With regards wall tiles, it is imperative to tile from the floor right up to the ceiling to create the illusion of height. Another clever way of creating the illusion of height is to lay the tiles vertically to draw the eye upwards – especially effective when using subway tiles.”

Selecting colours Only use light colours for a small bathroom. This is especially true in a bathroom which has many built-in features.

‘Lighter colours tend to open up the space visually, making the space feel lighter and brighter. If you want to use darker colours in this space, then reserve them for the floor to create a nice contrast between the floor and walls and keep the overall scheme light. Also, avoid over-fussy and busy designs as they will make the space feel cluttered. Rather opt for clean, simple designs’, Johnny advises.

Mirrors Mirrors remain a great way of adding depth, width and length to a small room. They also reflect light which makes the space seem brighter and bigger.

‘Adding a mirror across an entire wall can double the look and feel of a small bathroom. This is particularly effective above a vanity or along one side of a narrow room,’ says Johnny.

Keep it off the floor A small bathroom will also be short of floor space. The illusion of added floor space can be achieved by not breaking the line of sight on the bathroom floor.

This can be done by mounting pieces on the wall instead of opting for freestanding designs. This includes floating vanities, recessed and open shelving and wall-hung cabinetry. Wall-hung toilets are another great option as they save space and add leg-room by having the cistern built-into the wall.

Lose the tub Baths take up twice the space of a shower and they also break up the space visually. Johnny advises that for smaller bathrooms it is best to ditch the bath altogether in lieu of a shower.

‘If you opt to go this route, then be sure to include glass shower doors and panels as these let more light into the space and don’t break up the line of sight in the room. Choose continual flooring and a curbless shower floor if possible. By eliminating the curb around your shower your flooring will continue right into the shower for a seamless result and it will help to make the floor space of the room appear larger,’ says Johnny.

Making an entrance A big space-saving idea is to switch out the normal swing door and replace it with a pocket or sliding door that slides into a cavity created in the wall, saving floor and wall space and adding more flexibility when placing fixtures.

If a pocket wall is beyond the budget, opt instead for a surface-mounted sliding door that slides open on the wall outside the bathroom.

Light it up The lighter and brighter a space is, the larger and airier it seems. It is very important that a small bathroom is well lit, using both natural and electrical lighting.

‘Open up the window spaces to let in as much natural light as possible, don’t block them with heavy blinds. If privacy is an issue, then rather swap the glazing out with opaque glass so that natural light can still brighten the room. If the room is still dark, consider a skylight,’ says Johnny.

‘With regards to electrical lighting design, be sure to create a layered lighting scheme with general, ambient and task lighting. It is a good idea to ensure that each different layer of lighting is separately controlled.’

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BUILDING SYSTEMS BATHROOMS

Design meets function A leading multinational supplier tells To Build readers about the ABC of its exclusively branded bathroom range.

‘The Geberit catalogue in South Africa will for the first time include our bathroom series comprising ceramic sanitary appliances and bathroom furniture. This series will be sold solely with our logo in Southern Africa.

With this step, our customers will be able to take advantage of products that combine perfect design and sophisticated functionality in a unique way,’ says Dorianne Isaacman, Head of Marketing at Geberit.

The brand is synonymous with good design, outstanding functionality, first-class quality and a system approach.

Ceramic sanitary appliances and bathroom furniture ‘Professionals have come to appreciate uncompromising high standards when it comes to the sanitary products from Geberit and they can expect the same from the Geberit bathroom series. The bathroom series, which are manufactured entirely in Europe, are designed for both private bathrooms and public sanitary facilities. In 2017, Geberit will include the Citterio, Xeno2, iCon, Smyle and Abalona bathroom series in its product portfolio,’ says Isaacman.

Thanks to their various styles, designs and prices, the bathroom series – which comprise ceramic sanitary appliances and bathroom furniture – have something to offer for any bathroom. A wide range

of washbasins, both with and without cabinets, and cleverly designed furniture with lots of storage space for every design requirement, make the bathroom series real eye-catchers. The Geberit Rimfree toilets without a flush rim are unique and, above all, functional. They are very easy to clean and feature an excellent flushing-out performance.

‘Thanks to this series, it is now possible to offer our customers a comprehensive range of products both in front of and behind the wall, that meet Geberit’s high quality standards,’ comments Isaacman.

‘Customers can find sanitary solutions for their dream bathroom from a single source. We offer consumers as well as our partners in the specifications, installation and supply to the building industry, the very highest levels of reliability in terms of quality, function and design. Customer benefits and a system approach are of central importance with all our products,’ she adds.

The bathroom product line-up now consists of: The Geberit Citterio bathroom series This combines pure contours with organically flowing shapes, resulting in an unmistakable design language. A premium bathroom series with remarkable originality, it is designed with timeless

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Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Geberit iCon

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BATHROOMS BUILDING SYSTEMS elegance and quality. The Geberit series reflects the unique design hallmarks of the renowned Italian architect and designer, Antonio Citterio. To ensure a particularly smooth finish, all ceramic sanitary appliances in the Geberit Citterio bathroom series are sealed with the Geberit KeraTect ceramic glaze.

Geberit Xeno2 bathroom series This series is synonymous with architectonic design minimalism. Clear geometric lines on outside and soft, natural shapes in the inner basin. This combination of features creates the impression that the inner basin has been washed out with running water for decades.

Geberit Xeno2 boasts a perfectly coordinated product range of intelligent, well thought through elements created in an identical design language. To ensure a particularly smooth finish, all ceramic sanitary appliances in the Geberit Xeno2 bathroom series are sealed with the company’s KeraTect ceramic glaze.

Geberit iCon bathroom series This series offers an extensive range of ceramic appliances and bathroom furniture in a clear and modern design language. The series shines with its linear design and is impressively versatile. The aesthetics of the Geberit iCon washbasins are defined by clear, sleek lines along the outer contours. Bathroom furniture is coordinated with the washbasins in terms of its design and function. A storage space concept offering flexible combination options reveals many possibilities for conveniently creating order in the bathroom.

The Geberit iCon series also helps to maintain clear room architecture even in small bathrooms as it includes washbasins with a small installation depth, solutions for corners, bathroom furniture, mirror elements that are perfectly adapted to small or awkwardly shaped rooms and stylish WCs with a reduced projection which provides room to manoeuvre in small bathrooms. Modern and straightedged, Geberit iCon offers a complete product solution for nearly every bathroom.

Geberit Smyle bathroom series These products bring harmony and lightness into family and guest bathrooms. With its contemporary design and ornate lines, the Geberit bathroom series creates a relaxing and positive bathroom ambience. With a clear sense of order and efficient use of a room, Smyle achieves the highest level of convenience in the bathroom from any structural situation.

iCon for small bathrooms

Geberit Abalona bathroom series This series is the ideal solution for functional bathrooms. It features timeless, classic lines and can be incorporated into any bathroom. To ensure this, the ceramic sanitary appliances are available in both a round and rectangular design. The series is also appealing, as guest bathrooms can be perfectly equipped with the Geberit Abalona Compact products. However, with a special product portfolio, the bathroom series is also suitable for use in crossgenerational bathrooms. During the design process, the designers focused on functionality. The bathroom series offers excellent value for money. This series is the functional choice for any private, semi-public or public bathroom.

Geberit Option mirrors and mirror cabinets The Geberit Option offers a comprehensive range of illuminated mirror elements and mirror cabinets that make a bathroom stand out. Thanks to simple, clear design, they can be used virtually in any room.

To ensure high-quality, dazzle-free illumination, the Option illuminated mirror elements with widths of 600 to 900mm have two light strips, while the larger models have one, both easily switched on and off.

Mirror cabinets provide plenty of storage space and are visually appealing, reflecting the light and making the bathroom appear bigger.

Geberit Southern Africa Pty Ltd T +27 (0)11 444 5070 E sales.za@geberit.com issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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BUILDING SYSTEMS DOORS & WINDOWS

Photos by Taylor Shutters and Blinds

Sustainable window treatments for green building Sustainable green building solutions have become the norm, not the exception.

Local legislation (SANS 10400 XA) stipulates that all newly erected buildings need to have solar water heaters, heat pumps or comparable technologies in place. A local manufacturer explains how it works.

The regulations also extend to ceilings, walls and windows which must meet minimum requirements in insulation to minimise heating in winter and cooling in summer.

‘Good news for architects is that with known U and R values, shutters are no longer just stylish window treatment options, but because they are deemed a permanent fixture in a building, can be incorporated into the design to promote thermal insulation and energy efficiency,’ advises Anthony Mederer, Managing Director at Taylor Shutters & Blinds.

In spaces with large glass windows, shutters not only offer a great thermal insulation barrier between the outside and inside, but their light and ventilation control help keep a space cool during summer and warm during winter.

‘Another eco-friendly window treatment to consider is Taylor Shutter & Blinds’ Sheerweave roller blinds.

Not only for their light-filtering properties, but for their environmentally safe, natural fabric make-up,’ says Mederer.

Current guidelines from internationally recognised Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)1 recommend furniture, including window treatments, contain minimal chemical content.

‘With our Sheerwave roller blinds, half of the compound components in their design are derived from crop-based feed stocks and minerals. Two-thirds

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of the total compound are from non-fossil fuel feed stocks. What this means is that these blinds are made from materials that have a smaller carbon footprint, making their production kinder to Mother Nature,’ Mederer explains.

‘The Sheerweave fabric is also made using Dow’s ecolibrium bio based plasticisers, as opposed to those made from fossil fuels. These plasticisers come from raw materials that have the advantage of lessening greenhouse gas emission during the manufacturing process. The application of this treatment protects fabric against bacteria, mould, fungi, yeast and algae – a big plus for buildings in areas with high humidity,’ he adds.

Other eco-friendly window treatment options include woven wood and bamboo blinds. ‘In addition to being better for the environment, they are aesthetically pleasing,’ Mederer says.

‘By being mindful of both the production process and elements involved in the creation of window treatments, finding a sustainable, long-lasting option to make buildings greener will not be a stretch.’ he adds.

References: 1. http://www.usgbc.org/leed

Taylor Shutters & Blinds T +27 (0)86 1-1-TAYLOR (829567) E sales@taylorblinds.co.za W www.taylorblinds.co.za

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BUILDING SYSTEMS DOORS & WINDOWS

Making the right choice Some professional advice on how to go about selecting the right windows and doors for a home, from the national sales manager of a leading manufacturer.

Cobus Lourens from leading window and door manufacturer, Swartland, says that when specifying windows and doors for a new project, or for a retrofit, a confusingly wide range of options are available – including differing sizes, frames, colours, materials, styles and designs. A little professional advice goes a long way in making the choice easier for the designer or builder.

‘Choosing windows and doors for a home or office is a very important decision to make, as they are a sizeable investment, and once installed, are costly to change out. It is something you really want to get right the first time so that you can maximise the value of the investment for the client,’ says Cobus.

‘Most homeowners make their decisions based on aesthetics and budget considerations. However, the truth is that when it comes to windows and doors, there is a wide variety of other very important considerations that need to be considered as well,’ he adds.

Considerations

Photos by Swartland

• South African National Building Regulations: Make sure that the windows and doors specified or purchased are compliant with all the necessary building regulations.

• Purpose: You need to have a clear understanding of the purpose that each window and door installation will fulfil. For example, you will want privacy in a ground-floor bathroom, but you also want it to be filled with natural light, so a long, narrow window with opaque glazing could be the best choice. For living spaces where you want to maximise light and views, large glass sliding doors or bi-fold doors with safety glass are more than likely your best option.

• Architecture: Another obvious consideration, but one that is often overlooked, is to choose windows and doors that complement the building’s architectural style. For example, large expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass is contextually complementary to contemporary styles, yet would look out of place in a classically traditional structure. Select windows and doors that suit the property’s overall character and aesthetic.

• Security: Windows and doors can be a home’s security weak point, so it is essential to factor this in when making the right choice. Their height relative to the ground, the locks, the strength of the glazing and the quality of the security screens will all factor into the security of windows and doors – and also the neighbourhood!

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DOORS & WINDOWS BUILDING SYSTEMS • Orientation: Since the windows and doors are a home’s source of natural light, it is important to factor in the orientation of the sun. The size and orientation of the products chosen in relation to the sun, along with the type of glazing, will determine how much sunlight will stream into each room.

• Energy efficiency: A large section of any home’s heat loss and gain comes from its windows and doors, so choosing energy efficient windows and doors can make a huge impact on energy consumption.

Although energy efficient products are usually a little more expensive than their non-efficient counterparts, they will save operating costs in the long run. The design, glazing, seals and materials all work together to determine how energy efficient a window or door will be.

• Acoustics: This is especially important for those living in a busy urban setting – they are designed to reduce neighbourhood, traffic and building noise from entering your home.

• Budget: The choice of windows and doors needs to fit within the project budget which is why it is essential to prioritise which features are most important.

‘Windows and doors are one of the largest expenses when it comes to building or renovating your home, so you really want to get it right. If you are the kind of person who doesn’t want to settle for mediocre quality and service, then Swartland’s newly launched and exclusive One Touch service concept will ensure that there is no compromise. The One Touch service offers Swartland’s expert consultants to customers to inform and guide them through the decision-making process, installation, right through to completion of the building,’ he adds.

Swartland’s experts are well versed in all the necessary aspects that need to be considered and will help customers make the optimum window and door choices – from selecting the right products, managing delivery times, monitoring the installation quality and being on-site before, during and after installation.

‘With the One Touch service, Swartland will be with you every step of the way. Our aim is to ensure the doors and windows selected remain a beautiful permanent feature in the home, that they are perfectly installed and that they meet the client’s expectations!’

Help for professionals and owner builders – from professionals Cobus says that for individuals who don’t have the time or the know-how to choose windows and doors for their home themselves, Swartland offers a new and helpful service to its clients.

Swartland T +27 (0)86 110 2425 W www.swartland.co.za

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Architect: ValentĂ­n de Madariaga | Fabricator: Moncada Aluminium | Photo: Claudio Curia | Reynaers systems used: Hi-finity, CS 77-FU and CP 6

LOOKING FOR ULTIMATE PERFORMANCES WITH AN INFINITE VIEW?

OUR ANSWER: HI-FINITY Enjoy an infinite view with ultimate performances. The ultra-slim design of the Hi-finity sliding door creates large transparent surfaces, with a light, sleek and elegant appearance. This system is available in double glazing with high levels of security, complying to RC2, making Hi-finity the best solution for secure, low-energy contemporary architecture in South Africa!

TOGETHER FOR BETTER

www.reynaers.co.za | +27 11 570 1836 | info@reynaers.co.za Aluminium systems for Windows & Doors, Sliding Systems, Curtain Walls, Sun-screening and Solar integration.

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Electricity BUILDING SYSTEMS

The bottom-up energy revolution South Africa’s energy planning revolves around two inter-related but separate processes, the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The IEP covers all energy, including liquid fuels/ transport and the IRP covers only electricity.

At present, the Department of Energy is trying to finalise the latest plan which was published in draft form late last year under some controversy.

Principle concerns raised were the use of incorrect or dated figures for the cost of renewables, ignoring important costs of nuclear and then imposing artificial constraints on the amount of renewable energy that can be added on an annual basis1.

The IRP, having received public input, is now back at the Department of Energy and we await the outcome of a final version which is then supposed to be adopted by Cabinet. Should this happen, it becomes the official plan and the Minister of Energy can make determinations of how much capacity should be built and by whom. These are known as Section 34 determinations made in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act.

Systems and processes Electricity systems have tended to be very large and changes happen very slowly. Policy or planning for new capacity, such as the IRP processes, have tended to be driven on a top-down basis. An example of this includes the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP). It came into existence following a very deliberate process driven by National Treasury and the Department of Energy following section 34 determinations.

Photo by QED Solutions

By Dirk de Vos

Dirk de Vos

However, these processes of change based on centralised planning are set to be upended and their effects will transform our energy system.

Processes such as the REIPPPP set in motion globally renewable energy’s equivalent of Moore’s Law (Intel co-founder) for computer processors.

This is called Swanson’s Law (after Richard Swanson, founder of high-efficiency solar panel manufacturer, SunPower), which states that the cost of the photovoltaic cells needed to generate solar power falls by 20% with each doubling of global manufacturing capacity. In fact, Swanson’s Law has been roundly exceeded every year and continues to be2.

Consider first the telecoms sector. Up until the 1980’s in most parts of the world, telephones were something that nationalised monopolies such as Telkom provided and they did so poorly, at great expense, to their long-suffering customers. The introduction of the Internet and GSM cellular by private networks changed everything.

More significantly, most innovation in telecoms over the last two decades has been bottom-up process driven. Regulators and state-owned incumbent operators have been forced to adapt to changes that they had no part in bringing about.

The foundation of the revolution in electricity systems rests in the significant fall of the price of PV systems, including panels and inverters as well as the

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BUILDING SYSTEMS Electricity PV at Cape Town Airport Industria

Photo by Growthpoint

fall in battery technologies, probably due to the advent of electric vehicles.

The imprint of this revolution is already noticeable in the form of rooftop PV in our industrial and commercial parks and some of our neighbourhoods.

It started small but it’s growing at an exponential rate.

Just how much capacity has been added is hard to determine as research conducted by PQRS3 shows.

Some industry estimates are that as much as 350MW of PV has been installed on South African rooftops over the last two years and the rate is accelerating.

The snowball effect The problem is that our electricity supply systems are unprepared. When high consumption customers leave (or reduce their usage of) existing high fixed-cost infrastructure, the existing costs of the distribution grid must be spread over a smaller consumption base.

The greater the reduction in consumption, the higher the unit costs for the remaining customers. It can have a snowball effect.

This is particularly true since in the large metros, the surpluses generated from the distribution of Eskom’s electricity have be used to subsidise low-income households and to make a significant contribution to financing other municipal services.

There are other problems. Any high consumption customer leaving the grid entirely results in the loss to the grid of any surplus that that customer would

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normally generate. However, if remaining connected to the grid, consumers, especially residential, return to consume electricity at peak times including the winter period. At this Eskom’s own wholesale tariffs to municipalities are at their highest.

To some extent, new tariff arrangements have been established for rooftop PV installations where a monthly fixed charge is levied and consumers buy back additional electricity needed4. However, our national energy regulator, NERSA, has issued its own draft regulations5 With a relatively low number of grid-tied PV installations, few issues arise. However, as installations increase, technical barriers arise regarding how many feed-in circuits the distribution grid, originally designed for the one-way flow of electricity, can absorb. Reversing the power flow creates new challenges around voltage variations, overloading circuits and maintenance made more acute due to unpredictable generation characteristics.

PV installations in a suburb using the same circuit will also peak (and drop-off) at the same times and a cloud passing over will affect all the installed PV panels in that suburb, almost simultaneously6.

Consequences The consequence is that if the amount of solar PV exceeds a certain point, say 15% of the maximum load of a circuit, it can create havoc with voltage and

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Electricity BUILDING SYSTEMS result in power quality problems for everyone. Given the generation profile of solar PV, the maximum contribution of a residential rooftop PV connected to the grid could not exceed 5% of total electricity generated; enough to dent the municipal electricity distribution business model but not enough to change the game.

For now, rooftop solar PV is subject to a first-come, first-served basis which means that people with the means to afford solar do so first. If you don’t own a home, rent, or don’t have the income, you are excluded.

Alternative thinking In the short term, fresh ideas could change things.

One idea might be to facilitate a process where those wishing to install solar enter into an agreement with the municipality. Together with a PV tariff, the actual PV installation, still linked to the house via an erf number, takes place at a remote site which could be a school in a township or another municipal building. The key would be to have a more distributed rooftop PV base that does not overload a local circuit and is optimally positioned with unobstructed north-facing aspects. PV performs far better away from our leafy suburbs.

The ever-decreasing price of renewable energy takes us a good distance along the way to a transformed energy system, but not far enough. The missing component is energy storage. For the most part in any electricity system, generation must be matched by load (demand) always. The generation profile of solar PV, which generates electricity during the day, coincides with periods where there is demand, but not perfectly, such as the morning and evening peak. Solar PV generation profile is also variable on a per second basis. The missing component is storage.

Batteries and storage

Electric vehicles can help A new Nissan Leaf battery can supply 90kW of power instantly and stores 30kWh10. If EVs could be connected to the grid, for example in a household garage, EV owners could sell grid management services to the grid. If all EVs were charged during off-peak times (e.g. in the middle of the night), there would be significant unused storage capacity waiting to be employed in peak times.

Connecting EVs to the local grid would assist with peak shaving, load-shedding or frequency support.

For this service, EV owners could be compensated.

BMW is trialling just such a scheme in San Francisco11.

Even in the absence of investments in a smart grid, EVs discharging power during peak times might be used to support the growth of rooftop PV. Additional falls in the

Photo by Nissan USA

For now, batteries are a small detail in the electricity system. Almost all electricity storage today is in the form of pumped water storage, but things are changing quickly. The price of Lithium Ion batteries, using a set measure, has fallen by 70% since 2010, from over US$1,000/kWh to around $350/kWh. As in the case of PV, almost every projection on the future price of batteries is beaten by reality. Some current predictions see prices falling to as low as $120 by 20307. The holy grail is to get prices below $100/kWh, at which stage storage could displace peaking power plants that operate in times of peak demand8.

However, it might not be necessary to wait that long because the first main application for large batteries

is in electric vehicles (EVs). EVs, with their batteries, are fast approaching price parity with traditional cars powered by internal combustion engines. While the energy density of petrol/diesel, considering the efficiency of the engines that covert this energy to power the wheels of a car, is still double that of the best Lithium Ion batteries, both must power a vehicle weighing over a ton. This virtually eliminates the disadvantage. Cars, especially when transporting a single human being of, say, 70kg, present an extremely inefficient use of energy. EVs don’t have a very high hurdle to clear before they become the preferred choice in several real-world use cases.

Something interesting happens as the number of EVs on our roads increase. In places like Norway, only just over 35% of all cars sold are conventional – neither EV’s nor plug-in hybrids. Predictions are that within eight years9, petrol and diesel fuel will be on its way out.

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BUILDING SYSTEMS Electricity

Photo by Nissan USA

price of batteries will see the economic case for batteries in the home, particularly homes with rooftop PV already in place, starting to make economic sense.

While some of these predictions might seem far-fetched, very few of those now making a living installing rooftop PV panels were doing so five years ago. Just a decade ago, Elon Musk was more famous for his success in building PayPal. More importantly, the revolution in electricity systems does not require future technologies. The building blocks are already in place. But there is another reason to give these predictions a second thought. None of it requires too much top-down planning. As rooftop PV and EVs start to make sense on a purely financial basis, decisions to buy them are

made by individuals based on their own interests.

Change is therefore bottom-up and that is surely a more robust starting assumption than those set out in IRP policy documents.

Is there a will?

The key therefore, is whether South Africa wants to make a success of the energy transition. There are significant dangers that those unable to afford the costs of any of this, or live in rented accommodation, will be left to get their supply of electricity from municipal distributors or Eskom, which, with the defection of valuable customers, will not have a viable business model.

However, if change is resisted, it will only hasten the defection from those parts of the existing electricity infrastructure by those who can. The question is, do our politicians and regulators have the appetite to adapt to the inevitable and necessary transition to a cleaner and more environmentally friendly energy system?

Dirk de Vos, QED Solutions W www.qedsolutions.co.za

About Dirk de Vos Dirk de Vos, a qualified attorney, has run QED Solutions, a corporate finance, advisory and transaction implementation firm, since 2003. QED Solutions undertakes a full range of corporate finance activities from commercial due diligence exercises through valuations, structuring and drafting legal documentation.

QED Solutions first developed expertise in the energy sector by advising on Broad-Based Black Empowerment and local community participation in South Africa’s renewable energy procurement programme.

This included securing the terms of entry into the equity of these projects, as well as procuring the funding required for these stakes. QED Solutions also advised on the details of senior debt funding, the terms of engineering, procurement and construction agreements as well as operations and maintenance agreements.

Under Dirk’s leadership, QED Solutions has provided consulting services on energy policy which has included several stints of consulting to National Treasury on electricity distribution and the electricity transition, energy efficiency, storage and local procurement of electricity. As a consultant to the City of Cape Town on the potential use of demand response mechanisms to address load-shedding, Dirk has developed a sound understanding of different regulatory regimes and the role of private investment into publicly owned electricity infrastructure at generation and distribution levels.

References 1. http://www.ee.co.za/article/analysis-draft-irp2016-lightweight-superficial-downright-dangerous.html#.WD1eDixBvqA 2. http://news.energysage.com/solar-panel-efficiency-cost-over-time/ 3. http://pqrs.co.za/data/demystifying-the-total-installed-pv-capacity-for-south-africa-nov-2016/ 4. http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/electricity/Elec%20tariffs%20201415/Schedule%20of%20Consumptive%20Tariffs.pdf 5. http://www.nersa.org.za/Admin/Document/Editor/file/Electricity/Consultation%20Paper%20Small%20Scale%20Embedded%20Gx.pdf 6. http://www.ee.co.za/article/impact-rooftop-pv-distribution-networks-2.html 7. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/print/volume-20/issue-1/features/storage/energy-storage-market-outlook-2017-stateof-play.html 8. http://rameznaam.com/2015/04/14/energy-storage-about-to-get-big-and-cheap/#FlowCAES 9. http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/92592333/petrol-cars-will-be-obsolete-in-8-years-says-us-report 10. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092983_nissan-leaf-battery-cost-5500-for-replacement-with-heat-resistant-chemistry 11.https://electrek.co/2016/11/15/bmw-electric-vehicle-fleet-grid-service-chargeforward/

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KITCHENS BUILDING SYSTEMS

High-end compact surfaces on show A noteworthy stand at this year’s Decorex is surely TheSize, a Spanish company headquartered in Castellón, specialising in high-end sintered compact surfaces.

The Neolith® brand is the outcome of the latest research and development processes in the industry.

The product is 100% natural, composed of raw material – clays, feldspar, silica and natural mineral oxides, and is recyclable.

Neolith has near-zero porosity, making the product hygienic, stain resistant, easy to clean and impervious to chemicals. The product is also wear, scratch, heat resistant and its colours, being naturally based, do not vary when exposed to UV rays. The product is also lightweight and easy to install, making Neolith suitable for virtually every indoor and outdoor surface.

According to a company spokesperson, Neolith may be combined with striking, design-led decors and finishes that are suitable for virtually any indoor and outdoor surface.

‘This is our fifth year exhibiting at Decorex and we were incredibly excited to present the visitors with our new decors and show off some of our bestsellers.

We’ve been continuously investing in our R&D and I believe our stand was a true representation of our efforts to create designs that go beyond surfacing,’ said Gavin Gilbert, General Manager of TheSize South Africa (part of TheSize Group).

The photos, taken at the Decorex event in Cape Town, speak for themselves.

TheSize South Africa E hello@neolith.co.za W www.neolith.co.za

Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Neolith stand at Decorex

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ADVERTORIAL Franke SOUTH AFRICA

Wonderfully resourceful Franke South Africa (Pty) Ltd forms part of the 100-year old, global Franke Group of companies with the Group head office residing in Aarburg, Switzerland. Franke South Africa (Pty) Ltd was established in 1914 and boasts modern state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Midrand, Gauteng and Durban, KZN. Resourceful planet The UN estimates that by 2030 the demand for water may be 40% more than the supply. The growing concern over the fate of our food and water supply are indicative of the fact that protecting and restoring the planet is a critical future imperative. Franke South Africa recognises its responsibility to preserve our precious resource – water! The Franke 400 kPa geyser is environmentally friendly, significantly reducing water consumption in the home!

Our Geyser range consists of the CombiSlim and CombiMax geyser in sizes from 50 litres to 200 litres.

Franke Water Heating is accredited with the SABS mark SANS 151 as well as ISO 9001 for Quality Management. The Franke geyser is IPX4 rated according to an international standard.

We also offer a comprehensive range of spares.

Each Franke geyser spare is individually serialised to control final quality. To ensure maximum product life it is imperative that original components are used when our products are serviced.

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Franke South Africa (Pty) Ltd T 0861 432 887 E ks-geyser.za@franke.com W www.frankewhs.co.za

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BUILDING SYSTEMS KITCHENS

Comment from the KSA Stephanie Forbes, national manager of the Kitchen Specialists Association (KSA) has the following message for the market. She writes: It has been a very busy first quarter at the KSA, the time seems to have whirled by. Despite the trying financial times we have seen very good membership growth. It is fantastic to see not only players in the industry seeing the value in the KSA but industry professionals and consumers too, who are asking for companies to be part of the KSA more and more.

Decorex

Eastern Cape and Garden Route In 2016 we identified a need for more proactive KSA involvement in the Eastern Cape and Garden Route.

We have just embarked on our second regional visit where we have been hosting networking and product information evenings in collaboration with key supplier members that have representatives operating in the area. We are very excited about this expansion as there is great potential, not only for growth within the KSA but to offer value to the industry in these areas.

Photo by KSA

We already have two of our three Decorex expo’s under our belt. Both the KZN and CT shows were a great opportunity for us to educate consumers and industry professionals alike about what we do and how it benefits them to work with a KSA member.

Trade shows like Decorex are a vital tool for us at the KSA as they offer us a unique opportunity to engage and educate the consumer directly.

A variety of other events have also kept our members and staff busy: our Cape Town annual golf day, product networking evenings in all three regions, business skill building seminars in all three regions and engagement Q&A sessions with the Building Bargaining Council in Cape Town.

Annual General Meetings With our AGM around the corner we don’t expect the pace to let up but the team are on the ball and hoping that we will be able to achieve as much and add as much benefit to the industry over the rest of the year as we have in the first quarter.

Stone and Surface Fabricators’ Forum We also recently launched our Stone and Surface Fabricators Forum in Gauteng. This is a very important initiative for us. The Forum is designed to help us better engage with the stone industry with a view to offering tangible benefits to the industry while giving them a platform to address issues that directly affect their industry.

Stephanie Forbes National Manager M +27 (0)82 787 8806 E stephanie@ksa.co.za/capetown@ksa.co.za

The Kitchen Specialists Association remaining AGM dates KZN - 19 July – date and time contact the KSA for details.

JHB – JHB 22 Aug – 6pm, venue contact the KSA for details.

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LIGHTING BUILDING SYSTEMS

Metallics are hot A leading supplier argues that incorporating metallic lighting is all about striking the perfect balance.

Metallics are making a huge comeback in interior design and lighting is no exception, says Melissa Davidson from leading lighting retailer, The Lighting Warehouse.

‘Adding a touch of metallic to your interior décor composition is a great way to make the space in question infinitely more glamorous.

However, too much and the space will look too cold, hard and uninviting. Like most things, incorporating metallics is all about striking the perfect balance,’ she says.

Lighting is the perfect way of introducing metallics into home décor as they can stand proud as both functional and aesthetically beautiful statement pieces.

‘Metallic lighting reflects light and often opens up a space. It almost always gives a dull room a more interesting appeal and unexpected magnetism,’ explains Melissa.

Top tips on how to incorporate metallics into a home • T he soft touch: Mix metallics with different, softer textures to balance them out.

• A neutral palette: A neutral monochromatic colour palette will make the metallic lighting stand out. Metallics pair well with darker hues that are in vogue now, such as grey, black, navy or a variety

of deep, rich jewel tones. Alternatively, keep the palette light and bright with a variety of shades of white.

• Like attracts like: Try and use the same form of metallic throughout, such as brass for example, but mix it up in various finishes or textures.

• Start small: It is a better to incorporate small doses of metallics into the décor instead of choosing one large permanent piece that can often be overwhelming. Small accent pieces and lighting is a great place to start as they are easy to interchange and move around until you find the perfect balance.

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BUILDING SYSTEMS ROOFING

Roof longevity and climatic effects The South African market has traditionally specified the use of a heavier grade of coated steel roofing in coastal climatic areas or areas subject to heavy industrial fallout.

Solar reflectance, cool roofs and glare The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is a condition that results in higher outdoor temperatures in cities as well as contributing to smog formation. This is felt on the street and indoors, where it increases the cost of climate control. To reduce this, a cool roof is desirable. Hanekom says that one of the most unique and enduring features of Clean COLORBOND™ steel is its infrared performance. Enhanced in the past five years by means of BlueScope’s Thermatech™ technology, the product’s high solar reflectivity index (SRI) is well documented, applying even to darker colours.

A concerning aspect of the evolution of high solar reflectivity roofs is the component of glare from certain glossy roofing surfaces. With the increasing specification of high gloss pre-painted materials, significant levels of glare can be experienced by surrounding office blocks and residential apartment complexes, which is both disturbing and unpleasant to the occupants.

To address this phenomenon, BlueScope recently launched its Clean COLORBOND™ MATT and Clean

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Photo by Grant Duncan

According to Arno Hanekom, BlueScope’s regional general manager for Africa, his company recommends a high-performance product as an alternative to standard pre-painted Z275 galvanised roof systems in aggressive climates.

‘We have seen many cases where even the heavy Z275 has completely corroded after just three years in service. In a fascinating case history, a modest AZ150 COLORBOND® steel roof specified some years ago as a replacement for Z275 for a house on the coastline, has provided the building owner with close to ten years of service - and it still endures,’ he says.

‘We do, however, recommend the use of our AZ200 grade of pre-painted, designated Clean COLORBOND™ Ultra’, he notes. ‘With this you may build with confidence within 100m of the shoreline provided the manufacturer’s specifications are adhered to.’

Sanctuary Mall

COLORBOND™ ULTRA MATT steels. Thanks to this innovation, disturbing specular reflection is converted to benign diffuse reflection. This presents itself as a matt surface but offers the same infrared reflectivity benefits at the lower end of the solar spectrum, ensuring performance as a cool roof is maintained.

‘This is thanks to our THERMATECH™ and MATT™ technologies’, adds Hanekom.

Says leading architect, Rudolf Estyerhuyse, of firm Stauch Vorster: ‘The matt finish provides an elegant textural appearance as an alternative to the standard gloss finish. The matt finish also reduces reflective glare, a critical consideration in terms of the impact of the relatively low light-coloured roof on neighbouring high-rise developments and the adjacent freeway.’

Clean COLORBOND™ steel in its various forms is available in different roofing profiles supplied by popular South African role formers.

BlueScope Steel Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd T +27 (0)21 442 5420 E arno.hanekom@bluescope.com W www.bluescope.co.za

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There are two kinds of light reflection - specular reflection and diffuse reflection. A specular reflection occurs when light is reflected in a concentrated mirror-like manner, resulting in a discomforting glare; whilst a diffuse reflection is a scattered and unfocussed reflection of light.

Now also available in Clean COLORBONDÂŽ AZ150 MATT

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BUILDING SYSTEMS ROOFING

Photo by Safintra

Saflok 700 Clip

Hardworking roofs Safintra South Africa recently showcased its new Saflok 700 clip, Versatile®, a profiled metal sheet with the aesthetic of clay tiles and other product developments.

The innovations illustrate how steel roofing is used to create weatherproof, aesthetically pleasing and more sustainable buildings, as well as Safrinta’s commitment to the built environment.

Reducing carbon footprint Buildings need to rise to the challenges posed by global warming, whilst also addressing the challenges of rising energy costs and water availability, and of course, ensuring the financial returns required by the investor over the life of the building.

Metal roof sheeting has functionality well beyond that of simply being the upper surface of a building.

By its nature, metal roofing can also perform in creating a thermally effective part of the building envelope, and as an effective substrate on which to mount or connect green technologies such as solar and water harvesting technologies.

Metal roofing has excellent sustainability credentials and its versatility makes it the material of choice for a variety of architectural styles, ranging from traditional to modern. It is, however, the functional performance that truly sets it apart.

Continuous improvement ‘At Safintra we are dedicated to promoting best practice in the built environment, and for this reason invest significantly in innovative technologies that solve the ever-changing needs in the industry, says Nicci Solomons, marketing manager.

‘Our popular Saflok 700 concealed fix clip is one such development. The new clip features a solid anchor base, ensuring excellent engagement at every rib. The product remains popular as the longitudinal rib embossing strengthens the sheet

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and allows for excellent water runoff and minimal dust collection.’

In recent tests, the new Saflok clip achieved over 2kPa hold down (factored) in negative wind uplift load tests at maximum span.

Additional services Safintra also provides: • A range of clamps that will make the roof a source of power without compromising the performance or warranty of the roof sheeting. Metal roofing is also ideal to maximise water harvesting efforts.

• The range of Fixtite® fasteners which are designed to have a life expectancy to match the roof sheeting to minimise maintenance costs.

• To reduce energy costs and lower the environmental impact of asbestos disposal, Safintra offers an overroofing and roof spacer system which ensures that the relevant SANS regulations are adhered to.

Service for architects The company offers technical or CPD presentations at the offices of built environment professionals.

Safintra will visit architects’ offices to deliver technical or CPD presentations accredited by SAIA. For more information contact the company directly..

The company has offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, Mbombela and Bloemfontein, each supported by a technical team and specialist representatives.

Safintra South Africa T +27 (0)11 323 6300 E info.safintraSA@safalgroup.com W www.safintra.co.za

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ADVERTORIAL BUILDING SYSTEMS

Secrets of success A Gauteng-based roofing specialist shares the secrets of their success with readers of To Build.

LCP Roofing, leaders in roof truss technology, are committed to precision work, attention to detail and delivering world-class workmanship. Between a humble section of timber and an elegantly finished timber roof truss is a manufacturing process that has been fine-tuned and perfected over years. Their manufacturing process is one that is constantly improved upon and that looks to the future. William Long, LCP Roofing designer, weighs in.

Estimation and design After first contact with the client regarding the project, architectural drawings or designs including dimensions are requested by LCP Roofing from the client.

‘The designs and estimations done at LCP Roofing are solely based on the information supplied to us, which helps us to supply the client with an accurate and competitive quotation,’ says Long.

‘That said, when it comes to manufacturing the roof, the dimensions are based on measurements that are taken on site to ensure that possible errors that are made during the construction phase can be avoided. In addition, it is imperative that the client makes mention upfront of crucial information, such as loads being imposed on the roof structure, solar panels, air conditioning units, HVAC ducting, geysers and the like; failing to take this into account could have disastrous consequences,’ he adds.

The company makes daily use of three software programmes: RoofCon, TrussCon and QuoteCon, designed and programmed by a conglomeration of structural engineers and industry professionals. The software is supplied by International Truss Systems, full system supplier to the prefabricated timber truss sector and an Illinois Tool Works (ITW)-owned company.

‘RoofCon is used to create the basic design of each individual roof, excluding the design of the timber trusses, where after this basic design is imported into the second programme, TrussCon, which is

A Hydraulic Birch Press

used to design each individual truss,’ explains Long. ‘This software also applies various loads to, and forces through, all members to test for any possible weakness. The design results also assist in determining which timber sizes and timber grades to be used. Once the designs have been optimised, the job file is exported to our third programme, QuoteCon, which drafts all quotations and delivery notes,’ he adds.

Manufacturing Once the quotation has been accepted, the manufacturing of timber trusses starts with two main processes: cutting and assembly.

Materials If the roof is of a regular design with ceilings, timber from LCP Roofing’s stockpile is used and the manufacturing of the timber trusses is scheduled accordingly. Manufacturing a special roof, however, requires special material which could include laminated timber, specialised decorative plates and any number of additional accessories. All timber used

by LCP Roofing is sourced from highly reputable timber mills, who ensure that their supply is strictly from sustainable resources.

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BUILDING SYSTEMS ADVERTORIAL

Accurate CNC measuring and

Cutting ‘By using TrussCon we are now able to create a cutting bill for the saw operators in the factory. This cutting bill not only includes all required information on a printed copy, but also the digital Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) cutting file for the autonomous SPIDA saws,’ says Long. ‘This has ensured that production capability has increased and quality control can be maintained.’

Accurate CNC measuring and cutting means that the timber in a roof truss exceeds the minimum requirements with regards to dimensional accuracy, while the computerised SPIDA saw automates angle and length setups. The job is downloaded via LAN or USB to the source computer and the angles and lengths are set to the precise measurements.

Assembly The traditional method of truss fabrication in South Africa, which more than 90% of plants operate, is by use of a framing table either on the floor or elevated for easier working, with nail plates placed and hammered by hand.

Trusses are then flipped over and the operation is repeated. In a third operation, trusses are fed through a special finishing roller which exerts up to 30 tons of force to fully embed the nail plates. This is a timeconsuming operation and triple handling alongside inconsistent quality can offer up problems.

In a bid to eliminate these manufacturing challenges, and after much research and two visits to suppliers in the United Kingdom, LCP Roofing purchased and imported a Hydraulic Birch Press which arrived and was installed in October 2011. To increase production and capacity, a second press was purchased and installed in February 2013.

‘Using the printed copy of the cutting bill, the trusses are assembled with the correct timber sizes

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All timber is sourced from highly reputable timber mills, who ensure that their supply is strictly from sustainable resources.

and grades as well as the correct nail plates. A truss ticket is created, which gets stapled onto all the main trusses,’ notes Long.

‘Not only does this ticket indicate truss numbers, it also indicates the design loads, approximate spacings, job numbers and all pertinent company information for future reference,’ he adds.

Quality control LCP Roofing is a South African Technical Auditing Service (SATAS) Quality certified fabricator and is permitted to apply the mark to its product and is ISO 9001 accredited. All timber roof truss fabricators in South Africa should subscribe to and use the same quality controls, but in the absence of regular audits, both internal and external, a number of South African fabricators consistently ignore these controls which are put into place to protect the consumer.

Of the more than 200 timber roof truss fabricators in South Africa, only a handful have voluntarily registered with SATAS and operate under the South Africa National Standards (SANS) 1900 scheme (quality mark) and are subjected to regular SATAS or SABS inspections. Fewer than 100 of these fabricators are registered with the Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA).

‘With a combined 32 years’ experience in design and manufacture, our estimators and designers are in constant search of more innovative, cost-effective methods of timber roof truss design,’ comments Long.

LCP Roofing T +27 (0)86 1527 7663 E lyndsay@lcproofing.co.za W www.lcproofing.co.za

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BUILDING SYSTEMS ROOFING

Photos by MiTek

Kingdom Leadership Centre

Tongaat Hall

Ultra-Span (LGS) roof truss market shows exceptional growth

By Uwe Schlüter, General Manager: Ultra-Span (LGS structures), MiTek

The present economic difficulties have certainly affected the roof structure (truss supplier) industry. Demand for pre-fabricated roof trusses has reduced due to projects being shelved, not started yet due to lack of funds or payment restrictions, or even lost completely to site-made roof construction of an informal type.

At the same time, total timber sales have not declined as much, which is confirmed by the Crickmay reports and by our suppliers who are timber merchants. This is evidence of more and more roof structures being built with site-made timber construction, often in a manner that is not structurally sound or even codecompliant. This issue is being addressed by the ITC (Institute for Timber Construction in South Africa).

Our present political turmoil and the general lack of confidence in the South African economy, obviously does not help here either.

Political turmoil and the general lack of confidence in the South African economy, is not helping the situation much either. Notwithstanding all this negativity, the saying: ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’, has relevance and is supported by the fact that not the whole roof structure industry is affected.

many of our original timber truss suppliers getting involved in the supply and installation of Ultra-Span (LGS) roof structures.

This trend is especially evident in the affordable housing sector, as well as in the commercial and light industrial sector where the Ultra-Span roof truss system provides tangible cost savings to alternate options.

MiTek has submitted more Ultra-Span (LGS) entries to the SAISC Steel Awards competition for 2017 than in any previous year. This further reflects the growth in the utilisation of Ultra-Span and the general acceptability of LGS as a very viable alternative.

Showing growth

MiTek T +27 (0)11 237 8760 E uschluter@mitek.co.za

The Ultra-Span (LGS) roof truss market has shown exceptional growth during these difficult times, with

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BUILDING SYSTEMS SAFETY & SECURITY

Public safety ambassadors In an economic downturn, there is an inevitable migration of crime into urban spaces.

As one of the leading urban economic precincts, Sandton has many innovations aimed at making visitors feel safe and creating an excellent experience. In fact, Sandton Central’s ‘Men in Red’ are at the forefront of an exceptional public space Sandton Central has conceivably become the most important business and financial node in South Africa, and plausibly sub-Saharan Africa. It is home to many of South Africa’s largest corporates, the world’s top multinational companies, the JSE and the iconic Sandton City mega-mall ‘In economic circles, the attractiveness and economic health of an area is measured by a simple guideline – the number of cranes which can be seen on the skyline. Right now, the Sandton Central skyline shows an impressive cluster of cranes,’ said Elaine Jack, City Improvement District Manager for Sandton Central Management District (SCMD).

But what is the SCMD doing to ensure orderly progress and visible law enforcement in a climate of rapid development of the built environment?

Sandton Central’s public safety ambassadors, or ‘Men in Red’ as they are affectionately known, are on the frontline of creating an excellent experience in Sandton Central for everyone, whether you live, work, visit or invest in South Africa’s financial hub.

Sandton Central employs a team of 56 public safety ambassadors, five patrol cars and 27 cleaning staff, 24-hours a day, seven days a week. They focus solely on crime prevention, cleaning, maintenance and landscaping.

Elaine Jack, whose organisation manages the public urban spaces of South Africa’s cosmopolitan centre of trade, ideas and lifestyle, says: ‘Sandton Central strives to provide an exceptional experience. We are serious about securing the improvement district and creating a safe, clean and well-managed environment. Our Men in Red are proudly at the forefront of our public safety and cleanliness programme.’

The role of Sandton Central’s Men in Red • Give consistent supportive, friendly, professional and efficient service.

• Keep a sharp eye on public services in the area.

The public safety ambassadors report and monitor any issues. This means quick response times to issues like potholes, burst water pipes and traffic signals that aren’t working.

• Provide visible policing and surveillance in the public space. The Men in Red identify, monitor and report all crime related issues to the authorities.

• Offer knowledgeable assistance about facilities, places and services in Sandton Central.

• Act as proud ambassadors for Sandton Central.

The passionate and professional service of its public safety ambassadors is one way in which Sandton Central supports its position as the country’s leading centre of finance, fashion and fun.

‘We are proud of our Men in Red. They provide a bright, friendly point of engagement with the improvement district. They set the example and send the message that Sandton Central is a well-managed public space,’ concludes Jack.

With this initiative, SCMD has shown that safety and security need not only depend on weapons and electronic security systems, but that there is space for the high-touch aspects too.

Photo by SCMD

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Sandton Central Management District T +27 (0)11 911 8018 W www.sandtoncentral.co.za

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Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

MATERIALS Adhesives.........................................128 Bricks & Paving.............................133 Cement & Concrete.....................135 Insulation.......................................144 Timber & Decking...........................146

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ADVERTORIAL MATERIALS

Silicone and solvent free sealant and filler for wood

Photos by Den Braven

A new environmentally-friendly silicone and solvent free sealant and filler manufactured by Den Braven, Woodflex, is the ideal finisher for wood.

‘This quality product is an environmentally-friendly silicone and solvent free sealant and filler. Woodflex may be used for sealing and joining parquet, cork and laminates as well as wooden floors and joinery.

It has excellent adhesion and can be used on most substrates, such as concrete, varnished wood, aluminium and hard plastics, without a primer. It is also fast drying and can be sanded and painted,’ says a Den Braven company spokesperson.

Woodflex is available in recyclable 300ml cartridges which are transparent, for easy colour matching.

Choose from: Oak, Beech, Pine, Cherry, Meranti and Imbuia. Application is done with a caulking gun.

Chemical fastener for threaded wire rod and screws Den Braven Fix-O-Chem is used by professionals for solid fastening instead of plugs or expansion anchors and is ideal as no pressure build-up will take place.

It is a chemical fastener for threaded wire rod and screws in massive hollow surfaces – concrete, aerated concrete, brickwork and hollow stones. It can also be used for solid fastening of window frames, roller blinds, banisters, hinges etc in building constructions. It is also used as a synthetic repair mortar for concrete. The product is packaged in 300ml cartridges.

Serious adhesion Den Braven High Tack is internationally acknowledged as a heavyweight adhesive.

High Tack has extremely high initial adhesion power and can be used for adhesion of substrates of up to 25kg with no mechanical fixing required. It is odourless, non-corrosive, UV and water resistant and conforms to the SA Green Building Council standards.

Den Braven High Tack adheres to many substrates – stone, windowsills, glass and glazed surfaces, porcelain, coated metals, stainless steel, finished wood and many more. It is ideal to secure bathroom fixtures, kitchen countertops, tiles, splash back and kick plates. The product is packaged in recyclable 290ml cartridges.

Den Braven T +27 (0)11 792 3830 +27 (0(21 552 9674 +27 (0)31 579 2375 W www.denbraven.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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BRICKS & PAVING MATERIALS

Paving the way

Aveng Infraset has introduced a fresh design option for landscape architects and paving contractors with the launch of Santigo®, a new paving block produced in an attractive textured finish.

Aveng Infraset Landscape Products sales manager, Brennan Small, says Santigo® complies with current trends in landscape design which favours larger more cost- effective pavers and is ideal for shopping and community centres, retirement villages, patios, driveways, walkways and pool surrounds.

‘Santigo® has been designed to be laid in conjunction with our Masonique® and Cottage Stone® pavers, creating greater scope for attractive design and layout options. These would typically comprise a Santigo® body combined with either or both Masonique® or Cottage Stone® as borders andheader courses,’ says Small. ‘’Santigo® is available in three off-the-shelf bodythrough colours, grey, charcoal and sahara, in addition to numerous other colour options and can also be ordered in bush-hammered and rumbled finishes for added visual and design diversity,’ he adds.

Requiring only 17 blocks per square metre, the 240 x 240 x 50mm block is easy and cost-effective to install.

An advantage is that the blocks are manufactured with bevelled edges on one side and straight edges on the other. As they are cast in body-through colours, they can be laid either way as they are fully reversible.

‘Santigo® is a high-quality product which complies with SANS 1058:2012. It is cast to high tolerances at Aveng Infraset’s Columbia plant at Rossway, Centurion, using a vertical manufacturing process

Photos by Aveng infraset

A leading paving block manufacturer tells To Build that their new range only requires 17 blocks per square metre and is manufactured with bevelled edges on one side and straight edges on the other. As they are cast in body-through colours, they are reversible and can be laid either side up. which guarantees that it is free of any highs and lows.

Moreover, its textured finish ensures that it is nonslippery when wet,’ advises Small.

‘In addition, we also produce paving blocks, kerbing and retaining wall blocks in our Masa plant which is also located at Rossway. Both Columbia and Masa manufacture state-of-the-art plant and equipment which enable us to introduce new, and in many instances, unique product options for landscape architects and other construction professionals.

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“As they are cast in body-through colours, they can be laid either way as they are fully reversible.”

‘Our Masa plant includes steel production pallets for enhanced vibration transference, in-line washing and sealing, ageing and waving techniques and a specially insulated curing chamber. It also boasts an advanced colour blending facility which is faster and more accurate than earlier generation blenders,’ says Small.

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CEMENT & CONCRETE MATERIALS

New era for readymix concrete in SA The Southern Africa Readymix Association of Southern Africa (SARMA) continues to grow exponentially as producers seek to align themselves with the trend toward high-quality concrete that is a hallmark of its membership.

New direction ‘Another change was the proposed initiative to consolidate all concrete industry bodies. We conducted a referendum in mid-January and got a unanimous agreement from about 75% of our members to proceed. This has unfortunately resulted in the decision to withdraw from the joint office that we’ve shared with the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) for many years. We thank Nico Pienaar and his team for their unstinting support and congratulate Johan van Wyk for succeeding Nico as director of SARMA. Johan will also move office to Midrand at the beginning of February,’ says Bhoora.

‘The external environment has been harsh and this has affected business confidence and markets adversely. The management committee deliberated on the status of our industry at our strategic planning meeting held in mid-September 2016. We concluded that SARMA currently represents approximately two-thirds of the industry and we will need to embrace an even greater majority in future to avoid losing our identity and to make a more meaningful contribution to the overall construction industry. We will also strive to derive a greater benefit from the consolidation of the Concrete Industry Bodies,’ he adds.

Avi Bhoora is the new chairman of SARMA

Photo by SARMA

While membership numbers continue to swell, the association is also gearing for a new phase in the development of the industry as some of the stalwarts of the association make way for the next generation of leaders to drive their visions forward in the ongoing pursuit of a local industry that is a world leader in the development and delivery of quality concrete.

Incoming chairman of the association, Avi Bhoora, comments on the year ahead: ‘We’ve had quite a lot of changes in the lead up to 2017. Charl Marais resigned as chairman of SARMA at the end of 2016 and we wish him success with his future endeavours, whilst thanking him sincerely for his stewardship in the past year.’

What’s to come In future, the industry, as well as the markets SARMA members supply can look forward to: - An enhanced accreditation process for unquestionable credibility of readymix concrete quality - A stronger lobby to have accredited readymix producers specified as exclusive suppliers of concrete - The offering of more accredited training to uplift core skills within the industry - The emulation of good practice from other successful industry associations in respect of statistics collection and dissemination and conflict management. Examples include the establishment of an ombudsman, adoption of a code of conduct, compliance and consequence management, etc.

‘We also pledge on behalf of the management committee, that we will work tirelessly to realise the objectives of SARMA. However, it requires full support from all readymix suppliers to further improve the image of the readymix industry, as well as move the industry to a new position of profitability and sustainability,’ says Bhoora.

The Southern Africa Readymix Association of Southern Africa T +27 (0)11 315 0300 E johan@sarma.co.za W www.sarma.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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Photos by Sika

CEMENT & CONCRETE MATERIALS

Hazelmere Dam upgrade ‘a first’ Realising the total inadequacy of the water storage capacity at Hazelmere Dam in KZN, the Department of Water and Sanitation decided to increase storage capacity by raising the wall. This presented engineering challenges, not least of which related to the stable placement of 83 anchors along the erstwhile spillway.

Hazelmere Dam is a concrete gravity dam originally constructed in 1976, 40km north of Durban. The increase in storage capacity was brought about as measure of dealing with the severe drought experienced recently.

Although 15 families had to be relocated to higher ground, the project benefitted the local community by creating 53 new jobs. By July 2016, the dam volume had dropped to 23% due to the severe drought in KZN. However, in November 2016, volume could have exceeded 70% if it were not for critical construction work on the slipway. Once this stage of the project was completed, in January 2017, the dam could fill to its maximum 100% which is where it stands to date.

Realising the total inadequacy of the dam’s water storage capacity, the Department of Water

and Sanitation contracted consulting engineering company, Ingerop South Africa, for an effective design. A decision was made to raise the dam wall by seven metres, increasing the dam’s capacity from 23.9 million cubic metres to 43.7 million cubic metres. Group 5 were appointed as main contractors.

As the first project of its kind in Southern Africa, involving the installation of 83 anchors into the spillway and the dam wall itself, the task called for the Australian-based company, SRG, to be sub-contracted to drill, install and post tension the anchors. With grouting of the anchors being of critical importance, it was decided that Sika products would meet the high standards required by SRG.

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MATERIALS CEMENT & CONCRETE

Photos and engineering drawing by Sika

Admixtures

To demonstrate the installation process, SRG carried out first site trials by placing four test anchors 40m deep below the dam wall. After commencement of the project proper in February 2016, 355mm diameter holes were drilled at depths varying between 55m and 95m. Along the spillway the holes were spaced 1.5m apart, while on the dam wall the holes were spaced 7.5m apart.

The stringent requirements for the water cement grout mix (exclusive of any aggregates or sands) included: initial flow time of 12 seconds, reaching 15 seconds after 60 minutes, a maximum of 2% bleed after two hours, 60 MPA @ 28 days, OPC Cement Cem I and a grout density of 2200. Sikadur-AP was specified for use on the nose cones of the anchors.

The 250mm diameter anchors, each requiring an average of 80 steel cables for post tensioning, were inserted into the holes.

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The first of two admixtures specified was Sika ViscoFlow-25 ZA, especially designed for concrete mixes with extended workability requirements, as well as improved flow characteristics.

Compared to conventional dispersants, Sika ViscoFlow-25 ZA provides higher stability and workability time. Since Sika ViscoFlow-25 ZA contains no chlorides or any other ingredients which promote corrosion of steel, it is ideally suited for use in reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures.

Sika Stabiliser-229 ZA, the second specified admixture, increases the cohesion and plasticity of concrete, reducing bleed and segregation. Sikadur-42 ZA was used at the top of the base plates. It has a fluid consistency, is self-levelling, suitable for dry or damp concrete surfaces and provides high initial and ultimate mechanical strength.

This huge project, which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2017, will increase the water availability to the rapidly growing population of the North Coast region by approximately 10 million cubic meters and, since Hazelmere Dam forms the major water supply of the existing two systems in the area, the critical water shortages in KwaZulu-Natal will be significantly alleviated. ‘Sika is proud to be playing such an important role in this extraordinary project,’ says a company spokesperson.

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MATERIALS CEMENT & CONCRETE

Dealing with returns in a green way Every provider of readymix concrete must expect a certain amount of returned material because of unforeseen circumstances on the construction sites for which it is destined. But what to do with it in a way which is sustainable?

SA readymix producer, AfriSam’s Jukskei Quarry in Midrand, has cracked the problem of returned concrete with an environmentally-friendly solution that pays its own way.

It is a commonplace occurrence for every readymix provider that a certain amount of returned material arises due to unforeseen circumstances at sites. Production superintendent at Jukskei Quarry, Mohamed Docrat, finally found a sustainable solution: to re-use the concrete in the company’s G5 sub-base product for road building.

Docrat and his management team focused on the idea of adding the recycled concrete to the quarry’s G5 product, as this was a product category that was permitted to contain material from multiple sources.

By contrast, products within the G1 classification can only be from a single source.

Mohamed Docrat, production superintendent at AfriSam’s Jukskei Quarry.

Photos by Afrisam

The returned concrete has also been used around the readymix plant to pave large areas.

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CEMENT & CONCRETE MATERIALS

Waste at the facility will be recycled.

‘The class specification for G5 demands that it must consist of approximately 80% fines. Because the process of breaking up the returned concrete generates plenty of fines, these are therefore beneficial to the product,’ he says.

A suitable process was devised and tested, in which an excavator-mounted hydraulic hammer breaks up the dry returns into 250 to 400mm sizes, after which it is loaded by excavator into a dump truck and hauled to a secondary stockpile. The plant operators check that the material is within specification and the blended material is then fed into a jaw crusher. The crushed material goes onto a production stockpile where it is homogenised and taken by dump truck to a set-back stockpile where it is ready for sale.

Good mixture Between 15% and 20% of recycled concrete is added into the G5, according to Docrat.

‘This gives us a good mixture of decomposed material and returned concrete,’ he says. ‘During our G5 run to produce the material for sub-base layers in roads, we began testing by trickle-feeding a small portion of returned material into the G5 and found that it worked well.’

In line with AfriSam’s compliance with the South African Bureau of Standards’ COLTO (Committee of Land Transport Officials) material grading specifications, the G5 product containing the recycled concrete must pass all the relevant tests. The material is sampled first from the production stockpile and then fully tested – from the set-back stockpile – for compliance with the final G5 specification.

According to Docrat, the final test of the idea was a trial on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project’s N1 extension, where the contractor tried the G5 product with recycled material and confirmed it was perfectly suitable.

This environmentally-friendly solution also means no slush around the Jukskei Quarry plant, less potential for contamination and a smaller carbon footprint. At the same time, it contributes to the recycling levels demanded by AfriSam’s stringent Environmental Management Programme.

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MATERIALS INSULATION

Formalising the trade Although many South African trades have been supported by various qualifications and formal training over the years, the thermal insulation industry has been a notable exception. The Thermal Insulation Association (TIPSASA) recently took steps to rectify the situation.

Training academy A resolution by the Board and National Executive Committee of TIPSASA made the decision to change and shape the future of the organisation by establishing a training academy. It will be managed

by Petra Mitchell who was actively involved with the creation of the occupational qualification for Insulation Installers, a first in South Africa.

The training initiative was principally brought about for the following reasons: • The promulgation of the Energy Efficiency Regulations in 2011, making the installation of thermal insulation mandatory in certain occupancy classes.

• A lack of proper skills in certain cases became evident from botched installations and the lack of enforcement.

• Complaints about insulation not ‘working’ revealedthat insulation rolls where either left on top of the ceiling without being installed, or poorly installed, or that the material did not comply with the minimum requirements by law. Inadequate insulation, poor installation and air leakage are the main causes of heat loss or gain in buildings.

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The insulation installer, as registered on the Organizing Framework for Occupations (OFO) consists of two part qualifications: Building Insulation Installer and Industrial Insulation Applicator, addressing the specialisations in the industry.

TIPSASA contractors will now be able to enjoy recognition of prior learning (RPL), which is a process of identifying their knowledge and skills against a qualification or part thereof. The process involves the identification, mediation, assessment and acknowledgement of knowledge and skills obtained through informal, non-formal and formal learning. The aim is to make it possible to obtain formal recognition for knowledge gained throughout life, such as in workplaces and own reading or experience.

The training academy will also present continuing professional development (CPD) courses to professionals. CPD enables professionals, including architects, engineers and quantity surveyors, to stay abreast of new developments and changes in the thermal insulation industry.

Access to regular training ensures consistent knowledge of products, procedures, standards and regulations, something which is particularly important to stay relevant.

It is estimated that official training courses for an insulation installer will commence towards the latter part of the year, whilst the training for professionals has already commenced.

Photos by TIPSASA

TIPSASA has developed an occupational qualification to ensure that the necessary skills and knowledge needed to work in the thermal insulation industry are provided.

In collaboration with ARTEP Central Solutions, the association completed the Occupational Qualification Training Curriculum in December 2016.

It includes all aspects of thermal insulation, whether industrial or building insulation, as well as the application of cool coatings.

Faulty installations

TIPSASA T +27 (0)12 663 1489 W www.tipsasa.co.za

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MATERIALS TIMBER & DECKING

When specifying for timber construction, it is imperative to make a thorough study of elements, such as specific designs, site conditions, the National Building Regulations as well as timber quality, to ensure a successful project.

Quality assurance initiative introduced When specifying for timber construction, it is imperative to make a thorough study of elements, such as specific designs, site conditions, the National Building Regulations as well as timber quality, to ensure a successful project. The Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA) weighs in on its case.

In South Africa, under the Building Standards Act (Act 103/1977 as amended) and the National Building Regulations (NBR), there are specific legal methods by which to design and construct timber structures.

These are as follows: 1. Timber framed structures built in accordance with SANS 10082 – Code of Practice for Timber Buildings: This Code of Practice outlines the ‘deemed to satisfy’ requirements for the design and construction of timber framed structures.

2. Timber roof trusses manufactured in accordance with Part L Roofs of SANS 10400 ‘The Application of the National Building Regulations’: This standard outlines the ‘deemed to satisfy’ requirements for nailed and bolted trusses and specifies timber sizes along with the number of nails and bolts as well as the accepted truss shape.

3. By engaging the services of a professional engineer (as required in Part B of the National Building Regulations) who would work in strict accordance with SANS 10160 ‘Loading Code’ and SANS 10163 ‘The Structural Use of Timber’.

Deemed to satisfy Timber framed structures in compliance with SANS 10082 are deemed to satisfy the National Building

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Regulations and in compliance with SANS 10400, which covers conventional construction methods and processes. Only deviations from the specified design and construction requirements of SANS 10082 will demand engineering intervention and the provision of a rational design.

Designing for public buildings Approval has, in general, been given by municipalities to prefabricated truss fabricators who use a suite of rational design programmes supplied by ‘system suppliers’ to design roofs up to 10m in span for non-public buildings.

These system suppliers have been accredited and approved by the Institute for Timber Construction South Africa (ITC-SA).

All larger buildings and those to which the public has access, must be designed under the supervision of professional engineers applying rational design criteria to satisfy engineering first principals.

Engineers who have access to engineering design software can use these design programmes to satisfy the rational design requirements.

Timber structures designed by a competent person in accordance with Part B of the National Building Regulations are not limited to the size, height, span,

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TIMBER & DECKING MATERIALS pitch and geometric configuration of structures as specified in SANS 10082 or Part L of SANS 10400.

Timber grading and treatment The ITC-SA works closely with the Technical Committees of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) on grading and treatment specifications for structural timber, including design codes and standards for structural timber as well as on matters affecting the National Building Regulations and their application.

The ITC-SA has also instituted a Certificate of Competence scheme for timber frame builders and truss fabricators (truss plants) who design, manufacture and supply prefabricated nail-plated trusses.

Stringent auditing of both the professions’ operations and key personnel is done before the awarding of such Certificates of Competence. This is an assurance of quality on timber structures for both the specifier and public.

Timber quality All timber used in a structural application should be structural South African pine that complies with the requirements of SANS 1783-2/1460/10149 and bears the full standardisation mark. Timber used for roof battens should comply with SANS 1783-4 and should also bear the full standardisation mark.

Timber used for the construction of timber structures on site must be ordered in the dimensions in which it will be used and should not be re-sawn into smaller cross-sectional sizes on site as this will cause the grade, strength and dimensional tolerances to change.

waterproof material. Air must be allowed to circulate through the timber stacks and strapping around bundles of battens should not be removed until the battens are to be fixed, to prevent excessive warping.

Factory engineered trusses A network of prefabricated timber roof truss manufacturers can be found throughout South Africa.

These fabricators operate under license to suppliers of nail-plate connectors and use computer design programmes devised by professional engineers.

When placing orders with a truss fabricator, or when a quotation is required, the fabricator must be provided with the following minimum information of a detailed drawing: • Overall span of roof • Eaves overhang • Pitch of roof • Cantilever distance (if any) • Truss spacing (can be optimised by the truss engineer) normally 760mm for concrete tiles and 1100mm for sheeting • Roofing materials plus any special loads (e.g. solar panels.)

• Ceiling materials plus any special loads (e.g. air-conditioning.)

• Geyser position and capacity • Hatch openings, size and position • Special eaves details • Other details which may affect the design

Timber specification The various grades of timber are defined by different strength properties and allowable design stresses. The grades commercially available are: S5, S7 and S10.

(Note: there is a limited availability of grade S10.)

In certain magisterial districts in South Africa it is illegal to use timber which has not been treated against biological attack for structural purposes. Treatment can be completed using either CCA or Boron in accordance with SANS 10005 ‘Treatment of Timber’.

Storage of timber Structural timber stored on site should be stacked on level ground on bearers and adequately protected against the weather by being covered with a

Photos by ITC

Timber treatment

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ADVERTORIAL Merensky Timber

Convenience, quality and sustainability from Merensky Timber Merensky Timber (Pty) Ltd is a leading forestry and sawmilling company in South Africa that supplies kiln-dried lumber for construction, building, furniture and industrial applications. Certified structural lumber is graded according to SANS specifications to meet the necessary strength requirements.

In response to evolving market demands, Merensky not only supplies Pine and Eucalyptus (Saligna) lumber, but also imports Meranti, Melunak and Marine Ply from sustainable forests.

Merensky offers value-added services through its distribution centres conveniently situated around the country, while its experienced sales teams provide sound, personalised advice on choosing the right lumber for the right application.

Following the completion of a large-scale upgrade project, Merensky’s sawmills now boast state-of-theart technology and equipment, positioning the group well to compete in both the local and global arenas.

Strongly focused on meeting a diverse set of user needs – from those of truss manufacturers and home builders to those of furniture makers and industrial manufacturers – Merensky delivers exacting specifications to its customers while striving always to deliver optimal levels of customer service.

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Merensky’s Pine and Eucalyptus forests are among the country’s largest private plantations, managed on a saw-log rotation. Peace of mind comes from knowing that Merensky grows FSC®-certified lumber and manages all its natural resources in an environmentally sustainable manner, in line with the objectives of the company’s founder, Dr Hans Merensky.

Merensky Timber E info@merensky.co.za customerservice@merensky.co.za hardwoodsales@merensky.co.za softwoodsales@merensky.co.za W www.merensky.co.za

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SERVICES AIR CONDITIONING

Climate control – smart homes

By Neil Cameron

Home for most people is a great deal more than a place to sleep and eat.

It’s a place where families gather, where people relax and curl up to watch television, or sit down to a meal together. The increase in mobile workforces also means that ‘home’ is also ‘work’ for many people. It is important, therefore, that people be comfortable at home – and climate control forms an integral part of the perceived comfort of a person’s surroundings.

Connected devices that make life easier – and more comfortable – are readily available on the market today and the concept of the connected ‘smart home’ is an appealing reality. Now people can control every electronic device within their home from a single application on their smart device. They can change security settings, control their lights, or automate absolutely everything based on preferred settings, all from a single touchpoint. So why should climate control be any different?

Heating and cooling – the smart way Some air conditioners now available can be easily controlled from your smart device, such as a phone, tablet, Smart TV or computer, or from a remote control. By connecting your air conditioner into your smart home management system, it can become part of your connected digital home experience, enabling you to control the temperature remotely or automatically with ease.

What works in one room, doesn’t necessarily make sense in another. You may want a warmer living area, where modern, open plan layouts tend towards the cooler side, while wanting a cooler kitchen, where ovens and stoves can create overly hot environments.

With smart air conditioning systems, individual rooms and units can be set to different temperatures to provide consistent ambient temperatures throughout the house - ideal for sleeping, studying or working from home.

Another smart feature of many light residential air conditioners available today, is the ability to automatically adjust based on the occupancy of a room. ‘Follow me’ functionality allows for air conditioners to automatically switch adjust the

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temperature in the location where you are sitting. Air conditioners can also be set to maintain a specific temperature, defaulting to standby mode when the temperature is attained and switching on again when it needs adjusting. Hence comfort is maintained with no waiting.

Climate control – more than just temperature ‘But what’s wrong with using a fan or heater,’ you ask?

Good question. Fans and heaters do an equitable job when there is no other option, but they tend to take a really long time to significantly change the temperature of a room. This not only makes them energy inefficient, but also usually means that by the time you’ve achieved the right temperature, you either need to leave the room or house again, or it starts

[ ] “Installing a smart air conditioner not only improves the quality of the air you breathe and the comfort of your environment, it also adds value to your home. You benefit from a home that offers you a better quality of life.

Simple, efficient and effective.”

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AIR CONDITIONING SERVICES

“Being connected into your smart home management system effectively connects the air conditioners and combines them into a single, effective, efficient and intelligent system.”

becoming too hot or cold. You also get hot and cold spots, with the heater or fan only affecting close range proximity and making the rest of the house far less comfortable.

Air conditioners that maintain temperatures or auto-adjust based on occupancy and environment, are far more energy efficient than fans or heaters.

Quite simply, they are faster at achieving desired temperatures, therefore use less energy. This is the case whether a constant temperature is maintained regardless of occupancy, or whether the air conditioner is set to ‘follow me’.

Both heaters and fans also tend to dry out the air and, because they merely circulate the existing air – and dust and bacteria – within a room, they prove unsuitable for anyone suffering from allergies or illness. Air conditioners, however, really do condition the air. They use filtration systems which effectively remove dust and bacteria with outgoing air.

Building smart into homes Smart homes are fast becoming the norm, with smart devices and features being built into homes from the planning stage. Many new homes are built with centralised variable refrigeration air conditioner systems that intelligently adjust the temperature of different rooms in a single house from a central system. However, smart air conditioners can easily be retrofit into older homes.

High wall split units are relatively easy to install or move and offer the same intelligence as centralised systems. Being connected to your smart home management system effectively connects the air conditioners and combines them into a single, effective, efficient and intelligent system.

About the writer Neil Cameron is Johnson Controls Area General Manager, Building Efficiency, Africa. The company positions itself as a global diversified technology and multi industrial leader, serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. It employs over 117 000 people in creating intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions, integrated infrastructure and next-generation transportation systems that work seamlessly together to deliver on the promise of smart cities and communities.

Commitment to sustainability dates back to the company’s roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. The company strives to create value for all stakeholders through strategic focus on buildings and energy growth platforms.

Johnson Controls T +27 (0)11 921 7141 W www.johnsoncontrols.com issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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ADVERTORIAL AMS

AMS keeps air moving Tradition, innovation, performance, worldwide – Air Movement Supplies (AMS) is part of the worldwide Elta Group which provides globally competitive products using their committed local service. Backed by accredited distributors such as Elta Fans, Hydor, Kruger, Soler & Palau and Climatech, AMS plays a dynamic and competitive role in the air movement industry.

The beginning During many visits to South Africa, the late Ray Ball of the Air Movement Group in the UK, became fond of this country’s’ business environment and its people.

In March 1995 he acquired the major shareholding in Duncan Burl (Pty) Ltd and Air Movement Supplies (Pty) Ltd was founded with Duncan Burl as Managing Director. Four years later Duncan was relocated to the head office in the UK. Since then, Derick Truscott has been at the helm of AMS as Managing Director.

Since becoming part of the Elta Group, AMS has adhered to solid principles: accountability, reliability, integrity and efficiency, with a passion and drive to succeed, ultimately to help its customers succeed.

The Elta axial fans are renowned for what AMS stands for locally and abroad - keeping the air moving to ensure the ultimate freshness in refrigeration.

SANS 10400-compliant AMS has also been awarded the EN 12101-3: 2002 Certificate of Conformity, giving customers peace of mind that each tested unit is built to its original standards with a CE mark of conformity.

The AMS head office is based in Cape Town with branches in Johannesburg and Durban. Midair is the agent in Port Elizabeth. A comprehensive product catalogue is available at all branches, or on the company website.

Experts in ventilation AMS’s world-class air movement products are used with confidence in shopping centres, office blocks, hospitals, car parks and even in bathrooms and kitchens.

AMS’s catalogue features product ranges from wall, window and ceiling fans, centrifugal, duct and roof mounted fans, to special environment fans, noise control products, people coolers and all necessary ancillary equipment.

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Air Movement Supplies T +27 (0)21 552 1077 Cape Town +27 (0)11 608 1749 Johannesburg +27 (0)31 700 1628 Durban +27 (0)41 487 3211 Port Elizabeth W www.fans.co.za

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AMS ADVERTORIAL

Silent design series Air Movement Supplies, a dynamic and competitive role player in the air movement industry, is part of Elta Group with its worldwide operations and distributors. AMS strive to provide globally competitive products with local service, realising the importance of a satisfied customer in a forceful market.

Silent Design Series Extractor Fans are available from Air Movement Supplies (AMS). The company is represented nationally with offices in Cape Town (Montagu Gardens), Johannesburg (Sandton), Durban and Port Elizabeth.

A Silent and innovative design The SILENT 100/200 DESIGN Series extractor fans boast a modern and elegant slimline finish with low noise levels for world class silence in your bathroom.

Features The Silent Design fan is suitable for wall and ceiling installations, ideal for modern homes and small commercial applications, in sizes to suit 100 and 200mm duct diameter. It includes as standard an integrated backdraft shutter preventing air entry and heat leakage when fan is not running. The fan is manufactured from injection moulded plastic.

Run-on timer Option The Silent 200 Design series has a 1-30 minute adjustable run-on timer as an option and makes it suitable for bathrooms and en-suites where steam is generated and running the fan will help clear the mirror and even remove unpleasant odours.

Rating The single phase 230V-50Hz,Class B motor, IP45 rated, is mounted on silent-elastic blocks which absorbs the vibrations and allow for very low noise levels.

Color

Photos by AMS

The fan is available in a white finish and includes an operating light bar in blue that runs along the right side of the fan and indicates when the fan is running.

Air Movement Supplies T +27 (0) 21 552 1077 W www.fans.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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SERVICES FURNITURE

Photo by Alpine Lounge

Furniture in the home Claire Gibson, from leading furniture manufacturer, La-Z-Boy, offers some insights in how to best decorate smaller living rooms and create the illusion of added space.

Many small living room ideas can trick the eye into making a space appear larger than it is. These ‘tricks of the trade’ can go a long way to transform a cramped small room into one that feels inviting, cosy and aesthetically pleasing. Paying attention to the use of colour, scale and weight can make all the difference.

‘Trying new things is exciting and it is just what you need to do when decorating small spaces, as often, traditional ideas about living room decor aren’t the best solution. Whatever option, your living room, big or small, needs to function as a space for relaxation and entertainment. Keep that in mind when selecting décor,’ suggests Claire.

Choose a small-space sofa and arrange the furniture wisely Space limitations need not mean limited choices of furnishings.

‘As homes are getting smaller and urban living is becoming more popular, many scaled-down furnishings are becoming available, specially designed to fit smaller living quarters. Our Urban Attitudes range of sofas, for example, are compact, comfortable and very trendy – the perfect complement to any small space,’ says Claire.

These scaled-down sofas, also known as apartment sofas, boast slimmer dimensions, sleeker designs, exposed legs and smaller arms, creating the impression that the sofa is ‘floating’ on legs establishes the illusion of more space.

Arranging furniture can be tricky in a small space.

‘Carefully measure the living room space in question before choosing any furniture. This way, you can get a visual sense of how things will fit. If the space doesn’t allow for a small sofa and a couple of single seaters,

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then you should consider a scaled-down corner suite instead. They are ideal for cramped spaces, offering the same amount of seating as a two-seater and two single seaters, but a smaller footprint. They also maximise the use of corner spaces,’ adds Claire.

Other ideas •A large mirror hung in a central location in a living room is a great way to create an attractive focal point. To maximise light, hang a mirror behind a light source, such as a downlight, lamp or pendant light.

Or, position it in such a manner that it reflects the natural light and view coming in from the windows opposite. This will make the room feel brighter and the mirror will create the illusion of another window.

• Emphasising a room’s height will immediately make it feel bigger. Use the wall space all the way up to the ceiling to draw the eye up and create vertical dimensions in the composition.

Floor-to-ceiling curtains are a stylish way to accomplish this goal, as are groupings of artwork that reach all the way to the ceiling. These invite the eye to roam beyond the eye-level horizontal space that often feels confined.

• Squeezing one piece of furniture in front of another can build function or storage into a tiny living room. Try including a small dresser behind your sofa to create a surface for table lamps, or tuck poufs under the coffee table for added seating that can be taken out and used when required.

La-Z-Boy W www.la-z-boy.co.za

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SERVICES FURNITURE

The living office To Build interviews Andy Lock, President of Herman Miller International, a leading furniture manufacturer globally. Andy Lock recently visited South Africa for the first time where he visited a major project his company has been involved in at Sasol in Sandton.

Photos by Herman Miller

Andy Lock

To Build: I believe you were involved quite extensively in the fit-out of the impressive new Sasol headquarters building in Sandton?

‘It is a real tribute to the vision of the Sasol team to move ahead and build for the future. It takes a lot of courage and vision to bring together several buildings and create an environment which is spectacular.

Sasol have been very thoughtful about creating an experience for their employees. You can walk into the building and it respects you, uplifts you and supports you and the work you need to get done. It’s an honour to be able to work with a company like Sasol on a project of this calibre.’

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To Build: What are your impressions of the Sasol building and how does it compare to other new construction and sites that you have visited outside of South Africa?

It’s world-class! The attention to detail and quality fit and feel is extraordinary. Any big city in the world would say: ‘’That’s a great addition to our skyline’.

To Build: At what stage of the architectural and interior design process is it best for a specialist company, such as yours, to become involved?

‘If you have a potential client who is thinking of a change in built environment, we would prefer to get involved right at the start. It’s important for us to engage in a conversation at the beginning. We go through a discovery process: what has the client got now; where do they want to be; what kind of process do they want to create? Then we think about how that gets deployed into creating a physical space.’

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FURNITURE SERVICES ‘We can contribute a vast amount of global research. We have a philosophy about space which we call “the living office”. This is based on research we did globally to discover what types of work happen in a space and what are the right settings to support that work.

‘We go through a discovery process with our clients and talk about how what they want and what direction they are heading. We then explore how their work will fit into different settings and then thoughtfully plan those around the floor space.

‘Pretty much every client has got one driving need which is to minimise the cost of their real estate. Real estate is the most expensive thing you’ve got and you can’t afford to waste it. So how do you create spaces which can be efficient, effective and support the work, but maximise the use of space? When a space is alive and active, people in it feel better and it creates excitement and purpose around a space.’

To Build: Your company invests heavily in research and much of this is propelling not only new products, but also new spatial planning layouts for offices. What are the future trends that will be shifting offices?

‘The whole living office concept is a radical rethink of how you approach the idea of planning the space. Herman Miller is not trying to replace interior designers; we are trying to create a model for people to think about space against which all design partnerships can then partner with us in terms of realising a solution.

‘In terms of future trends, people always talk about working from a coffee shop, or from home. I can tell you that this is not going to become ubiquitous at all. Our research tells us that there are fundamental human needs that we share across the globe. One of them is the sense of belonging. People who are forced to work in isolation become horribly disconnected.

‘I think the trend is going to be one of accommodating different modes of work, but always with the ability to come back to the nest as we are innately driven to gather. We need social interaction, creating a space where people want to come together.

Collaboration produces the great ideas. The question is, how do I serve multiple needs in a space that people choose to be in to maximize collaboration?’

To Build: How long has Herman Miller had a presence in South Africa via its distributor here, All Office?

‘It’s been 20 years - a long marriage which is always good. I see potential everywhere in South Africa. It’s a vibrant country with lots of opportunity and energy.’

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“The trend is going to be one of accommodating different modes of work.”

The Keyn chair

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RETICULATION & PLUMBING SERVICES

PP fitting which cracked due to UV attack, whilst the PVC pipe attached to it is still fine.

Beware the trap – cheap plastic pipes can be an expensive mistake Pipes and pipe fittings are a key component in any building or property and often not given the prominence they require. Keen to save money, a building contractor might fall into the trap of wanting to buy cheap pipes and fittings – thinking that all thermoplastic pipes are the same.

According to the Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA), the above scenario could be an expensive mistake that could eventually cost property owners, contractors and merchants dearly.

Construction industry contracts contain clauses that address the issues of latent and patent defects and a ‘maintenance period’, usually one year, during which time retention money is withheld to meet any corrective action expenses incurred. The standard of the work is therefore ‘measured with respect to time’, and any unacceptably rapid deterioration is condemned and penalised.

According to Jan Venter, CEO of SAPPMA, contractors are being faced with claims and costs under these circumstances.

‘As a result, building professionals are increasingly turning to their suppliers for compensation to meet these costs. These costs are often substantial and usually include disruption of finished or partly finished work. Suppliers need to be aware that they can safeguard themselves against selling inferior quality products and pipes,’ Venter says.

SAPPMA is a non-profit association that represents more than 80% of the plastic pipe produced in South

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SERVICES RETICULATION & PLUMBING Africa. It focuses on ensuring new pipe systems are correctly designed, leak-free and durable for long-term use, as well as on the rehabilitation of old pipelines.

SAPPMA also aims to educate suppliers, specifiers and users about the importance of purchasing plastic pipes that bear the SAPPMA logo, as a quality guarantee that it meets the standards of certification and standards bodies such as SANS. According to Venter, plastic pipes are one of those items that are ‘measured with respect to time’. A good quality plastic pipe is designed and manufactured to have a minimum lifespan of 50 years (with 100 years a realistic possibility) thanks to the long-term strength of the polymer. This long-term strength is called the Minimum Required Strength (MRS) and is determined in accordance with ISO (International Standards Organisation), at 50 years or 436 000 hours.

If the strength of the polymer is compromised in any way, for example, due to manufacturers using a non-conforming polymer or non-conforming recycled material, these requirements will not be achieved.

‘Although the design life of a thermoplastic pipe is set by ISO protocol at 50 years, customers are demanding a service life of no less than 100 years for their investment in infrastructural assets. This will only happen if the polymer conforms to the requirements,’ Venter says, adding that although inferior quality pipes might look the same at first, non-conformance will soon become apparent, often still within the contractual ‘maintenance period’.

Other causes of pipe failure SAPPMA also points out that two other very typical causes of the premature failure of pipes in building systems are incorrect specifications and inferior quality of seals in the pipe joints.

‘A common example of incorrect specification is the use of polypropylene (PP) fittings in outdoor applications. According to SANS 721, PP fittings for aboveground use are not UV resistant and failures have been experienced after as little as 5 years,’ Venter explains.

In terms of pipe seals, it must be noted that thermoplastic seals are unable to meet the criteria as laid out by ISO/SANS 4633.

‘This is a major issue, especially with cheap, imported fittings. Anyone buying these products should ensure that the seal is up to SANS standards by checking that the seal is clearly marked with the SANS 4633 quality assurance logo. If they still have

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any doubt, they are entitled to request a copy of the certificate,” he adds.

National standards Traders and suppliers are advised to protect themselves from being caught between an irate contractor and an unscrupulous manufacturer, by demanding test data from the manufacturer. If they are still in any doubt, there are several tests that are quick and easy to conduct.

The following is a list of the most popular national standards for PVC and HDPE pipes and fittings: • SANS 791: PVC-U sewer and drain • SANS 966-1: PVC-U pressure pipe systems • SANS 966-2: PVC-M pressure pipe systems • SANS 967: PVC-U soil, waste and vent pipes and fittings • SANS 1601: PVC-U sewer and drain structured wall systems • SANS 16422: PVC-O pressure pipes and joints • SANS 4427: HDPE pressure pipe and fittings (for water)

Quality is always driven by the customer ‘The person paying the bills is the one who decides what they are buying. Our advice is not to pay “good” money for “bad” products, but to be educated about the long-term benefits of plastic pipes that will stand the test of time and not end up costing the end-user double in cost, time and effort to replace poorly manufactured products’, Venter advises.

Merchants are welcome to contact SAPPMA if they have any pipes or fittings they would like to have tested, or if they have any queries regarding the quality of the pipes they are selling.

SAPPMA T +27 (0)11 314-4021 E admin@sappma.co.za W www.sappma.co.za

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Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

GREEN BUILDING HVAC.................................................170 Global Warming..........................172 Fairtrade.........................................176 Water................................................178

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GREEN BUILDING HVAC

Economical water heating using heat pumps

952 Alliance Water Heaters cut water heating costs by two-thirds at this Stefanutti Stocks project.

A pressing need facing South African municipalities is the supply of adequate housing to a rapidly expanding urban population. To help alleviate the housing shortage in Pietermaritzburg, the municipality called in the expertise of Stefanutti Stocks, one of South Africa’s leading construction groups, to build almost 1000 housing units on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg.

Multi-storey units Known as the Westgate Project, the development located on Archie Gumede Drive, called for multistorey units and specifications included a requirement for low-cost water heating. As the units are multistorey, conventional solar heating was out of the question, so Stefanutti Stocks turned to Alliance Heat Pump Water Heaters.

‘One of the major advantages of Alliance Heat Pumps,’ remarks Wil Jansen, director of Alliance, ‘is that not only are they competitively priced, sold and supported nationwide, but are ideal for use in multi-storey units. They heat water, rain or shine, have timers that can be set to switch on and off at pre-set times and they provide hot water at a third of the cost of a conventional electric-element geyser. For the Westgate project, Alliance also guaranteed pricing for the entire duration of the project by taking forward cover on the stock required, thus eliminating any cost escalation.’

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Photo by Alliance

At a multi-storey development in Pietermaritzburg, Stefanutti Stocks’ solution of Alliance Heat Pump Water Heaters cut water heating costs by two-thirds.

952 Alliance Water Heaters will be installed The Westgate Project was started at the end of 2015 and is scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2017. A total of 952 3.2kW Alliance Water Heaters will be installed, with over 700 having already been supplied at the time of writing.

Wil Jansen and Jason Finlay, Alliance technical and sales executive, have been doing regular site visits to ensure correct installation and full compliance with all SANS regulations. Alliance also assisted with installation design and made specific installation kits, including customised galvanised mounting brackets.

To obviate the need for storing valuable stock on the construction site, Heat Pumps were stored in Alliance’s Durban branch, minimising delivery time.

‘Alliance have been closely involved with ourselves during this construction project and have provided the ideal solution to the challenge of ensuring low-cost water heating in these multi-storey buildings,’ says Paul Dykes, a director of Stefanutti Stocks.

Alliance, a division of Fourways Air Conditioning T +27 (0)11 704 6320 E sales@fourwaysaircon.co.za W www.fourwaysaircon.co.za

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GREEN BUILDING GLOBAL WARMING

Built environment playing a major role in climate change mitigation The built environment has a major role to play in climate change mitigation and progressively more South African property investors are rising to the challenge with positive impacts on the environment and their businesses.

Long term indicators Long-term indicators of human-caused climate change reached new heights in 2016. ‘Carbon dioxide and methane concentrations surged to new records.

Both contribute to climate change,’ says Taalas.

Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries and in the ocean, where it acidifies the water, for even longer. It is now above the symbolic and significant level of 400 parts per million concentration in the atmosphere.

‘We have also broken sea ice minimum records in the Arctic and Antarctic,’ he adds. ‘Greenland glacier melt – one of the contributors to sea level rise started early and fast. Arctic sea ice was the lowest on

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Photo by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

This is the word from the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) considering the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) recent announcement that 2016 is the hottest year on record.

Record-keeping began in the 1880s and 2016 set a new global heat record for the third year in a row. This means that 16 of the 17 hottest years on record have occurred since 2000.

WMO uses data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the UK’s Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. WMO also draws on re-analysis data from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which use a weather forecasting system to combine many sources of data to provide a more complete picture of global temperatures, including in Polar regions.

‘2016 was an extreme year for the global climate and stands out as the hottest year on record,’ says WMO Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas. ‘But temperatures only tell part of the story.’

Dorah Modise at the award of 5 Green Stars to the V&A Silo 5 development.

record both at the start of the melt season in March and at the height of the normal refreezing period in October and November.’

(Source: https://public.wmo.int/ )

Bringing it home For its calculations, the WMO combined global temperature data sets from various reputable sources across the globe. Despite their different data methods, all agencies agree that 2016 continued the trend of global warming that has been persistent since the 1970s. They also concur that by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, human behaviour is warming the planet in the long term.

Another indicator is that Antarctic sea ice during December 2016 was 3.41 million square miles, according to analysis by the National Snow and Ice Data Centre based on data from NOAA and NASA. This value is 970 000 square miles (22.2%) below the 1981-2010 average and the smallest December extent on record.

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GLOBAL WARMING GREEN BUILDING

Graphic by NOAA National Centres for Environmental Information.

But what does this say of human development and the way we do business in our region of the world?

‘The good news is that we can change our behaviour. In fact, we already are,’ says Dorah Modise, the recently appointed CEO of the GBCSA. ‘The property sector knows it has a substantial contribution to make in rapidly reducing emissions. It is taking action by designing, building and operating buildings in ways that are better for the environment.’

So far, 230-plus formal green building certifications have been achieved in South Africa.

‘We believe this is only the beginning. There is much more to come. We have already started doing what needs to be done. Now we need to do it more and do it better,’ says Modise.

Green building has proven to be a good business decision ‘As the GBCSA enters its 10th year, all signs point to green building gaining even greater momentum in the country. The reason for this is simple. Green building

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“Our green building movement is setting its own impressive records.”

has proven to be a good business decision,’ she adds.

Over the nine years, the property industry has learned many lessons from its investment in green building, the most important being that they can do well by doing good.

Recently, the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design announced a 2017 Green GOOD DESIGN™ Award for the Silo District at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, citing it as an ‘important example of sustainable design’. This committee gives just 100 awards each year, but receives hundreds of submissions for consideration from around the world.

Additionally, multi-tenanted office building No. 5 Silo, has become the second development at the V&A Waterfront to be awarded a prestigious 6-Star Design Rating by the GBCSA in recognition of its industry leading and environmentally sustainable design.

‘South Africa’s property giants are all committed and showing real delivery,’ says Modise. ‘Our green building movement is setting its own impressive records.’

GBCSA W www.gbcsa.org.za NOAA W www.ncei.noaa.gov/ issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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ADVERTORIAL Solar Ray

Clearing up the confusion about solar water heater systems Investing in a solar water heater is the best investment you will ever make.

However, deciding on the type of system you’ll need, which brand or what capacity can be confusing and overwhelming.

We often make costly important decisions based simply on advice from friends and neighbours, and in some cases, decide based on whatever the salesman of a brand tells us.

When you consider purchasing a solar water heating system one must bear in mind it consists of a collector system (flat plate or evacuated tubes) and a water storage tank. The hot water tank in a solar water heater is the most critical part of the system and generally consists of an inner tank and an outer wrap. The inner tank contains the heated water and is

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insulated to keep the water hot. The outer envelope protects the insulation material and provides a foundation for mechanical fitment to your roof.

Some of the key factors to consider before you purchase a solar water heater

The quality of the inner tank Stainless steel is commonly used in the manufacture of cutlery, pots and pans, water tanks and many other industrial applications due to the longevity of the product. With solar water heating systems, various grades of stainless steel are used to manufacture

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Solar Ray ADVERTORIAL the inner tanks. The best quality inner tanks are manufactured from type 444 stainless steel because of its corrosion resistance properties at elevated temperatures.

Why does the grade of stainless steel matter?

The different stainless steel grades are high-alloy steel that have excellent corrosion resistant properties when compared with other steels. One property common to all stainless steel grades is that they contain chromium and this provides corrosion resistance.

Many years ago, producers of electric hot water tanks all over the world started replacing the traditional enamelled-steel water tanks with stainless steel tanks. The corrosion-resistance of stainless steel meant that the tanks had a far greater lifespan.

Flat-plate or evacuated tube collectors?

The choice between a flat-plate and evacuated tube solar water heating system is usually a personal choice. The main difference comes down to the efficiency. With evacuated tubes, the vacuum provides almost perfect insulation. A flat-plate panel has insulation at the back and sides, with glass on top and is subject to heat loss. Generally during the summer months, there’s very little difference in performance between the two. However, in winter when we have cold days and lower light levels, the evacuated tubes will perform better.

Flat plate solar collectors can be used in most climates, but are significantly more suited to warmer, sunnier climates, where freezing and solar angles are less likely to impact on the solar water heating system. When a portion of a collector fails, the entire solar water heater system collector must be shut

down and replaced. Flat plates in frost sensitive regions normally run a glycol heat transfer fluid which requires replacement every three years.

Evacuated tubes require no maintenance.

Evacuated tubes capture sunlight better as they have a greater surface area exposed to sun at any time.

If one tube becomes damaged, only that tube needs to be replaced. Depending on the type of tube used, there is no need to shut down the entire system and no leakage occurs. The vacuum tubes are also resistant to damage from adverse weather conditions.

Ensure you invest in a system made from high-quality materials When you invest in a solar water heater, make sure you select a system that is manufactured from high quality materials. Avoid the cheap units and rather choose a locally manufactured system that provides you with local backup and support.

Units with longer warranties usually are of higher quality, but so often - as with everything else - the least expensive option you purchase is the most expensive option in the long run. Remember, the purpose of a solar geyser is to collect energy from the sun in the most efficient way to prohibit electrical backup and the resultant costs.

HYGIENIC. TOUGH. LONG LASTING. IT’S STAINLESS STEEL! 10 year warranty on the tank

Solar Ray T +27 (0)11 065 6500 F +27 (0)11 065 6558 E info@solarray.co.za issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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GREEN BUILDING FAIRTRADE

Photos by Gareth Griffiths

Hotel Verde from the air.

Iconic green hotel embraces fair trade Hotel Verde, situated at the Cape Town International Airport, has been certified by Fair Trade Tourism at the annual World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. The certification is a prestigious accolade for both Hotel Verde and tourism in South Africa, showing leadership in the rapidly growing responsible tourism market.

Hailed as ‘Africa’s greenest hotel’; Hotel Verde has been set, since opening in 2013, on proving that luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand. The 145-bedroomed hotel earned its spot as one of the most sustainable hotels in the world after becoming the first hotel world-wide to receive a double-platinum green building certification from the United States Green Building Council in 2015.

What’s in a fair trade certification?

The Fair Trade certification brings new weight to Hotel Verde’s commitment to responsible tourism principles, verifying the sustainable practices of more than just the hotel’s design and building operations. The certification was audited extensively by KMPG and focused on aspects such as fair wages and working conditions, fair purchasing and operations, equitable distribution of benefits and respect for human rights, culture and the environment.

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‘Going green is not just about the building; it’s also about every aspect of the operation’, says Samantha Annandale, CEO of Verde Hotels, the sustainable hotel management company behind Hotel Verde in Cape Town and the soon-to-launch Hotel Verde in Zanzibar.

‘As part of Hotel Verde Cape Town’s commitment to be “Africa’s greenest hotel”, management is committed to following the principal tenets of sustainable procurement, to minimise their environmental impact, to maximise wider social benefits and of course, ensuring the wellbeing and future of our employees.’

Fair Trade Tourism was the first African certification scheme to be recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, representing global best-practice in responsible tourism.

‘We are delighted to have Africa’s greenest hotel, Hotel Verde, onboard with Fair Trade Tourism. They are leaders in demonstrating that going green is not only responsible, but also financially viable, whilst

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FAIRTRADE GREEN BUILDING simultaneously enhancing the client’s experience.

Following the principals of thrivability, Hotel Verde is something to experience in person and a proud addition to Africa’s most responsible portfolio of nearly 200 businesses,’ says Fair Trade Tourism’s Managing Director, Jane Edge.

Leading green building Hotel Verde is the first hotel in the world to be certified LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for both New Construction and Operations & Maintenance from the United States Green Building Council. Educational signage and digital media highlight sustainability throughout the hotel, allowing guests to take home lessons around being eco-friendlier. The Verdino, an in-house currency, rewards guests for their more sustainable actions while staying at the hotel.

Hotel Verde is also certified with a 6-star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa for the Green Star SA Existing Building tool. The hotel has won a number of awards, including the World’s Best City Hotel for Responsible Tourism at WTM London and the Company Trendsetter Award at Internorga Hamburg.

Some of the hotel’s advanced sustainable interventions include wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, geothermal technology, regenerative drive elevators, grey water recycling, responsible

Stimulation of local crafts at Hotel Verde: Fairtrade.

procurement, urban beehives, waste management, vegetated green roof, occupancy sensors and biodiversity management.

All guests and delegates earn a carbon neutral certificate by staying at the hotel which can be used for their company’s sustainability report.

Hotel Verde and Verde Hotels W wwww.hotelverde.com www.verdehotels.com

Photo by Gareth Griffiths

Lindy Meiring (bottom centre) and her green team at the World Trade Market, Cape Town 2017

‘The Fairtrade certification is an extremely proud alliance for our team’, vouched Lindy Meiring, General Manager of Hotel Verde, Cape Town. ‘We believe that this has further validated our passionate dedication to sustainability and the future thereof. The mark of the Fair Trade certification will also give responsible travellers an easy way of identifying our commitment to responsible practices when choosing accommodation in Cape Town’

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GREEN BUILDING WATER

Poor community shows the way

The Langrug Community space

The Langrug community is in the hills to the west of Franschhoek, undisputed ‘French’ wine capital of the Western Cape. The settlement originally formed to provide housing for indigent migrants from the Eastern Cape, in contravention of prevailing housing regulations between 1993 and 1994.

According to team members, Jason Mingo, Berg River Task Manager, Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning; Jonny Harris, founder and director, Isidima; Claire Mollatt, Genius of SPACE at Greenhouse Systems Development (GSD) and Justin Friedman of GSD, the Genius of SPACE project is a result of the merging of the Berg River Bio-remediation and the Genius of Place projects.

A medium-term intervention to reduce pollution loads The Genius of SPACE (Systems for People’s Access to a Clean Environment) project is intended as a mediumterm intervention amongst other longer-term sanitation and infrastructure interventions, to reduce pollution loads into the Berg River. It is aimed at improving human and ecological health, economic development and the quality of life of residents in the area.

The prototypes work on addressing the principles of the green, circular and well-being economies through addressing stormwater, greywater and solid waste challenges in the Langrug informal settlement near Franschhoek.

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Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

First covered by SA Building Review in 2015, this water-sensitive project is founded on the well-being of the community in which it is based. To Build caught up with the role players during the African Utility Week held in Cape Town during May.

The merger of the two former projects happened in June 2015 when a new tender was submitted by the project team. The Bio-remediation project was initiated by the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA & DP). The project was run by the Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT). These two projects started in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Project aims to demonstrate novel approaches and innovative systems The name of the project fulfils two important elements.

Firstly, the name - Genius of Systems for People’s Access to a Clean Environment (SPACE) - sets out the direct objective of the project. Secondly, the project aims to demonstrate novel approaches and innovative systems when it comes to using the space available to address socio-environmental issues within an informal settlement.

These issues are mainly focussed on addressing waste flows - solid waste and polluted stormwater.

In incorporating the principles of water-sensitive design, the project is one of the first of its kind internationally to adopt a systems approach to tackling such issues in a way that provides and stimulates economic opportunities. This is achieved at the community level, through effective participation (co-design), capacity development and embedding

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WATER GREEN BUILDING

Community leaders, organisers from government and the World Design Capital at the programme launch 2014

ownership of interventions and solutions, together with private partnership development. The integration of green infrastructure solutions with novel service delivery systems, seeks to shift current paradigms in community upliftment and environmental protection.

Importantly, it is a combined national, provincial and local government initiative and is a fine example of how the three spheres of government can work together.

Project enhances efficiency in the way resources are used from one stage to the next To Build asked how the project is changing the way the local community uses its resources. According to the team, the project seeks to enhance efficiency in the way resources are used from one stage to the next. Rather than contributing to environmental degradation, the project has delivered opportunities to reuse, recycle and create value from water and solid waste. In doing so, the local community are better capacitated and enabled to drive change and socio-environmental improvement which may lead to economic upliftment.

Vumile William Dlova is working as a flow agent in the Biomimicry Genius of Space project. He says: ‘This system changed the community because our children are now playing in a clean, dry place with no dirty water running between houses. There are no more flies around. We are living in a healthy environment.’

Although water and sanitation are generally available in Langrug informal settlement, these services are limited and have led to the disposal of wastewater and solid waste throughout the settlement, causing a health hazard and flowing into stormwater drains and ultimately into the Berg River and polluting it.

How it works The Genius of Space system gives Langrug residents the opportunity to dispose of their grey water in disposal drums where it is filtered. The water then flows into a system of underground pipes into tree gardens where it gets treated. Some 500 Langrug residents are currently using the 27 disposal points in the settlement.

The project is set to undergo an extensive monitoring and evaluation process to deliver a working model for further replication and extension.

It is important to note that such a process is reliant on the need to effectively address a multitude of mandates and objectives which cut across the various roles of different government departments and levels, with the inclusion of the opportunity for the private sector to play a role.

W www.biomimicrysa.co.za/genius-of-space www.westerncape.gov.za/110green/projects/ genius-place-phase-3 issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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ADVERTORIAL Ecotech Africa

Solutions and products for ALL effluent streams Ecotech Africa offer solutions for all effluent streams, unlike our competitors, while simultaneously addressing the management of water resources by providing solutions and products that facilitate purification, waste water treatment, effluent separation and oil and water separators. We believe in the principal of designing, constructing, installing and commissioning systems and products that are sustainable, cost effective and that enhance the operations of our clients.

Locally and in other African markets, we service residential, commercial and industrial markets.

We are your one-stop service provider, delivering products and services of unmatched quality to various sectors, including mining, construction, agriculture, housing development, government, power generation and consulting engineering.

We provide comprehensive environmental solutions and treatment services for: • Biological waste water treatment plant (sewage): Ecotech Africa offers various WWTP specifically designed around client requirements, budgets and site-specific conditions. These include civil systems, above ground systems and containerized plants and below ground systems for smaller applications.

Systems are low maintenance and have a low operating cost.

• Water purification: Ecotech Africa offers turnkey water purification and filtration solutions. We design, construct, supply and maintain water purification and filtration plants for both commercial and industrial markets. Our services and solutions include pre-filtration, micro filtration, reverse osmosis and disinfection systems, to name a few.

• Wash bays: Our wash bay solution includes everything from design to construction, installation and commissioning. At the same time, we can cater for a variety of vehicles, including light vehicles, heavy vehicles, transit vehicles, commercial vehicles, train wash systems and mining equipment.

• Effluent separation systems: Building on our extensive knowledge and experience in designing and implementing effluent separation processes, Ecotech Africa provides separation technologies that use

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proven technology to safely and effectively dispose of water-borne effluent.

• Asbestos removal: Ecotech Africa offers safe, fast and effective asbestos removal services to both the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Our team of highly qualified personnel work together with relevant parties to ensure safe and legally compliant removal and disposal of any asbestos containing material.

• Oil/water separators: Ecotech Africa’s oil/water separator is a gravity separation device designed using Stoke’s law which define the rise velocity of oil droplets based on their density, size and water properties. One of the factors that makes our oil/ water separators unique is that they are designed to harness the gravity difference between the oil and the wastewater because that difference is much smaller than the specific gravity difference between the suspended solids and the water itself.

• Spill kits and absorbents: Our spill kits are packed to facilitate a rapid and effective response to spills of oil, petroleum, diesel, hazardous chemicals and battery acids, not to mention our range of specifically developed portable spill kits.

Ecotech Africa recognises the need of our clients to minimise their environmental impact while achieving legal compliance. That is why our suite of solutions is positioned to address these and other concerns and ensure sustainable operations.

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OUT & ABOUT TO BUILD’S ROVING EDITOR

Decorex Shines Once again, the organisers of Decorex 2017 in Cape Town, outdid themselves.

Proving a great drawcard for designers, architects and homebuilders, the Cape Town International Convention Centre was packed to overflowing with the latest concepts in the market. To Build’s editor was there and the magazine’s marketing team also hosted a stand at the show..

We are Cape Town

Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Food demos

Geberit DuoFresh and Rimfree

To Build publisher’s stand – MediaXpose people Allison Davids, Rene van Heerden and Bradley Boult

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TO BUILD’S ROVING EDITOR OUT & ABOUT

Cape Town Utility Week 2017 Once again, this mega show dealt with all the aspects of utility service provision to business and consumers – right across the continent of Africa.

With a big focus on the service of electricity and water supply, the show and 5-plenary session conventions dealt with cutting-edge and local solutions to Africa’s infrastructure concerns.

Photos by Gareth Griffiths Imaging

Visitor response board – visitors were asked to map issues of concern, based on age profile

Durban University of Technology presents the case for clean power

Nuclear family – the nuclear producer lobby were there from each country.

All services, countries and allied industries under one roof.

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STUDENT PROJECTS Durban University of Technology

Durban University of Technology’s energyDRIVE Project In December 2016, Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Kwazulu-Natal’s Industrial Energy Efficient Training & Resource Centre (IEETR), under the University’s Applied Sciences Faculty as well as DUT’s Technology Transfer and Innovation unit (TTI), launched a major energy project in a bid to help mitigate South Africa’s power shortage crisis through knowledge.

Called the energyDRIVE Project, the initiative comprises a custom-built truck that is being used in a national roadshow targeting rural schools, as well as technical and vocational education and training colleges and exhibitions, to inform communities about the benefits and uses of renewable energy technologies. The project, which has cost about R3 million since take-off, is the first of its kind globally.

So far, the project has conducted roadshows in Johannesburg and has successfully exhibited at two major energy conventions’, winning an award in one.

Overall, the energyDRIVE Project has set its sights

on targeting approximately 500 000 pupils nationwide over the next few years.

Exhibitions ‘The project had its first roadshow in February,’ says Professor Ian Lazarus, energyDRIVE Project Leader.

‘We successfully exhibited the truck at the Africa Energy Indaba Conference at the Sandton Convention Centre. The truck drew a lot of attention from key role-players in South Africa as well as many local and international organisations. The energyDRIVE truck was the most exhibited and received a runner-up award

Photos by Gareth Griffiths

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Durban University of Technology STUDENT PROJECTS ‘We still want to improve the truck, one of the things being the energy efficiency booth. We are also developing photovoltaic kits to hand out at schools. The kits will demonstrate to pupils that solar energy can be used as an alternative energy source and plant a seed in young minds about possible alternative energy innovation ideas,’ says Prof Lazarus.

Best in show

at the conference’, says Prof Lazarus, adding that Thembisa West Secondary, KwaDukathole Secondary as well as CJ Botha Secondary schools were visited during the Johannesburg roadshow, where pupils were given alternative energy demonstrations and were also taught about climate change.

About 700 pupils were reached at the three schools and both teachers and pupils enjoyed the demonstrations.

The truck travelled to schools in Matatiele, Umtata and Port Elizabeth enroute to Cape Town and was exhibited at the African Utility Week Conference which took place at the Cape Town International Conference Centre, winning the ‘best in show’ award for the most innovative stall. After the conference and on its way back to KwaZulu-Natal, it will be visiting schools in Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Ladysmith.

To Build visited the truck at the Cape Town expo and was suitably impressed at the degree of professionalism on display, as well as the number of visitors lining up to view its mechanisms.

Later in 2017, the project will set its sights on KwaZulu-Natal for the remainder of the year and will be travelling to Swaziland as well.

‘To see the project doing so well after a difficult 18months’ planning is very exciting. We were surprised about the effect it had on energy experts, pupils and many other people. DUT management has also seen the truck and is very supportive of the project, especially the Faculty of Applied Sciences,’ adds Prof Lazarus.

Technical details The framework of the truck’s container was designed by the Energy Technology staff from the IEETR centre and features a solar roof structure and wind turbine mounting system, bio-digester, photovoltaic panel display unit as well as a solar hot water display unit and other demonstration equipment. The walls of the container are occupied by a battery bank, photovoltaic components as well as TV and display cupboards.

Interactive demonstration models, alternative solar energy display wall units and an energy efficiency unit are also featured in the container.

The project will also promote skills training courses in energy-related fields.

The truck travelled back to Johannesburg recently for the National Skills Authority Conference and the Power Supply and Electricity Conference and was once again well received at both these conferences.

Durban University of Technology Prof Ian Lazarus E lazarusi@dut.ac.za M 084 526 2215 issue 21 www.tobuild.co.za

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STUDENT DESIGNS SASC

SACSC graduates It was an evening of glitz, glamour and achievement as the 2016 Certificate of Shopping Centre Management (CSCM) and Advanced Certificate of Shopping Centre Leadership (ACSCL) students gathered to celebrate their success at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria recently.

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Photo by SACSC

The courses, a joint initiative between the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) and the University of Pretoria, is led by Professor Chris Cloete. Cloete says he was taken aback by the response these courses have had over the years.

‘Since inception some 20 years ago, we have seen a steady increase in the number of students who register for these courses. The retail and shopping centre industries have huge impacts on the economy and GDP. These industries need skilled and learned individuals who can help grow this industry even more,’ he adds.

One of the top performing students registered for the Advanced Certificate in Shopping Centre Leadership, Nicholas Rix, claimed the first-place prize for the 2016 year. He says he is very thankful to his employer who sponsored the course.

‘My most immediate feelings are of gratitude, first, to my employer for sponsoring me and giving me the opportunity to study in the advancement of my career.

Secondly, my family and colleagues for their support during the long year of assignments and study. Third and lastly, to the University of Pretoria and the South African Council of Shopping Centres for offering such a relevant and comprehensive course. I also feel a sense of accomplishment that all the hard work and time committed to the course has been worth-while,’ he adds.

Nicholas, who is the Leasing Manager for Fairvest Property Holdings Limited, adds that in his current role, he oversees and conducts new leasing and renewals for Fairvest’s 42 shopping centres nationally.

He says the SACSC courses have assisted him tremendously in growing his experience and abilities.

‘It has helped tremendously. Because of the broad scope of subjects covered in the course, it has allowed me to be more strategic and innovative in my approach to deal-making. In my current working environment, we rely on collaboration in all that

Graduate Ilse Pretorius with Prof Chris Cloete

we do, so the knowledge gained on this course has allowed me to give more valuable input, well grounded in property theory. There is no better return on investment than on time and resources invested in one’s self. If you are looking to grow your knowledge, skill and professional network, the CSCM and ACSCL should be a no-brainer. Besides challenging you academically, the course gives you exposure to spheres of property outside of your daily scope of work, which is a fantastic opportunity,’ he comments.

Chief Executive Officer for the SACSC, Amanda Stops, said: ‘It is inspiring to see so many people participate in these specialised courses and share their experiences with us. We at the SACSC aim to provide up-to-date and relevant information, research and educational courses for our members. This inevitably grows the industry and shapes tomorrow’s retail and shopping centre leaders.’’

South African Council of Shopping Centres T +27 (0)10 003 0228 W www.sacsc.org.za

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NOTES Plan, Design, Build, Interior & Exterior Décor

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advertisers’ index issue21 July-October 2017 Aecom................................................... 74, 75, 76 & 77

Nordic Paper & Packaging (Pty) Ltd.........................152

Aggregate & Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa...................................................132

Nouwens Carpets.......................................................62

Ambius Interior Plants................................................59

Pelican Systems.........................................................37

AMS..............................................................3, 158, 159

Penny Farthing Engineering.......................................71

Belgotex Floors.............................................................5

Pratley Marketing......................................................139

Bluescope Steel SA.................................................. 117

Rentokil Pest Control....................................................7

Boomgate Systems (Pty) Ltd......................................95

Reynaers Aluminium.................................................106

Cape Construction Expo...........................................190

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.................89, 90

Centurion Systems.....................................................92

Safintra Roofing.................................................... 1, 119

Claybrick Association............................................30, 31

Seats Ahead.............................................................161

Copper Development Association....................167, 168

Shadeport Systems..............................................40, 41

Copper Tubing Africa................................................164

Sika (Pty) Ltd................................................................9

Corobrik....................................................................134

Solar Africa...........................................................26, 27

Decorex................................................................15, 57

Solar Ray..........................................................174, 175

Den Braven Sealants........................................130, 131

Solent Trading .....................................................52, 53

EcoHarmony.............................................................171

South African Energy Efficiency Confederation.........................................................190

Ecotech Africa...................................................180, 181

Numatic International..................................................32

Fourways Airconditioning..................................154, 155

South African Wood Preserves Association.............................................................149

Franke Kitchens SA.......................................... 112, 113

Spunchem................................................................143

Geberit SA.................................................................. 11

Stihl.............................................................81, 123, 136

Institute for Timber Construction South Africa..........148

Style Décor...........................................................82, 83

Isipani Construction....................................................47

Swartland..................................................................103

Khanda Seating..........................................................18

Technopol SA............................................................145

Mapei.................................................................128,142

Tile Africa..............................................................22, 23

Merensky Timber (Pty) Ltd...............................150, 151

Uretek...................................................................64, 65

Minaco (Pty)Ltd................................................184, 185

Vermont Sales......................................................68, 69

Mitek Industries................................................120, 125

Warmup Sustainable Heating.....................................43

Multi Construction Chemicals.....................................50

Waterways....................................................98, 99, 192

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