Construction World August 2017

ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE Winner – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa Concrete is the main finishing characteristic of this project which has innovatively retrofitted one of Cape Town’s most iconic industrial relics namely the Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront. This original redesign of the interior created new functional spaces for galleries, foyer and pause spaces, exposed staircases, transparent lifts and an administration area. This was supplemented with a new sculptural atrium carved out from the heart of the silos’ existing cylindrical concrete structures. Newly fitted skylights flood the interior spaces with natural light in a magical way whilst the old basement and roof top areas are activated with new uses. Maintaining the integrity of the old concrete structures and blending it sympathetically with new stabilising concrete work and finishes, this project managed to uniquely reinvent a historical Cape Town landmark. Retrofitting the existing architectural and structural elements such as the silos, with new uses by using bold and dramatic interventions has created a truly remarkable architectural asset not only for the art world and Cape Town, but indeed for South Africa. *Commendation – Sol Plaatje University Library

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.

INNOVATION IN CONCRETE Joint Winners – Van Zyl Spruit Bridge and Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa The unique Van Zyl Spruit Bridge is the first long integral bridge in South Africa and, at 90 m, one of the longest integral bridges in the world. The innovative use of integral bridges allows savings in materials, no capital cost for bearings and joints, lower maintenance costs, more durability and makes concrete bridges more competitive. In addition, the installation of over 500 sensors in the bridge structure which are being logged automatically every 15 minutes to detect and quantify trends in strain, temperature, tilt and earth pressure, make this one of the first ‘SMART’ bridges in the

Sol Plaatje University Library.

Van Zyl Spruit Bridge.

spectacular three- dimensional envelope which allows a 2.7m wide perimeter void between the external envelope and the floor plates. This resulted in in an envelope as an integrated 'wall and roof' shell that is functionally, structurally and technically independent of the ‘building' within it. The contractor managed the unusually demanding staging and shuttering of huge areas of free-standing external envelope walling at the highest possible standards and delivered a highly refined, consistently silky off-steel surface finish. This landmark library not only celebrates concrete as its main material but it allows concrete a highly visible civic and sculptural presence. Concrete becomes one of the key features of the main pedestrian spine of the new university campus which links it to the surrounding city of Kimberley. *Commendation – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa *Commendation – PwC Tower Including Slide

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD AUGUST 2017

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