Construction World December 2016

The unique architectural shape of the new Sasol head office building in Sandton brought with it some interesting and challenging solutions throughout the construction of the project. One of these included the roof slab (a 15 m span with variously sized downstand and upstand beams) to connect two sections of the building and allowing for the feature inclined glass façade to join into this roof slab from below. There were essentially two ways of constructing this bridge: • 45 m high shoring of the entire bridge from ground floor to the roof slab which required tie-backs into the slabs on each side of the building and additional lateral stability – this solution was not possible as it interfered with the façade installation and programme; the metric volume of shoring required was estimated at 9 500 m 3 . The cost saving alone in the transport and assembly time became a deciding factor • PERI proposed solution of creating a false soffit in 40 m height using steel beams to span between the building and then only required another 5 m of shoring which could be safely installed from the false soffit. This solution had no impact on the façade programme and the volume of material required was significantly less with an elegantly engineered solution for the client to erect and dismantle. HDT Main Beam with inclined HD200 prop assembled as individual frames and lifted into position. Pre-manufactured 533 I-Beam units were lifted in position on top of the spreader beam and fixed in position SASOL HEAD OFFICE BRIDGE

Project information • Company entering: PERI • Main contractor: Aveng Grinaker-LTA

Multiprop towers were safely assembled and installed from the I-Beam units and the MRK frames were used as working platforms to safely assemble the slab and beam soffits. Stripping of the system was done in reverse as descibed alongside – speed and safety of the erection and dismantling in 40 m height made it successful.

SERVICE CENTRE IN ORLANDO EAST In 2015, Lafarge South Africa, one of the country’s major cement, concrete and aggregates manufacturers, secured the exclusive sponsorship of the Orlando Stadium, which occupies a special place in the hearts of the local community and all the people of South Africa. It was a new marketing strategy for the company to have a

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homes and improvements, as well as promote the development of business skills, financed sustainably by consolidating the Lafarge brand at grassroots level and creating a stronger demand for its products. In a first for the local cement industry, Lafarge South Africa opened an innovative Service Centre in Orlando East, Soweto. Contributing to the sustainable development of building expertise and infrastructure in the area, the Centre offers a wide range of services that make the building process far easier, more efficient, and importantly more accessible for customers. The services cover guidance on planning, design, building regulations, finance, and interior layout and finishes. The Centre also provides information on Lafarge approved building contractors. Emerging entrepreneurs, who partner with Lafarge to provide supplier and contractor services, are offered business skills training, such as cash flow management, selling techniques, and product technical knowledge. The pilot scheme is stimulating economic development and building the skills pool in this underserved community, which will lead to improving the quality of life for the local people. The intention is to replicate the Service Centre concept in other similar communities.

much stronger and direct focus on reaching the consumers of its products and services. Allied to this was the desire to give back to the local Orlando community through Lafarge South Africa’s extensive corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives. It was important to design a sustainable way of doing this. The company considered that it could provide free advice and a direct technical service to the community on building new

Project information • Company entering: Lafarge South Africa • Client: Lafarge Sotuh Africa

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DECEMBER • 2016