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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
FEBRUARY
2016
ith the main contract value of
USD90-million, the contract
had to be built in 24 months.
To meet the very tight
programme,
SS Construções opted to precast the curved
shaped concrete balustrades and cast them
into the edge of the in-situ coffer slabs.
The foundation design, consisting of
534 continuous flight auger piles, were
designed and installed by the Stefanutti
Stocks Geotechnical team, and
was completed in six weeks.
Design
The striking design of the two towers features
PROJECT PROFILE
the office tower with its curved shape as well
as a double conical shape in elevation. The
concrete balustrades interface neatly with the
curtain wall system while each floor is unique.
The apartment tower appears to mimic the
rippling shape of water with the clean lines
of the concrete structure enclosed with an
aluminium and glass façade system.
Construction innovation
technology
The two tower cores, consisting of five lift
shafts (each) were constructed with the use
of a hydraulic climbing shutter system, the
first of its kind to be used in Mozambique. The
slabs design employed the use of coffers and
a double boarding formwork design. Special
‘shoes’ were designed to position the precast
units onto so as maintain the line and level
during construction of the decks.
For the manufacture of the precast units,
SS Construções employed the services of SPE
(Specialised Precast Elements) in Gauteng.
Similarly, the four fire escape stairwells were
built with precast stairs and transported to
Maputo by road.
The use of the precast concrete elements
played a significant role in the success of
the project and provided the client with an
exceptionally high finish that will last for
many decades.
The 34 000 m
3
of concrete cast on the
project was largely batched on site with all
75 000 m
2
of slabs pumped from the batch
plant via a static pump.
Health and safety
The client’s project safety specification is
based on the South African construction regu-
lations. Suitable people to fulfill the roles of
all the required safety related appointments
and functions were trained in-house to meet
STRIKING TOWERS
in Maputo
By Tim Smith, contract manager.
The Horizon project in Maputo comprises a
19 storey apartment tower and a 15 storey
office tower that is positioned above a four
floor mixed use podium.