Construction World June 2016

FIVE YEARS OF MALL OF THE NORTH

Mall of the North in Polokwane, an icon of Limpopo's capital city, celebrated its fifth anniversary on Thursday, 14 April. Offering shoppers the largest and most comprehensive selection of shops, restaurants and the only cinema complex in Limpopo, Mall of the North has celebrated many major achievements since its launch in 2011.

“Looking back over the last five years, we are more than pleased with what we have achieved so far. From a zero

ping centre achieved just below R1-billion in turnover. In 2015, this figure had doubled to nearly R2-billion. “Our retailers play a very big role in the success we have achieved so far,” adds De Ridder. “We are happy to say that most of our original tenants are still with us and we feel privileged to be able to celebrate this birthday with them.” The Mall of the North has, however, made some retail improvements over the past five years, to ensure its offering remains in step with the latest trends. De Ridder believes adding tenants like Cotton On, Foschini Kids, and Soda Bloc have proved a major attraction within the province, contributing significantly to improving

the mall and the first-class shopping experience it provides. Amajor attraction to both visitors and residents within the province, Mall of the North has become a crucial part of the local economy as one of the biggest ratepayers in Polokwane. It has also created at least 2 000 jobs. From its very inception, Mall of the North has been actively committed to supporting its surrounding communities and being a good citizen. “Most of all, on our fifth anniversary, we really appreciate the wonderful and loyal customers who welcomed us into their community and have continued to support us. They have made Mall of the North the success story it is today,” says De Ridder.

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base in at the beginning of 2011, our shopper numbers have grown each year to nearly 8,5 million annually,” says Sumari de Ridder, general manager for Mall of the North. The 75 000 m 2 shopping mall is unmatched in its dominance in the region. Trading at Mall of the North has also grown from strength to strength. “We have achieved double-digit turnover growth every year since our opening,” reports de Ridder. From May to December 2011, during the Mall of the North’s first calendar year, the shop-

WATERPROOFING ROOFTOP GARDEN Situated on a hilltop in Midrand, Gauteng, is the spectacular Waterfall Equestrian Estate where some of Johannesburg’s most luxurious homes lie nestled in beautifully landscaped grounds. It was here that Kaytech supplied an innovative drainage system that would effectively maintain the integrity of a rooftop garden.

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Besides the magnificent homes, the estate boasts stables, paddocks and an equestrian arena that add to its sustain-

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To control the flowpath of water, Flownet DN3, a heavy-duty, extruded, HDPE drainage net with directional flow, was installed over the bidim A4. Used as a drainage core, Flownet replaces the need for stone aggregate in subsoil and structural drains. A layer of Kaytape S270 was subsequently rolled out over the Flownet. This slit film, woven polypropylene tape geotextile acts as a high modulus separator that, in this appli- cation, would keep open the flowpaths and prevent the low modulus bidim intruding into the Flownet openings. The composite drain was completed with the installation of a top filter layer of bidim A2. In total, 100 m 2 of each product was used for the drainage of the roof garden. To add filtra- tion diameter to the drainage system and to help prevent clogging of the bidim, a layer of high quality, clean river sand (50 mm thick) was placed over the drainage system and covered with a final layer of topsoil. Rekopane Landscapers was highly impressed with the ease and speed of installation of these high quality Kaytech products that enabled them to complete the entire project within one day.

able and integrated ecology. In keeping with this environment, Rekopane Landscapers suggested the creation of a rooftop garden as a special feature on one of the homes. When approached by the landscapers for assistance in the vitally important drainage of the rooftop garden, Kaytech’sWinnie van der Merwe suggested a four-component system consisting of a layer of bidim A4, a layer of Flownet, a third layer of Kaytape and a final layer of bidim A2. Rekopane Landscapers commenced the project by installing waterproofing directly onto the roof. For protection of this waterproofing, bidim A4 was installed. Bidim is Kaytech’s multi-graded continuous filament, nonwoven, needlepunched geotextile manufactured from 100% recycled polyester. The needlepunching process provides several advantages including an appreciable thickness, high porosity and a high drainage capacity. When incorporated in a subsoil drain, bidim allows the highest possible throughflow rate while still providing excellent filtration characteristics.

The final bidim A2 layer separates the cover soil from the woven tape underneath.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2016