Construction World March 2018

PROJECTS & CONTRACTS

Food producer’s vibrant floors The large-scale, international food

As one of Africa’s leading food producers, responsible for a number of household brand names, it is vital for RCL Foods to portray a high- end image at all times – and getting the appearance of its office right was critical to this. Located in Westville’s Westway Office Park, the new building was designed to provide a creative environment using materials producer RCL Foods injected vibrancy and energy into its new Durban office by installing a selection of brightly coloured resin floor finishes from Flowcrete South Africa.

Its new Marlboro Rea Vaya M1 Cable Stay Bridge, which was completed earlier in 2017, recently scooped two prestigious awards. First, it received a regional award from the South Africa Institute of Civil Engineers for the most outstanding project in the structural engineering category. Then, it went on to win first place in the Civil Engineers Contractors category in our very own Construction World magazine Awards. The Marlboro Rea Vaya M1 bridge is for exclusive use by Rea Vaya buses and pedestrians. The bridge is already open for pedestrians. Rea Vaya buses will have exclusive use of the bridge when the Rea Vaya Phase 1C (a) operations begin in October 2018. The bridge will make it possible for buses and pedestrians to move swiftly from Johannesburg CBD via Wynberg and Alexandra over the M1 and into Sandton Central. Over 10 000 people walk between neighbouring Alexandra and Sandton Central every day. The new bridge is already going a long way in bringing pro-poor high-quality public transport that is safe, affordable and reliable to the people of Alexandra and Sandton. Also, it is making walking easier, safer and more convenient. “Sandton Central is South Africa’s cosmopolitan centre of trade, ideas, interaction and lifestyle. Excellent infrastructure that supports easy access plays a key role in this. Ensuring that people can easily come to work, visit, stay, shop, or be entertained in Sandton Central is something we take seriously. We strive to provide an exceptional experience,” says Elaine Jack, City Improvement District Manager of the Sandton Central Management District (SCMD), which manages the public urban spaces of this leading city.  Sandton Central is more connected than ever before thanks to the three new bridges constructed to link it better, improve transport and forge stronger bonds between different communities. New cable stay bridge is winning top awards

that would also meet the specific demands of each area. This design ethos included specifying a variety of floors that would cleverly meet both the aesthetic and operational demands of the site. This was most evident in the building’s Test Kitchen. A focal point of the new office, the kitchen needed to be both a visually stunning showroom as well as a practical area for cooking. To achieve this, 311 m 2 of Flowfresh SR Ultra in a bespoke blue that matched RCL Foods’ corporate colour was installed to link the space to the visual identity of the business. Flowfresh SR Ultra was ideal for the task at hand, as it is a very durable polyurethane system that is able to survive the temperatures, spillages, chemicals and impacts inherent to a busy kitchen environment. This HACCP International certified system provides the highest possible hygiene levels by incorporating the antibacterial additive Polygiene ® within the floor, enabling it to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria in contact with the floor finish. To extend this colourful interior design scheme across the building, 272 m 2 of Peran SL Fruity flooring was supplied for the 18 male, female and disabled toilets. This system allowed the designer to use an extensive palette of colours, including Tomato, Kiwi, Grapefruit, Tangerine, Spearmint and Plum, so that no two toilet facilities were the same. The seamless and impervious nature of Peran SL Fruity makes it quick and easy to clean, helping to ensure that the floor maintains a fresh and unblemished appearance. The robust credentials of this self-smoothing epoxy system means that it will withstand the foot traffic, cleaning chemicals, scuffs and scrapes that it will inevitably be exposed to. To guarantee that visitors and staff would be immersed in a colourful and energetic environment from the second they set foot in the building, a decorative floor was installed in the lift lobby on each level of the building’s three-storey car park. 378 m 2 of the epoxy resin floor coating Peran STB in a sleek, dappled grey colour was applied in the lobby areas to provide a pleasant transition from the car park to the office. This combination of floor finishes meant that RCL Foods could rest assured that its new office would have a vivid, contemporary and on-brand surface underfoot that would be able to withstand the various challenges that such a busy and unique office space would throw at it. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2018