Construction World December 2017

Category A2: Building Contractors

MENLYN RECONFIGURATION PROJECT

(Also entered Category D)

Up to 5 000 m 3 of readymix was supplied per month to the new building areas, requiring 20 to 30 readymix trucks per day to be able to enter the site. This added to the already challenging logistical issues within the constricted site. In terms of internal rehabilitation work, a total of 9,5 km of passages and 14 000 m 2 of mall ceilings and tiling was done. This labour intensive work had teams operating in tightly controlled areas; each simultaneously comprising about 25 people working on ceilings and about 20 on tiling. Significantly, it was critical that during all construction activities access to the existing mall areas remained unaffected and it was business as usual for all tenants and shoppers. This necessitated that many of the teams conduct most of this work at night completing tasks before the mall opened each day at 8:00. At the same time it was necessary to be flexible enough to work around restaurants, which stayed open until 23:00. The multi-level, super-regional Menlyn Park now boasts over 500 tenants, 16 parking entrances and 8 250 parking bays. The sheer size of the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre project makes it noteworthy. For a contractor, this scale of retail project comes perhaps once or twice in a lifetime. Not only was 60 000 m 2 of retail space added to the original 118 000 m 2 of gross leasable area, but trading was allowed to continue uninterrupted during construc-

tion – with up to 10 000 m 2 of temporary retail outlets established to facilitate demolition works. World-class project management and teamwork was required to co-ordinate this complex work process, under demanding time schedules. The entire project was completed in less than 15 months. At the project’s peak, there were close to 60 subcontractors on site, and about 100 bricklayers – with the project consuming 3,5 million bricks. In a first for retail in South Africa, the project received a Green Building 4 Star rating for its environmental and sustainability considerations. To allow trading and movement of shoppers to continue, construction operations had to be intricately planned to accommodate night shift sessions. Commitment to a culture of safety and the strict implementation of safety systems – including a fully covered crash deck being erected under the areas where work was underway – allowed Concor Buildings to complete the project with zero fatalities. Due to the fast track construction programme and limited tower crane accessibility, the project made use of steel elements which were fabricated in advance in a controlled factory environment. This allowed them to be erected much more quickly than would have been possible with similar concrete components.

Beyond increasing the floor space, Concor Buildings converted an existing open parking area into a three level parking facility and an open piazza the size of Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton. The existing building also received a complete makeover to tie it in with the new build. A large portion of the existing shopping centre – some 35 000 m 2 – required demolition, paving the way for the construction of a new 58 700 m 2 two storey retail section housing 182 shops. A first phase saw the conversion of the open air events arena into a double level food and entertainment court, while the original food court was transformed into a new fashion mall. The second phase was more complex; both in terms of its scope and its timing. a giant 173 500 m 2 of gross leasable area. The total length of the finished malls over the four levels is just over 3,4 km. In a massive R2,2-billion project, Concor Buildings reconfigured, refurbished and extended the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria to become the ‘biggest shopping experience’ in Africa, covering

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: Concor Buildings • Client: Pareto • Start date: 1 June 2015 • End date: 23 November 2016 • Main contractor: Concor Buildings • Architect: Bild/Ferra Ether • Principal agent: Origin Project Managers • Quantity surveyor: BTKM • Consulting engineer: Aurecon • Steel contractor: Cadcon • Ceiling and renovations: JT Dooley

Winner

Construction WORLD

2 17 BEST PR O JECTS

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