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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
OCTOBER
2015
(or triple bottom line) is the small area in the middle, a value engi-
neering model is a strong sustainability model. The environmental and
economic benefits are a subset of the sustainability aspirations, and are
the core values underpinning every aspect of the design solution.
“During the design phase of the new Lynnwood Bridge building,
each energy-saving feature was modelled and calculated in order to
predict how each aspect would impact the electricity consumption of
the actual building. The state-of-the-art 3D modelling software, coupled
with the expertise drawn from the company’s global team, allowed us to
create data that accurately showed the future building’s performance,
predict utility bills, and create energy targets to track building perfor-
mance,” says Underwood.
Analysing energy efficiency initiatives before
implementation
One of the biggest challenges of current energy-saving initiatives in
buildings is when a supplier offers a solution that won’t necessarily lead
to a payback for the client. Underwood stresses that the effect of any
energy-saving component needs to be analysed before being adopted.
“Supplier data needs to be put into a South African context. The
supplier could be providing data that is relevant for countries in Europe
where there is a cooler climate, or the supplier could take a single oper-
ating point and extrapolate the data over the course of an entire year,
which could lead to misleading results. In order to know for sure what
your building’s payback will be, clients need to take a value engineering
approach and make sure they know how the building will perform once
the energy-saving initiatives have been implemented,” he says.
“Trying to predict the impact of a chilled beam system or an ener-
gy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system,
for example, is impossible without looking at the entire system design
holistically, doing the calculations and analysing the results. Advanced
3D modelling software gives engineers the tools they need to predict
whether an energy-saving initiative is going to have a marginal or
worthwhile return on investment. Clients need to partner with engi-
neering consultancies that have the capability to analyse the effects of
different initiatives if they want real value,” emphasises Underwood.
This team has been sponsored by Torre Automotive, formerly
Control Instruments for 16 years. With the acquisition of Control
Instruments by Torre Industries, the team was rebranded as
Team Torre and other business units in the Torre Industries stable were
offered sponsorship.
Torre Lifting Solutions signed an exclusive contract to sponsor the
branding on one of the four-plane fleet. The Team Torre branding also
extends to the flight suits and other promotional material at events. Quentin
van Breda, technical director at Torre Lifting Solutions, points out that the
company has a long tradition of identifying and capturing opportunities to
increase its market penetration.
“Our cranes and other lifting solutions are highly visible and, in particular,
our Potain tower cranes have become a regular and noticeable feature on
major construction sites throughout southern Africa. The sponsorship of
the Pitts Special plane and crew was a
natural extension of our sustainable brand
growth. We have the added advantage of
having customer flip days during the year
to offer our clients a very different expe-
rience in an aerobatic aircraft. As with all
of our endeavours, we believe in aligning
ourselves with the best in breed,” Van
Breda explains.
FLYING HIGH
The Pitts Special aerobatics team has become a
well-loved and recognised name in South Africa.
Renowned as best in their class with their Pitt’s
special aircraft with many collective awards to their
names, these daring aviators, Scully Levin, Arnie
Meneghelli, Ellis Levin and Sean Thackwray are a
common sight at corporate days, shows and events.
Torre Lifting Solutions signed an
exclusive contract to sponsor branding
on one of the four-plane Pitts Special
aerobatics team's fleet.
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The Social Gain awards were conceptualised by Saint-Gobain
to recognise and reward talent in the design of spaces that
promote learning and development, as part of the company’s
350
th
anniversary celebrations.
“The awards really promote and celebrate architecture that posi-
ARCHITECTURE
for
SOCIAL GAIN
Award winners
The inaugural Architecture for Social
Gain 2015 awards ceremony was held
at historical landmark, Glenshiel, in
Johannesburg recently.
tively effects the integration of community and environment for
the long term benefit of both people and planet, complimenting
Saint-Gobain’s commitment to support social change and make a
difference in the spaces we live, learn, work and play in” said Evan
Lockhart-Barker, MD Weber Saint-Gobain in his opening address.
An impressive 38 entries were received across the three cate-
gories, FUTURE, BUILT & ADOPT-a-School. “We were thrilled with
the number of online entries received as these awards challenged
industry norms, with the call for strictly digital entries architects
were challenged to move beyond the traditional medium of submit-
ting hardcopies of drawings and renderings, and embrace the realm
of the video entry format, which encouraged digital story-telling
around submissions,” added Evan.
The judges were so impressed with the quality of entries and
the quality of the digital submissions that an additional award
for ‘Best Movie’ was added to the competition during the judging
process. Judges noticed that these awards saw a new wave of up
Penguins Preschool: a sample EcoBrick Wall. (Photo by
Threeclouds Photography)
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