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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
AUGUST
2016
PROPERTY
JHI, part of the Excellerate
Property Services Group,
has been appointed to
manage Old Mutual Life
Assurance Company SA’s
entire property portfolio in
South Africa and Namibia,
from 1 April 2016.
CEO of JHI, Nomzamo Radebe.
Skateistan is an international
non-governmental organisation
that uniquely uses skateboarding
as a tool for empowerment.
It was launched in May 2007 in Kabul, Afghan-
istan, where girls are not allowed to ride
bicycles but are allowed to ride skateboards.
This campaign assists vulnerable youth
between the ages of five and 17 from a
range of ethnicities and socioeconomic
backgrounds by using skateboarding as a
‘hook’ to engage children in under-
privileged areas and empower them
through education programmes.
South African youth face many of
the same challenges as young people in
Afghanistan and Cambodia including social
inequality, youth unemployment, gender
discrimination, poverty, lack of quality
education, and social tensions, all of which
are issues which Skateistan’s programmes
aim to address.
Construction is already well on its way
for Skateistan South Africa's first Skate
School in the Maboneng Precinct in Johan-
nesburg, the first on the continent, after
nearly two years of planning.
The Johannesburg Skate School, which
is scheduled to open in August, consists of a
building constructed using reclaimed shipping
containers as classrooms and study areas,
a world-class 500 m
2
skate park, an outdoor
educational space and office space for the
NGO to operate from.
Leading interior building solutions group,
Saint-Gobain Gyproc, the world's most innova-
tive building materials, systems and solutions
company, is sponsoring top quality walls and
ceilings for the classrooms and offices.
Apart from attributes related to
efficiency and sustainability, Saint-Gobain
believes that its building materials can create
an environment that is safer, more comfort-
able, healthier and generally more attractive
than conventional building materials.
Improved and more comfortable learning
spaces contribute to better learning environ-
ments, whereby learners and teachers can
perform optimally. Saint-Gobain has created
a better learning environment at Skateistan
South Africa as follows:
• Thermal comfort: Comfortable
SKATEISTAN
is here
“Skateistan’s not just
about skating. It’s about
giving people life skills and
hope for their future,” says
Tony Hawk, a professional
skateboarder and global
Skateistana Ambassador.
>
temperature, warm in winter and cool in
summer
• Acoustic comfort: Noise reduction and
improved acoustics
• Visual comfort: Good light and reduced
glare, improves visibility and looks good
• Health: Materials improve air quality,
which means less illness and improved
wellbeing
Through this pioneering project, Saint-
Gobain aims to demonstrate to other schools
and educational facilities the immense
difference that can be made by using
superior building materials, in conjunction
with builders, designers and architects, and
how this combination can create better
functioning, more comfortable and more
productive environments that allow learners
and teachers to achieve their full potential.
This is Skateistan’s fourth international
project with two Skate Schools already in
Afghanistan and one in Cambodia. Skateistan
South Africa has been made possibly through
a partnership with the City of Johannesburg
and funding from the Danish Embassy in
Pretoria, the Comic Relief Foundation, the
Tony Hawk Foundation and The Sk8room.
Maboneng's urban regeneration
company, Propertuity, has provided the land
for the Skate School via a 20-year rent-free
lease. Big Box Containers, a company that
customises shipping containers and converts
them for various uses, is supplying the boxes,
as well as various other donors involved
including Saint-Gobain.