Construction World October 2016

COVER STORY

assures a high-quality finish for WBHO AFRISAM READYMIX CONCRETE Upmarket developments demand quality finishes and this has been no different at the No 3 Silo, No 4 Silo and No 5 Silo projects at the V&A Waterfront’s Silo district in Cape Town, Western Cape.

Half of the office space for the No 5 Silo project consists of off-shutter concrete finishes.

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Western Cape output In the Western Cape, AfriSam has the capacity to produce in excess of 1,5 million tons of aggregate and over 260 000 m 3 of readymix concrete per year. It can also draw on a team of concrete experts from its concrete product technology laboratory in Gauteng to assist with special mix designs and technical support. The construction materials producer has nurtured a close business relationship with WBHO over the years. And the contractor has grown to rely on AfriSam’s in-depth knowledge in applying the correct product for specific construction requirements. As the dedicated service professional for this project, Melanie Ross, territory manager for AfriSam in the Western Cape, says the company is supplying 9 800 m 3 of readymix concrete to the development. AfriSam’s scope of supply to these developments includes standard and special readymix concrete mixes. This includes the complex column mix which was designed specifically for the No 5 Silo project, comprising AfriSam’s own extended blended cement, which includes slag, to achieve the desired finish. Proactive stance The concrete materials producer took a proactive stance in this supply contract. This started with the upfront intensive testing on all the raw materials to achieve the correct concrete mix, through to extensive planning needed to ensure the timeous delivery of these loads. Ross says that adding to the complexities of this contract, AfriSam had to deliver the correct product to multiple construction faces through only one point of access to the site. As soon as the readymix product arrived at the site, the workability and tolerances of the various slump mixes were immediately inspected. “Slabs for the No 5 Silo project were poured at a rate of 280 m 3 a day, and AfriSam ensured that it mobilised deliveries early in the morning.

o 3 Silo will offer approximately 10 000 m 2 of residential space in the form of luxury one to four bedroomed apartments, all offering the same environmentally friendly sustainable benefits as No 2 Silo. No 4 Silo will house a state-of-the-art Virgin Active

Health Club, while No 5 silo will have 13 500 m 2 of multi-tenanted office space, and like all the Silo developments, aims to achieve a Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). The lion’s share of concrete work undertaken on No 3 Silo, No 4 Silo and No 5 Silo is exposed. This includes sections of the Virgin Active gym in No 4 Silo that spans about 4 000 m 2 over two levels and most of the

three structures’ elevator shafts. Setting the standard

However, it is the work recently completed in Silo 5 that Mark Brooks, contracts director of WBHO, believes will certainly set the standard in terms of off-shutter concrete workmanship in South Africa. Brooks explains that about half of the new office space that will be occupied by primary tenants, PwC and Werksmans Attorneys, consists of off-shutter concrete finishes. This includes the ceilings, one of the stand-out features of the interior of the structure. “We are extremely proud of what we achieved in No 5 Silo. There are not that many examples of true in-situ off-shutter concrete finishes in the country, and I believe that this is one of the best examples of how it should be done,” Brooks told Construction World during a visit to the project in mid-August. He attributes this excellent finish to a host of factors including careful planning, the skills and capabilities of a competent workforce, as well as the consistent quality of the concrete supplied by AfriSam. “AfriSam is the leading concrete materials producer in the Western Cape and well positioned to supply high demand and speciality mix designs to projects such as the Silo Precinct Project,” Roger Potgieter, national sales manager of AfriSam, says.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2016