2017 FULTON AWARDS
At the bi-annual Fulton Awards held recently, the following projects
were selected as winners in their respective categories.
CATEGORY: ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE
Winner – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Above)
Concrete is the main finishing characteristic of this project which
has innovatively retrofitted one of Cape Town’s most iconic industrial
relics, namely the Grain Silo at the V&A Waterfront.
This original redesign of the interior created new functional spaces
for galleries, foyer and pause spaces, exposed staircases, transparent
lifts and an administration area. This was supplemented with a new
sculptural atrium carved out from the heart of the silos’ existing
cylindrical concrete structures.
Maintaining the integrity of the old concrete structures and
blending it sympathetically with new stabilising concrete work and
finishes, this project managed to uniquely reinvent a historical Cape
Town landmark. Retrofitting the existing architectural and structural
elements such as the silos, with new uses by using bold and dramatic
interventions has created a truly remarkable architectural asset.
CATEGORY: INNOVATION IN CONCRETE
Joint Winner – Van Zyl Spruit Bridge (Below)
The unique Van Zyl Spruit Bridge is the first long integral bridge
in South Africa and, at 90m, one of the longest integral bridges in
the world. The innovative use of integral bridges allows savings in
materials, no capital cost for bearings and joints, lower maintenance
costs, more durability and makes concrete bridges more competitive.
In addition, the installation of over 500 sensors in the bridge
structure which are being logged automatically every 15 minutes
to detect and quantify trends in strain, temperature, tilt and earth
pressure, make this one of the first ‘SMART’ bridges in the country.
Joint Winner – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Maintaining the existing structures whilst combining it with
innovatively placed new concrete substructures, selective
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demolition work and recycling make
this building a celebration of concrete
both as a historical and as a new,
innovative building material.
Innovative and complex concrete
placement and formwork techniques
together with a variety of the latest laser-
guided concrete-cutting and removal techniques
were used. Newly cut and angled edges were polished to expose
the original aggregate and steel reinforcement to great effect.
This enabled open spaces in which the old and the new stabilising
concrete work remain in contrast yet harmoniously fit together. In
continuing the theme of paying homage to the silo’s industrial past,
the original concrete both externally and internally was cleaned and
has been retained as its most visible finish.
CATEGORY: BUILDINGS GREATER THAN THREE STOREYS
Winner – Sol Plaatje University Library (Above)
This bold and original project pushes the boundaries of architect-
ural and engineering design, which required very high expectations
from the concre te to perform not only as a structural, but also as
an aesthetic material. The result is a spectacular three-dimensional
envelope which allows a 2.7m wide perimeter void between the
external envelope and the floor plates. This resulted in an envelope
as an integrated ‘wall and roof’ shell that is functionally, structurally
and technically independent of the ‘building’ within it.
The contractor managed the unusually demanding staging and
shuttering of huge areas of free-standing external envelope walling
at the highest possible standards and delivered a highly refined,
consistently silky off-steel surface finish.
CONCLUSION
Glen Crescent House was the winner in the Buildings up to Three
Storeys category, and MtEdgecombe Interchange Upgrade was the
winner in the Infrastructure category.
For more information on the winners as well as the commendations
in each category, visit www.concretesociety.co.za/fulton-awards
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