NEWSWORTHY
WATERFALL ESTATE WINS PROPERTY AWARD
CONCOR BUILDINGS SECURES PHASE 1 OF OXFORD PARKS
Concor Buildings has secured the contract for the construction of Phase 1 of Oxford Parks. Situated at 199 Oxford Road, the entire Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this prestigious project will comprise four buildings totalling approximately 34,000m 2 and will include the new Johannesburg head office for BPSA.
Rui Santos, managing director of Concor Buildings, says that the current contract includes the construction of three basement levels and BPSA’ s six office levels as part of Phase 1.
Work has begun on site, and he says Concor Buildings, formerly Murray & Roberts Buildings, is proud to be associated with this project which has been selected as a pilot project for the Green Building Council of South Africa( GBCSA), to create a green precinct rating tool for public environment projects. Significantly, all buildings within the Oxford Parks Precinct will be designed to a minimum standard of 4 Star Green Rating in terms of the GBCSA standards.
Concor Buildings has an established track record of delivering quality fast track projects, and contractual completion is set for November 2018. www. concor. co. za
ORGANIC WASTE COULD PROVIDE FUTURE BUILDING MATERIALS
Cities could tackle the global problem of rising levels of waste and depleted resources by using organic waste, such as bananas, potatoes and maize as building materials, an Arup report predicts.
Globally the construction industry is one of the largest users of raw materials; in the UK alone it accounts for 60 % of all raw materials consumed. Capturing organic waste streams from cities and the countryside could provide the industry with lower-cost, lower-CO2 building materials such as bricks, insulation and partition boards. The report envisages a completely circular system with building waste fed back into the biological cycle at the end of its service life with nutrients returned to the soil.
Over 40 million tonnes of dried organic waste from agriculture and forestry was produced in Europe in 2014 alone and the amount is growing year on year. A kilo of waste incinerated for energy recovery has a value of approximately 0.85 Euros but the same material used for interior cladding could sell for up to six Euros per kilo.
The report also points to advances in the development of alternative organic materials, including mushroom bricks grown in five days and waste potatoes used as insulation and acoustic absorbers. Arup has created the SolarLeaf, the first façade system in the world cultivating micro-algae to generate heat and biomass and BioBuild, the first self-supporting façade panel made out of bio-composite materials.
Innovative manufacturing processes are a significant enabler, with 3D printing of biopolymers becoming increasingly widespread.
The report, The Urban Bio-Loop: Growing, Making and Regenerating is available to download.
Waterfall Management Company has been awarded the International Best Mixed-use Development 2017 / 2018 for the Waterfall development at the International Property Awards. This is the first time in the history of the Awards that a South African company has won the Best International Mixeduse Development award. Willie Vos, CEO of Waterfall Management Company( pictured below), said,“ After winning Best Mixed-use Development in South Africa and Africa for four years running, we are thrilled that Waterfall has finally been recognised for the world-class city it truly is. The significance of being awarded International Best Mixeduse Development 2017 / 2018, is that property professionals worldwide will now take note of South Africa’ s ability to build world-class developments, even during a time of major political uncertainty in the country. Careful planning over a number of years and a lot of dedication from various role players working together as a team, have made this achievement possible” he continued. Waterfall Management Company is the Property and Asset Management Company of the Waterfall land. Since 2004, Waterfall Management Company has been working with developers and investors to create the largest mixed-use development in Africa. By its anticipated completion in 2027, the current estimated developed value is approximately R100 billion. www. waterfall. co. za
News Watch 11